6:24-26
Unlike the Beatitudes in Matthew, the blessings here followed by a list of woes. They are essentially the opposite of the blessings. Those who are rich in this world have already received comfort. Now this does not mean it is wrong to be rich, and we in the West need to listen to this very carefully. It is easy for us to think that the rich are just the super-rich, or some who proclaim a prosperity gospel while exploiting others, often the poor. The truth is that in global terms most of us in the West are “rich”, certainly middle class Christians are.
The succeeding woes should certainly make it clear that being rich is not a sin, for if it is then so is being well-fed, laughing (though there are some Christians who seem to consider it a sin to laugh :-)), and wrong to receive any praise at all. This is not what Jesus is saying. What He is saying is that we are not to judge our lives by our present circumstances. If we are well off in some way that does not mean we are blessed by God. Conversely, if we are going through a hard time that does not mean God is against us. We are to judge our lives by how well, or otherwise, we are serving God. God may well bless us in worldly terms at times, equally following Christ may involve us in suffering at times.
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