UNLOAD THAT CAMEL

I don’t remember how old I was or when this simile first stuck in my consciousness but I do remember thinking that it meant rich people were screwed. 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 (Mark 10:25). Well, I have yet to see a camel small enough or a needle big enough for this to happen, so I guess if you are rich, it sucks to be you. Yeah, didn’t make much sense to me either. Let’s look a little deeper. Context being everything; cities at the time of this saying were surrounded by high thick walls with large gates to facilitate traffic in and out of the city. At night the large gates would be closed and small gates opened. These gates were known as the needle’s eye. So had this been translated correctly it would have read: It is easier for a camel to go through the needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Camels could be brought through the needle’s eye, but it required unloading them first. This is the crux of the teaching. Camels don’t care what they are carrying, rocks or gold, makes no difference, only that it eventually comes off. We on the other hand hold onto baggage that needs to be left by the side of the road. Whether we are rich in physical possessions or not we own all sorts of things that are impediments to entering the kingdom of God. Selfishness, hubris, condemnation, bigotry (overt and subtle), self centeredness, fear in a hundred guises are all examples of “possessions” that keep us bound in the bondage of self. Living on the Spiritual Basis we have become willing and ready to be free of this bondage and are doing the work daily to remain “poor in spirit.” Poor in spirit does not mean poor spirited, but that we have unburdened ourselves of our baggage by a simple reliance on “Our Father”, turning in all things to Him who has all knowledge and power. So if you are trudging the road of happy destiny weighed down by your possessions, cast off your pack and leave it by the side of the road and join us, become truly poor in spirit, cart wheeling through the needle’s eye, somersaulting into the kingdom of God.