Living in the Spirit

October 10, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:17-31

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them 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.’ They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’

Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’ –Mark 10:23-31

I was born in tornado alley and lived in it most of my life. Over and over, I hear people who have lost their homes and vehicles say when interviewed by media, everyone in the family survived that is all that is important. We can rebuild. Roll that scene back and consider what was important in our lives before the storm. In the above scripture, Jesus is telling us to get our priorities right in real-time. He states it this way in Matthew 16:26, For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

Individuals being snared by greed grow into a society driven by greed. Every day, I get between 20 or 30 emails asking me for money to support various candidates when we do not have another election until next year. The sad fact is that the person with the most financial backing usually wins. Worse still, raising money is necessary even to get a bill passed in Congress. We the people, no longer have a say in our governance, which now could be described as government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich. The only way to address this problem is the vote. Every effort is now being made to take that away from us.

Money deciding our elections would not happen if we, the people, did not also worship wealth. Do we envy the rich? What are our priorities? Where does loving God and loving as Jesus fit into our priorities?

Prayer: Lord, cleanse us of lusting after the ways of the world and help us set priorities that lead to a world ruled by your love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.