Jesus held that it was easier for a man to be a Christian if he did not have many possessions. Wealth might not be unlawful, but certainly it was dangerous. Riches might be nobly and worthily used, but it took a special measure of God’s grace to do it. It is here that the main emphasis of Jesus’ teaching about money falls. Again and again it is the peril of the things that we dwells upon. It is apt to give a man a false sense of security. It indisposes him to the acceptance of a sacrificial life. It tends to tone down his moral standards and blunt the edge of conscience. It may become a man’s master passion, a thing he bows down to and worships, thus usurping the place of God himself. There is no mistaking the note of solemn warning in the words, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24). Riches, said Jesus, are a terrible temptation; thank God if you do not have to meet it!

   Finally, Jesus always reminded men that the best things of life cannot be bought or sold. He said that a “man’s life”—the inmost secret or existence, the radiant, throbbing splendor that God intended for all his children—“consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15). You cannot buy love or a quiet conscience or the laughter of little children or the care of the heavenly Father. The great things, the things that make life, are not for purchase; they are “without money and without price,” and have nothing to do with wealth at all. But they have everything to do with a man’s self-surrender to God and his acceptance of the yoke of Jesus.

The Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ - James Stewart