It's getting pretty deep in here, isn't it? God NEVER condemned wealth just the "love of money" which is the root of all evil. There are plenty of places in Scripture where this is demonstrated. For example, the patriarchs in the Old Testament (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, etc.) and in the New Testament we have Nicodemus, Joseph of Aramathia (he had that nice, newly carved out, expensive tomb for Jesus), Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha, heck, even Peter had a REAL house and a fishing business with his brothers.
What really WAS wealth back then? People who live in what are called "third world countries" today look at America's "poor" and think THEY are wealthy. Compared to them, they are!
Our FRiend, Annalex, makes a critical mistake in his interpretation of this story of the "rich man" and Jesus. The guy's problem was not really his money but his personal pride in his OWN righteousness. He came to Jesus and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?". Jesus, knowing his heart, said what every good Jew would have thought to answer, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." (something every good Catholic would be prepared to answer as well, no?) And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." The man, disheartened by what Jesus said, went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."
The rich man thought he was righteous and didn't need to repent and need God's grace. He thought he was good enough by his own works to make it into the kingdom of God. So, not only was his own self-righteousness preventing him from seeing his need for grace, his great wealth was holding him back as well. It's obvious that NOBODY can keep the law perfectly, as this man presumed he had. He couldn't be honest with himself or Jesus that he was a sinner in need of a savior. His money was a symptom of his personal pride in his own worthiness and perfection and he couldn't see that he was really spiritually naked and bereft of any worthiness to save himself. That is the REAL problem we all must face. It isn't the having money that is the problem, it is the thinking that we don't need God because we have security. That wealth can disappear overnight (ask Madoff) and what is left? If we think, like the rich man, that we are "good" and obey all the commandments and have no need for forgiveness and grace, then that prevents us from being saved every bit as much.
Like Jesus said, with man, gaining eternal life is impossible, but with God ALL things are possible. That IS the lesson Jesus was teaching and it certainly was NOT that rich people have to give away all that they own and go into a monastery to be saved. How ludicrous! Many of the good works of Christians have been made possible by the money donated by wealthy people. God doesn't condemn money, just the LOVE of it in place of HIM.
Thanks for that awesome interp..... er.... expla...... ....um...... well whatever you call it.....
It was good.
I don't exactly disagree with your post here, Boatbums, but the text of the gospel clearly speaks of donating wealth to the poor and compares rich people to camels squeezing through eye of a needle. Obviously, if someone makes money and then donates all of it, then he is fine per the Gospel so it is not wealth itself that weighs the rich people down but their love of it.