“…And Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man 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 a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” (Mt 19: 23-26)
In our part of the world, many of us have more than enough, in terms of food, clothing, housing, and material comfort. This kind of affluence can lead to a false sense of self-sufficiency, and a complacency with respect to God, as if He were “unnecessary.” Our relative affluence also contributes to our widespread spiritual afflictions, like addictions or disorders related to (overindulgence in, or misuse of) food, alcohol, and various forms of entertainment Many of us struggle not with under-nourishment, but obesity; not with a lack of things, but with “hoarding.” These are the problems of “rich” people. Because it is “hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
“But with God all things are possible.” And many people re-discover Him today, by His grace, through these very spiritual afflictions, – our various addictions. When we are confronted with our own powerlessness in a crippling or even life-threatening addiction, we begin to “need” a Power greater than ourselves; we begin to seek God’s help, to pull us out of our rut. Glory be to Him, Who finds us even in the darkest places of our affluence, bringing us back on the path of “salvation” or “recovery.”
