rich.

"A certain ruler asked Him, [Jesus] "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'
"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him,
"You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth, Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!  Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus replied,
"What is impossible with men is possible with God."
"We have left all we had to follow you!" 
"I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will not fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life." Luke 18:18-29

"Being rich is such a great disadvantage." Francis Chan said this in a recent sermon of his on this passage. (http://www.cornerstonesimi.com) What a bold statement to think about compared to what is pounded into our worldly hearts every second.  Get this, get that, buy this gadget, eat this food, enjoy yourself, relax, you deserve a vacation, indulge, accomplish nothing.  Do you feel that pressure?  That lie that if you don't get the next thing, if you don't have a certain amount of money, if you don't do this certain thing you will amount to nothing?  Be unsuccessful?  Fail?

Look at what Jesus is saying here!  It is HARD for a rich man to enter the Kingdom.  Why do you think that is? Why is it that the poverty stricken people in this world seem to understand the concept of God providing for us better than we do?

Do you realize that if you (or your parents) make over $47,500 dollars a year, you are in the top 1% of the richest people in the world?  Most people in the world live on less than $2 a day.  I think one of the devil's biggest tricks is making us believe that the more stuff we have the happier we will be.  The devil knows that if he keeps us from being focused on something, anything other than Jesus, he's won.  Besides, when we have everything we need, who needs to be saved?  Look at how all of the STUFF distracts us from what's really important.

To love God and love others.

When the devil gets to us and tells us that all we need is more money, more stuff, a promotion, a new car, nicer things, he's only doing what he can to get us distracted from our purpose.

Jesus may say it's hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom, but he wouldn't be God if they couldn't, "What is impossible for men is possible with God." How much more awesome is God to us when He does something impossible?  There's glory for Him in every circumstance.

Paul says in Philippians 4 that "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." He goes on to say that he "know[s] what it is to be in need, and . . . what it is to have plenty." He learned the secret of being content in every circumstance.  Are you ready to hear the big secret?  The one that the devil has been working day and night to keep away from you? Paul says, "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength."  That's it.  Do you see how much easier it is to depend on Him for your earthly needs (someone who's in need of food, water, a home, etc) then for your spiritual, unseen needs (eternal life, santification.) "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 That's why people who are homeless, daily relying on God for survival GET IT and we don't.

No, we may get it, but that's about where our faith stops. Our attitude is something like, "the concept is grasped, the execution is a little elusive." We get all fired up about God, but our passion stays in the chapel, the bible study house, or our bedrooms.  The zeal closes with the last page we read.

We're too covered in stuff to have that healthy and completely dependent relationship with God.
It's a constant battle for us not to be like the rich ruler who walked away sad because he wasn't willing to give up his stuff and follow Jesus.

We're promised rewards greater than we'll let go of and we "will not fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."  Why can't we see that God wants to provide for us in this age and the age to come? Why can't we let go of our own security for His security? Why can't we love the people who need Jesus more than stuff? Why can't we leave our own comfort for freedom and LIFE in Jesus? Why don't we do something about what we only scrape the surface of in church? What don't we cultivate ourselves so that we're effective? It's time to share what God's given us with the other 99% of the world, if only to realize how much more we need Jesus.