Reginald Cuffee

Ever since I have been studying prosperity and success, I have found that one of the greatest blocks that many people have about financial prosperity is the core belief that having an abundance money or material wealth is not spiritual.

This belief is very pervasive in the world, and it is having a detrimental effect on the quality of most people lives.   Many people have been conditioned by organized religion which propagated this belief through the centuries.

If you have been raised in the Christian faith or Churchianity as I called it, you may have hear or read the verse in the bible which states:

“It be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24).

Because of the misinterpretation of this verse, many people are using this  verse in the bible as their excuse for choosing not to be rich or wealthy (financial prosperous).   But, as with all truths, clarification can clear up the confusion.

This verse like many of the verses in the bible was not meant to be translated literally, but metaphorically.  When this verse is taken literally, it is quite obvious that a camel can not could not pass through the eye of needle, but Christ had an entirely different meaning.  Christ was not telling us that rich people can’t enter the Kingdom of God or material riches are evil and rich people are bad.  However, many people who reads or hears this verse make the classic mistake of relating riches in this verse to having MONEY and MATERIAL WEALTH, but this  is an incorrect translation. 

So what did Christ mean?  

When Christ used the words “rich man”, he was referring to you and me because we are all rich.  You may not agree with the idea that you are rich, but the truth is - if you have attachments to you material possessions or you get your identity (who you believe your are) from your material possession and material wealth, you are rich in Ego, and this is what Christ was alluding to in that verse. 

Your Ego is the veil that keeps you separate from your True Self, and if you desire to enter the inner Kingdom and experience peace, joy, and love, you must not be attached to your possession to the point that you are possessed by your possessions.  Although most people tend to associate attachment in terms of physical objects such as money, cars, or houses, it can also apply to mind-states.  These mind-states include attachments such as  your self concept, your limiting beliefs, your victim story, your negative attitude, your poverty consciousness, and your negative emotions. 

As long as you remain attached to any limiting idea created by your Ego, you are a rich man or woman who will find it difficult to enter the Kingdom.  Remember, Christ did not say it was impossible to enter the Kingdom, just it is more difficult and hard.  So the moral of this story is that, it is ok to have material wealth, but it is detrimental to you spiritual growth if you become attached to it or if you get you identity from it. 

Note, when Christ speaks of Heaven or Kingdom of God, he is referring to the recognition of oneness.  Of course if people are constantly chasing material things, like money, fame, etc, they can never feel that oneness because the Ego always want more and always create the feeling of duality - Me, My, Them,  I have, or I  Don’t have, etc.

If you are currently clinging to your riches or finding your identification with it, let go of it.  I know this is can be very difficult for some people because you believe what you “own” is who you are;  therefore, you may not be willing to give it up.  If you let it go, who would you Be?

Namaste,

RC

written by Reginald Cuffee