January 3, 2016: It’s Not All Good – Michael Hidalgo

In Jesus’ day there were basically two socio-economic groups: the rich and the poor. As much as the Hebrew Scriptures allude to the fact that those who were righteous were given many blessings by God – that tune had changed by the time Jesus was born. Due to the political climate in the first century, many in the Jewish world questioned whether or not one could actually be rich and righteous.

 

Jesus furthered this question by observing that it is impossible for someone to serve both God and Mammon (possessions but also functions much like idols did in the OT). By doing this he marks out that far from being a mark of Divine favor, wealth actually is the thing that makes it hard for one to enter the kingdom of God.

 

Jesus frequently points out that wealth is dangerous and should be treated as such. A message we must heed today. From the shouts of “God Bless America” to the assumption that making money and career success is always a good thing … we are blindly steeped in the belief that wealth is good. Jesus warns otherwise.