Monday, February 13, 2012

Possessions and Toys: Do They Own Us, or We Them?

When asked by a ‘rich man’ if he could join the disciples, the rabbi supposedly said, “It is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Was Jesus prejudiced against rich people? Was he against wealth and possessions? Not really, only if they – wealth and possessions, owned us, instead of us owning them; only if we identified too strongly with them, confused them for our identity, for who we are, was the rabbi against them. And who are we really, spiritual beings having an earthly experience or earthly beings having spiritual experiences?

At a practical level, I think Jesus the rabbi meant that it is easier to do the impossible than to move forward into a new idea while maintaining a belief in an old one. Surrendering the old belief is essential in order to move into a new reality.

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