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 surmised, wrongly, that it meant
being rich was something to be avoided. Yeah, didn’t make much sense to
me either. Let’s look a little
deeper. Context being king; *many 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 perhaps a clearer translation would be: It is easier for a camel to pass 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 to them, only that it eventually comes off, the sooner the better. In this the camel seems wiser than us. Whether we are rich in physical possessions or not, we carry all sorts of baggage, impediments to entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Selfishness, hubris, spiritual pride, condemnation, bigotry (overt and subtle), hatred, self-centeredness, fear in a hundred guises are all examples of “possessions” that keep us locked in the bondage of self. Living on the Spiritual Basis we have become willing and ready to be free of this bondage, setting aside our possessions, performing the work daily to become and remain “poor in spirit.”
Poor in spirit does not mean poor spirited, conversely it means 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, finally realizing the truth of our connection and birthright as children of a loving Creator.
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, become truly poor in spirit, weightless, cart wheeling through the needle’s eye, somersaulting into the Kingdom of Heaven.
*Note: not all Bible historians and translators are agreed on this interpretation.
©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved
The Secret, Wayne Dyer,
ACIM, Heart’s Desire, Zen, Emmet Fox, How To Be Happy, Golden Key, NOTW,
Addicts Today, Chopra, Alanon, Healing Path Recovery, Sobriety Mentor,
Sobertec, Marianne Williamson