Matthew 19:23-26 - False Gods

Hello and welcome to the Bite-Sized Gospel with Aneel Aranha. Today we will reflect on Matthew 19:23-26. Listen.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Can I ask you a question? Do you trust God? Wait! Think about it for a moment before you answer. Do you really trust God? If he were to ask you to drop everything you were doing and follow him, would you do so immediately? Or would you say, no, let me think about it, and then spend years “discerning” whether he actually is asking you to follow him? In today’s story, Jesus asks a rich young man to leave everything and follow him, and the guy runs for his life. If you were in his place, wouldn’t you have done the same?

Over the years, I have realized that it isn’t easy to trust God. It’s far easier to trust people and things than to trust God. This isn’t because we don’t believe that he exists; it is just that it is much easier to trust things we can see, touch, and feel like people and possessions. Even when we seek comfort, we seek the arms of a man or woman rather than God.

Therefore, the more we have with us—people or possessions—the more our sense of security and the less our dependence on God. This is why Jesus said it is hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Because a rich man’s faith often lies in his money. Money becomes the rich man’s god. But there are other forms of riches. We can be rich with pride, rich with unhealthy relationships, and rich with “friends.” Social media, which links us with thousands of people (but connects us with few), can also make us feel rich.

As an atheist for 25 years, I have known the truth of this. And it was only when a day came when I lost everything I had — did I realize my faith was misplaced. Any security the world provided was illusory. And I started learning how to trust God. It’s a process of gradually letting go and discovering that he has you in his hands. I have repeated the same mistakes I made when I didn’t know God but came to the same realization: there is nothing the world can give. Except perhaps pain.

So, please think about your life as it is right now. You might be placing your faith in people or possessions. Both are fickle. God is not. Scripture says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He doesn’t change his mind as man does. He is loyal. He is faithful. And his word is true. So, start letting go of what you cling to, little by little, and put your trust in him. 

I promise you that he won’t let you down. He is a faithful God.

May the Spirit be with you.