After the “rich young ruler” went away from Jesus, sorrowfully, the Lord uttered one of His more famous remarks:
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
(Matthew 19:23-24)
I think it’s important to remember that “rich” is a relative term, and that some who are considered poor in the United States would be considered well off in other parts of the world. The issue at stake here is not how much money you have, but in how much of a hold your money has on you. The problem with the rich young ruler wasn’t that he had riches; it was that the notion of selling his riches to help others was a bridge too far for him. Having said that, the Lord’s response is presented as an axiom: “A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom.” and “it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle…”
There is something about being financially comfortable, well-off, secure, etc, that makes it hard to surrender to God and live the Christian life. Regardless of the relative nature of riches, the fact remains, if you are “rich” (under anyone’s metric), you have plenty of reasons NOT to yield to a life of self-sacrifice.
Interestingly, in response to that, Jesus’ disciples—most of whom were what we would call middle or low class—reacted to Jesus’ words about rich people by asking who COULD be saved (Matthew 19:25), as though Jesus was saying something that applied to a lot more people than who we might call “the rich” or “the 1%ers.” Can a rich man be saved? Absolutely. He might find it more challenging than others to surrender to the Gospel call, but the power of God remains steadfast. Nevertheless, the challenge a rich man may face is the same challenge everyone must contend with: Do I love God more than the world? The grim reality of the situation is the world will give you plenty of reasons to choose it over God, and the wealthier you are, the more reasons you’ll have. What Jesus said about rich peoples is still true, but so is the other thing He said:
With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
(Matthew 19:26)
~Matthew