How To Be A Camel That Fits...
In the last message I talked about how this verse would make me cringe...
"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".
But 20 years later (I'm a little slow), I realized it wasn't the WHOLE story.
The truth is, Jesus hung out with the richest Jewish guys shunned by society, aka tax collectors.
Jesus ate with them, drank with them,
Jesus even told Zacchaeus,
"Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
So it turns out that being rich is not a mark of a lesser Christian,
Nor is it a scarlet letter of faith,
Nor is it a disadvantage.
HOWEVER...
Jesus was giving a big RED FLAG to warn us that money and wealth can be a very slippery slope if you are not FIRMLY grounded in Christ.
You can easily become arrogant, proud, selfish, judgemental and self-absorbed and start relying on your own strength more than God.
Wealth and success can possibly be the TOUGHTEST test of character.
It's like the teenage pop-star effect.
Most teens do not have the deep ROOTS in Christ required to withstand the corruption brought on by fame and fortune.
If you're not FIRMLY ROOTED in Christ, you will fall prey to the seduction of worldly values.
Look at corruption today whether it's politics, companies or individuals,
It is rooted in the lust for money and power.
So Jesus was being very practical in giving a fair WARNING about this.
He was not condemning wealth it as sin.
Having said that...
Certain people the gift of entrepreneurship, business, and growth.
Certain people are gifted with seeing opportunity and maximizing on it.
It's not an accident,
It's not a fluke,
It's by God's design.
God created CAMELS (entrepreneurs),
Camels designed to grow, build, succeed and be the light and salt of this world just like any other Christian,
But because this gift comes with such an alluring test and temptation,
We must be extra careful to FIRMLY ROOT ourselves in Jesus.
We must be on guard to seeking Him first,
Seek Him daily,
Seek Him diligently,
Uproot any possible seed of self-reliance, greed or pride,
Or we will easily give way to it's allure nature,
And chase worldly things before we know it.
May Jesus say to all my CAMELS out there...
"Today salvation has come to this house", just like He did with Zacchaeus, the head corrupt rich Jewish guy, aka the chief tax collector.
So let's reverse engineer a solution this by looking at the 3 big problems that wealth creates in people.
1) PRIDE
- Pride is the root of many vices and show up in behavior as hard to deal with, won't listen, want to do it their way, self-centered, judgmental, critical of others and unforgiving. Ask your spouse, kids or wise Godly counsel if you show any of these symptoms. They'll tell you. Spiritual check-up's rock.
2) IDOLATRY
- It's easy to make money your IDOL where you can hold onto it too much even when God is asking you to let go.
- You can start thinking more about the next deal or closing more than spending time with God. It happens slowly then suddenly. Beware.
3) IDENTITY
- Money can easily become part of your IDENTITY and self-worth. When you feel too uncomfortable about NOT having the nice house, car or name brand something, it may be a sign that you're too attached. It can creep up on you. Beware.
So...
What would it take to build a security system against this?
What would ensure that we can be a camel that FITS?
3 Strategies to Be a Camel that Fits:
1) READ the Bible specifically on pride, greed and idolatry.
- Build the security system of your mind and heart in God's word against pride by knowing the symptoms of it so clearly that the alarm goes off as soon as it tries to enter. Memorize verses so it is carved into the tablet of your heart. This will give Holy Spirit easy access to your heart so he can course correct early on and guide you back to Jesus. Here are some easy links for scriptures on each topic:
Scripture on Pride (click here)
Scripture on Greed (click here)
Scripture on Idolatry (click here)
2) PRAY diligently specifically around pride, greed and idolatry.
- Use the scripture from the previous strategy and pray while reading it, making specific requests to God on the things that hit home with you the most.
- Ask God to remove any success that isn't from Him and to only give you success that IS from Him.
- Build a defense system in prayer against pride, greed and idolatry. Ask Holy Spirit which one He wants you to pray into and how. He will guide you. "Holy Spirit, what do you want me to pray for and how?". Sit quiet and listen until you a thought emerges. Keep seeking and getting details.
3) FAST regularly to humble the flesh and ask God to keep you from pride, greed and idolatry.
- Fasting is the God appointed way to humble ourselves and it literally humbles our flesh as well as spiritually.
"WHEN you fast... WHEN you fast... your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." This is right after Jesus explains the Lords prayer saying "WHEN you pray...", meaning that just as any follower of Jesus would pray as a part of being a Christian, it is also assumed that any Christian should FAST regularly too. Why? Because our flesh is gnarly and naturally prideful and we need to humble in the way Jesus prescribed.
- Even our nation's history is deeply rooted in fasting and prayer as our forefathers recognized it as a way of earnesly seeking God and submitting ourselves to His will. (I have discussed in greater detail in a previous message.)
- For most my life I didn't know that there existed practices of regularly fasting for spiritual purposes once or twice a week. Yes, it's a "thing". Who'd a thunk it?
- When you fast, you should be intentional to seek God more by replacing your meal times with prayer, scripture and worship. The posture of your heart is focused on God.
- Ask "Holy Spirit, what do you have to say about fasting? Is it something you are calling me to do?"
- Scriptures on Fasting (click here)
After it's all said and done...
They key to being a CAMEL that FITS is keeping our eyes on Jesus.
Shortly after the verse about the camel and eye of a needle, He also said,
"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
It is POSSIBLE to be successful, wealthy AND be a Godly person. However, you can ONLY do it with God's help.
Left to our own efforts, we will FAIL.
Good intentions alone is not enough.
We must all be proactive, beware and be on guard.
"Dear Heavenly Father,
Purify this gift You have given me,
The gift of business,
The gift of growth,
The gift of success,
But let me use it for Your kingdom,
And Your kingdom ONLY.
Keep the success that draws me away from You far, far away,
Let me not be swayed by worldly values and desires,
Teach me to humble my flesh and my heart,
Teach me to submit my desires to You,
So that I may seek ONLY You,
In ALL that I do.
May my daily ACTIONS draw me closer to You,
May I live beyond good intentions and FOLLOW You,
May I STEP outside of my comfort zone and CLOSER to You.
Remove the things in my life that are NOT of You,
Test it with the fire of the Holy Spirit,
Burn away the deceitful things,
The selfish things,
The greedy things,
The gluttonous things,
And create a new heart in me.
Enable me to be a CAMEL that fits,
A CAMEL that is holy and pleasing to You,
Because with You ALL things are possible.
In Jesus name, Amen."
Listen...
God wants to to USE you.
He's got GREAT plans for you.
Let Him into your heart and surrender ALL.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Have an amazing day!
