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As a life-long business owner and a follower of Christ for most of my adult life, the Biblical story of “The Rich Young Ruler” has always been puzzling if not alarming. In the story, a young man approaches Jesus and asks what he must do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells him to sell what he owns, give the money to the poor and follow Him. The young man went away dejected because he was very wealthy. Jesus then tells His disciples, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven.”

 

A few questions come up. What is rich? What is heaven? Do I need to sell everything and give to the poor to become a follower of Jesus? And are we talking about a regulation size camel and a regular needle? Was Jesus even serious?

 

The purpose of this book is to address some of these questions. In the process I think it is important to understand how the world’s economies work and the various systems that have been in place in the past three or four thousand years. What is money? Where does it come from, and what does it mean to us? It is important to look at feudalism, slavery, socialism, and capitalism and how they work together or have influenced our culture though the centuries.

 

I also want to look at some issues surrounding riches that we can use for self-examination – things such as greed, selfishness, luxury, and gluttony, as well as the solutions such as generosity and caring for others.

 

I have added a few questions at the end of each section that I hope will stimulate conversation or bring up your own ideas. The intent is to start a conservation among you and your friends or maybe just between you and God, to better understand some of these issues that control so much of our lives.

 

Jim Mathis