The curse(?) of wealth

All my life I've seen wealth as a gift from God. After all, Abraham was rich, as were Isaac and Jacob. I don't know if the Bible ever comes out and says that Joseph and Moses were wealthy, but it's strongly implied. Solomon was famously rich, and it's hard to imagine that any of the kings of Israel or Judah was thought of as poor by his neighbors. Becoming wealthy (or wealthier) was a sign of God's favor.

One thing I always overlooked, though, was that these were all Old Testament examples. Under the New Covenant, things were different.

None of the apostles lived like a rich man, or was known for having a lot of money. Jesus himself, though he had been instrumental in creating the entire universe, had to borrow a coin for his "render unto Caesar" statement. He told one rich person to give away all he had, taught people to depend on God rather than money, and said it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Maybe my imagination is just too limited, but I can only think of one way to get a camel to through the eye of a needle, and it doesn't leave you with a functional camel when you're done.

What I get from what Jesus said is that money will keep you out of Heaven. It's far easier to trust money you can see over a God you can't, after all. Unfortunately, we aren't immortal yet., so Heaven is one of only two eternal destinations. The other is Hell.

Things that keep you out of Heaven and send you to Hell are not blessings, no matter how much fun they are now. If you think you've been blessed like that, please be sure you're right.