Scripture

'Jesus said again ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’' (Mark 10.24-25)

Reflection

No wonder that Jesus’s disciples were ‘astounded’ and wondered what chance anyone had if it would be hard for the rich and successful. Of course, Jesus was not condemning the rich because they were rich (or us, if we have more than enough to live on). The point he was trying to drum into his student disciples was about priorities. If our priority in life is wealth creation, then it will be hard to combine that with principles like treating others just as we wish to be treated. ‘Hard’, note, Jesus does not say ‘ impossible’. The same applies to any other goal which might cause us to neglect the needs of others.

David Harmsworth