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Conversion of A Rich Man - Luke 19
Conversion of A Rich Man - Luke 19
Besides being short, which I can relate to, Zaccheus was a rich tax collector. Jesus had warned his disciples earlier: “For 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." (Luke 18:25) Add to this, his teaching about the rich man and Lazarus and the rich fool (Luke 12:16), and other warnings!
Yet, here is the story of a rich man who became a disciple! With God all things ARE possible, but for people, especially rich people, even these things may come with difficulty! The problem is simply the deceitfulness of riches! Quickly, having such generates TRUSTING SUCH. Having such can easily generate A LOVE for such! And since the ‘love of money is the root of all sorts of evil’, such love forces one to choose: God or Riches! You can NOT serve both! AND you WILL serve one or the other.
Zaccheus was among the few! He showed this by giving away ½ of his possessions AND was willing to pay-back four times as much if he had defrauded anyone. (Interestingly enough, the Law only demanded full-repayment plus 1/5th more – Lev 6:5; Num 5:7). I am afraid that such stories often cause people to think “I am like Zaccheus’ and ‘I can handle the having of riches’. Most prove they are not and can not!
The most sane prayer concerning such was Prov. 30:8-9: “(8) Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, (9) That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.” I pray that I can, like Paul, learn “to be content in whatever circumstances I am”, content to SERVE GOD (cp. Phil. 4:10-12). Be careful in this, it is extremely dangerous!
Hugh DeLong
