Matthew 23:24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
This may sound bizarre, but see if you can follow my logic:
- Wealth and power gives us the freedom to choose where to direct attention
- Spiritually, this enables us focus on the “gnats” we control instead of the “camels” that control us
- We need something that will force us to strain out those deadly camels, even if it means swallowing embarrassing gnats
- The eye of a needle is exactly what Jesus said it was impossible for a camel to pass through!
- Therefore we should be using our wealth to buy those needles!
- (Specifically: relational structures and disciplines that force us to confront our deep spiritual sins, rather than shallow legalistic ones)