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The Bible Means What it Says! (Unless I don’t like it??????)

                 After his encounter with the “Rich Young Ruler” (Mark 10:17-31), Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle that for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God!” (verse 25).
                When we came to that part, I asked the Bible study class how they had heard this verse explained.  One man raised his hand and said, “Apparently, there used to be a gate in the wall of Jerusalem and it was called ‘The Needle’s Eye’.  It was so small that a camel had to get down on its knees and crawl through it.  It could get in, but it was really difficult”.   Several people nodded their heads in agreement.  They had heard the same explanation.  Of course, I had too.
                There is only one problem:  It is not true!   It is a complete lie!  No such gate ever existed! 
Why, then, would almost everyone in the room know that story?  More to the point, why would the church teach something that is untrue?
                Could it be that we are looking for a way around what Jesus said? 
The point of the gate story is that the camel can get into the city if he humbles himself, lowers himself and crawls in.  The application then is that, with some effort, a rich man can keep his stuff and enter the kingdom without ever having to chose one or the other.
However, Jesus’ point is the exact opposite!  He says that if you want to love God and money at the same time, you are in big trouble.  You would have better luck pushing a camel through a needle’s eye.  Jesus is not saying that it is hard.  He is saying that it is impossible!
After hearing this, the disciples were amazed (Mark 10:26).  Other versions describe them as indignant, upset, or exasperated.  They clearly understood that there was no loophole here.  The choice was going to be love God or love money, but not both.
Now, it is worth noting that this conversation was motivated by love (verse 21).  Jesus challenged the young man to loosen his grip on material things, so that he could reach for eternal riches.  If he could become a “cheerful giver”, he would bless others instead of just himself and, in that way, he would begin to reflect the very nature of God.  In fact, he would be participating in God’s work and helping to draw others to Christ and the kingdom (see 2 Corinthians 9:6-14). 
We can try to side-step the truth.  We can make up stories about camels and gates.  We can make a big deal about the fact that Jesus did not tell everyone to “sell everything you have and give to the poor”.   We can point out that this was one command to one specific person.  If we try hard enough, we can negate this teaching, and the self-examination that goes with it.
However, Jesus also said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13).
That passage is uncomfortably clear! 

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