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The Eye of the Needle
by L Cruz III2006
(Under Construction)
I consider this topic to be particularly fascinating and powerful.
Something you may find humorous is that, because Christianity is filled with so many life-changing details and elements, I often find my mind filling up with new information as the old stuff leaks out. That is one reason why these articles come in handy. When I forget something, I simply reread relevant ones in hopes of getting me back on track.
In my opinion, this article, “the Eye of the Needle” covers one of the most important topics in a Christian’s walk. I hope you will come to the same discovery.
Let us begin our exploration by presenting two scriptural excerpts. Our goal here is to identify a common theme so that we may answer the following question, "What is one of the forces that can keep a person from entering the Kingdom of God?"
In the scripture entitled “The Rich Young Man” Jesus is approached by a man who fits the title. He tells Jesus that he wants to know what good things he can do to earn eternal life. The man says he has always lived by the commandments, but he still wants to know what he lacks. Jesus tells the rich man that if he wants to be perfect, he should sell everything he has then give to the poor. Now, let us read what happens next.
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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." (Matthew 19:22-24)
Now let us move on to the next excerpt of scripture. It is short and sweet.
For the love of money is the root of all of evil. (1 Timothy 6:10)
Were you able to identify the common spiritual theme? What is one of the forces that can keep a person from entering the Kingdom of God?
It’s money, right?
No. (I must admit that I threw somewhat of a curveball.)
The force that can keep a person from entering the kingdom of God is attachment!
The key word in the scripture of the rich young man is “sad”. By walking away saddened he demonstrated to Jesus his attachment to money. Had the young man owned an abundance of sheep, or apples or yarn or anything else, a sad departure would have prompted a similar lesson by Jesus.
In 1 Timothy 6:10, money isn’t the root of all evil…the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Yet again we see attachment.
This is a powerful lesson that requires serious and honest contemplation if spiritual growth is to occur.
ATTACHMENT IS ROOTED IN FEAR
If you have had a chance to read the article "Who is God" then you already know that the opposite of LOVE is FEAR. (I do not consider hate to be the root opposition to love because hate is also rooted in fear...fear is the true culprit.)
People become attached to various things of this world for a multitude of reasons, but the very act of such attachment is in itself rooted in fear
THE MONKEYS
When poachers want to catch a monkey, they drop food into the bottom of a bottle or a hollowed out gourd. That device is then tied to something sturdy like a tree. Once the monkey discovers the vessel and sticks its hand into the opening, all the poachers have to do is walk up and collect the creature. While seeing the humans may inspire panic in the monkey, rarely if ever does it break free from the trap.
But, why? If the opening was large enough for a monkey to stick its hand in, wouldn’t it also be large enough to pull its hand back out again? Yes. But, the opening is only wide enough for an empty hand.
The monkey refuses to let go of the food. It gets trapped by its own attachment. It decides to rely upon its own stubborn intellect in the moment rather then the reality that the jungle is littered with other food.
WE’RE THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT
We, like monkeys, must learn to detach ourselves from the trap.
Remember that detachment does not mean that having things (including money) is bad. Nor does it insinuate that we ought to become calloused or indifferent towards others. God put us on this earth and in our bodies and surrounded us with things we need for a reason. In fact, CS Lewis once wrote, “God loves matter, He invented it.”
So, if matter is ok, then why is attachment such a problem?
The problem lies in the fact that we often attach our self worth and/or emotional states to things of the flesh (of this world). We think our lives are better if we have nicer cars, clothes or jewelry. And what happens when we attach ourselves to things? Not only can we pull them closer to us, they can pull us closer to them. So, in relation to the "young rich man", his spiritual success was completely dependent upon his ability to detach himself from his money and attach himself to God through the needs of others.
It wasn't the money itself that was bad it was the man's attachment to his money that was the problem. However, there is more.
OUR RULES
Picture this. It is the end of the work day, you’re on your way home and traffic is thick. While everyone on the highway is sharing the same four lanes, each car is going to a unique destination. This means that lane changes are a reality. You know this.
Suddenly, a car with a flashing turn signal “cuts” in front of you. In all honesty, he wasn’t close enough to hit you, nor was there a need to use your brake. Nevertheless, in a bout of overly dramatic anger you hit your brake anyway. While donning a quite visible scowl you discovered yourself hoping the driver will look in his mirror to notice your displeasure.
But why…what really happened here? If you were not in any danger, and you knew the rules of the highway, why then did you get angry and act out at all?
You got trapped by attachment! But, rather than a dollar, a possession or a fruit, you emotionally attached yourself to a rule that you created all on your own…a rule of the highway. It states:
'Hear ye, hear ye! I will attach my identity, my emotional state and my self worth to the following rule. Even when drivers use their blinkers, they should never change lanes in front of me.’
Once this rule (that you confused with your self worth) was violated, your response was nonsequitous. It was filled with anger, as if it were necessary to defend yourself from attack.
For those of you who may believe that such frustration is really the result of attachment, ask yourself the following question; do you react the same way on Friday?
TRENDS & PUBLIC OPINION
There are some who believe that the next hippest thing or coolest social trend is the way to happiness. Before you know it they become trapped in an endless pursuit for the newest fashions, best cars, nicest furs, flashiest jewelry, swankiest friends, and some even resort to plastic surgery.
Please understand that none of these objects are technically “bad.” However, if a person becomes internally attachment to the fierce social currents driven by shallow materialism, spiritual death may be the result.
We often see this behavior in teens. Having been one (many years ago) I understand the pain associated with this issue all to well.
Can you imagine what would have happened if Jesus had caved to the trends or popular opinions of the day?
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
Negative emotions are a biggie for all of us!
Don't forget that God is always right beside you. He is always there. Period! Unfortunately, when a person becomes attached and pulled by their negative emotions they fail to notice God’s presence. They tell themselves things like, 'I hope today is a good day so I can be close to God.'
No!
Hogwash!
God is always there, ready and willing to help us! It is a simple truth. A blue sky is always a blue sky, no matter how we feel about it.
While negative emotions are very real, 99.999 times out of 100 the situations that trigger them are not real.
When you find yourself being pulled by your negative emotions, it is time to search, reevaluate and destroy many of the rules to which you are attached...the rules that you have convinced yourself are true or just. Try working hard on letting IS be IS and nothing more!
Remember that negative emotions and God's truth are two different things!
SELF ESTEEM
People who are negatively attached are usually of the common, yet tragic, mindset that they are only as good as the things they have or what others say about them. This is not true.
If the things you have could speak, they would beg to be you for a single day. You have life and they do not.
SELFISH ATTACHMENT
I know people who are so attached to their own desires (which are attached to and misguided by rules, emotions and/or objects of the flesh) that they completely ignore the desires of others. They often say or do anything they want whenever they want with little regard to those around them. Then, they act personally violated if others do not agree with the plans.
IS THERE GOOD ATTACHMENT?
Yes! Be attached to God. And Who is God? God is love (among other things). Be attached to God. Be attached to love. Be attached to compassion. Be attached to charity. Be attached to the Greatest Commandment!
Don’t forget that when we become attached to something, we can not only pull that “something” closer to us, but that “something” can also pull us closer to it. Use your faith to pull God closer to you then watch as He pulls you closer to Him. It really works!
He will guide you through your life and it will be amazing!
AND FINALLY...
As counter-intuitive as this may sound, I hope this message gets through to us all (me included). People can even become tragically attached to things as wonderful and beautiful as SCRIPTURE.
We can become so rigid in our attachment that we convince ourselves that scripture is the end, rather than a means to the greater end…a personal relationship with God.