Money Isn’t Bad

In Jewish culture, wealth was often associated with God's blessing. Those who accumulated wealth had supposedly obtained the favour of God. That's an important part of the context when we look at Jesus' exchange with the rich young ruler.

First, we need to realize that the young man's problem wasn't really a money issue, it was a heart issue. While he claimed to have honoured all of God's commandments, Jesus recognized a deeper form of idolatry.

Instead of complete dedication to God, he found it difficult to relinquish a large part of his heart to Him. When Jesus later told His disciples that it was "hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven," they were shocked (Matt. 19:23).

But Jesus didn't say it was impossible. It just takes a humble heart and a proper perspective on the good things God provides. Jesus never said it was wrong to own nice possessions, He just knew that it's wrong when our nice possessions own us.

In fact, many of the faithful people in the Bible were incredibly wealthy. For example, Abraham was a man of great wealth (Gen. 13:2), yet God never condemned him for it. Likewise, Job may have been the richest man of his era. After he lost everything, God didn't just replace it  -- He doubled it.

The Bible makes it clear that God doesn't see wealth as inherently evil, but He does look at the heart. As Paul told Timothy, the "love of money is the root of all evil" - not money itself -- leads to all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10).