Writers 
Many Christians think they know what Jesus taught about money, and most conclude that Jesus favored poverty and had very little good to say about wealth. Let us take a closer look at what Jesus and His apostles really taught about money. First, Jesus taught that the pursuit of wealth must never be our number one priority. Jesus gave us very solemn warnings about a love for money and the pursuit of money. He asked these questions: “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26).
Did Jesus teach that it was a sin for a person to be wealthy? No. Did Jesus say that all wealthy people are ungodly? No.
Rather, Jesus taught that we should not pursue money as our first priority.
It should never become a substitute for seeking the kingdom of God and righteousness.
Jesus also taught that those who make wealth their number one pursuit in life will find it very difficult to gain rewards in heaven. He said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to 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 (Matt. 19:23–24).
In the walled cities of Jesus’ time, the main gates were generally closed at nightfall. The gates were wide and tall, easily accommodating carts and camel caravans and a steady flow of two- way traffic. Built as part of the main gate of the city was a small gate just a little larger than the size of a doorway to a house. Through this small gate, a person might gain entrance to the city after dark. This smaller gate could easily be monitored and guarded. Because it was a gate within a gate, it was often called the “eye of the needle.
Could a camel get through such a small gate? Only with difficulty. To get a camel through an eye of the needle gate, its driver had to completely strip it of any goods that it was carrying. Then the camel had to get down on its knees and scoot, bit by bit, almost as if crawling, through the gate.
It took much effort to unload a caravan camel, much less to coax it through the small opening.
Jesus was teaching that for a rich man to gain heavenly reward, he would need to make a major effort at unburdening himself of a preoccupation with wealth and to humble himself to trust God for his security rather than trust in his money.
Never base your security on how much money you have in the bank or in mutual funds. Place your security only in the Lord. He is the One who never leaves you or forsakes you, and He is utterly reliable in any crisis. Jesus was never really concerned with how much money a person might have or not have. Rather, He was intensely concerned with the attitude toward money.
Second, Jesus taught that we err greatly when we hoard our wealth and fail to give generously.
One day a man came to Jesus and said, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”
And then Jesus said to the crowd, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.
Jesus went on to give this parable to the people gathered around Him:
The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, “What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops? So he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; thenwhose will those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16– 21)
Notice that the man said, “I have no room to store my crops.” He saw all that he had in terms of his crops and his goods and his bigger barn and his ease. He did not acknowledge God, who had allowed him to prosper.
Jesus called the man in His parable a fool not because he was wealthy, but because he had the wrong attitude about money. He was hoarding his riches and was not generous toward the things of the Lord.
In this same vein of teaching, Jesus said, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:19–2
