Why did Lord Jesus say: "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 19:23)
The Lord Jesus Christ -- who is God -- knows that wealth can and does become a huge stumbling block to many people. Firstly, there is the question of greed. The rich believe that there is no limit to the amount of wealth they should acquire. The millionaires want to be multimillionaires, while the multimillionaires want to be billionaires. Once they reach that goal, they want to be multibillionaires ad infinitum.
Then there is the question of power. Money is all societies is power, so the more money people have the more worldly power they control. Unfortunately the majority of billionaires today have no interest in using their billions to do good. Quite the reverse, They commit their wealth to evil. They all want to undermine their own countries and destroy the livelihoods of the ordinary citizen. And they all want to establish Communism and Fascism in the same countries which enabled them to become rich.
Then there is the question of ethics. Too many billionaires have become rich through shady dealings, corruption, and manipulation of politicians. And politicians have become rich by stealing tax dollars and indulging in insider trading. Then we have the crime families which have tremendous influence in all societies. While the Sicilian mafia faded away, other mafias replaced them, and the Biden crime family has never been held accountable.
Then there is the question of priorities. If money is a person's top priority, then according to Scripture it becomes idolatry, for "covetousness is idolatry" (Col 3:5). And God pronounces a woe upon covetousness:
Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! (Hab 2:9)
And since idolatry means having and worshiping other gods than the one true God, the rich generally have little time for the eternal welfare of their souls. As a result the Rich Young Ruler described in the New Testament walked away from Christ and His salvation. Also the parable of the rich man whose life was snuffed out even while he was counting his "chickens" shows what happens when wealth and earthly possessions become the sole motivators of individuals. In the narrative of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Rich Man had absolutely no interest in the welfare of others until he landed in Hades, Then he was anxious about his brothers who remained alive on earth.
In view of all this, Jesus said that it is almost impossible for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God. In the above passage "hardly" means with great difficulty. Not impossible but highly improbable.
This does not automatically mean that wealth is evil. However, it does mean that THE LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil. Yet there are Christians who have been wealthy but did not love their wealth. As we see in the book of Acts and the epistles, many wealthy Christians invested their wealth in helping the poor and needy Christians and for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God on earth. They also opened their homes to the saints and to missionaries and evangelists. There is no doubt that Peter and Andrew. as well as James and John. had become wealthy through their fishing industry. But they forsook all and followed Christ, who promised to make them fishers of men. So many Christians also give up their wealth and seek to serve God exclusively. But Christ said that they would be amply rewarded in the afterlife. Indeed the twelve apostles were promised twelve throne for ruling the twelve tribes of Israel in the Kingdom of God.
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