The Distraction of Money

9/8/14          Jose            about 35

I stopped to initiate a Gospel conversation at a park on my way home from work.  I often run into recent immigrants from Mexico there who have been unsuccessful in securing a day job at a nearby Home Depot and have decided to pass the rest of the day in the park.  One such man today was Jose, who answered my question about his beliefs about eternity by saying he believed in heaven but as for hell he said “Estamos en infierno ahora! (We are in hell right now!)”. Now I understand that questions about eternity are often the last thing on a person’s mind who is desperately needing something like a job or a home or healing.  I understand that many people think that as Christians we should devote our efforts to these issues so that people might then be able to consider the Gospel, and in fact I have become a teacher serving low income students for that very reason.  But if we wait until people are financially comfortable before expecting them to hear the message of the Gospel, we will end up frustrated and disappointed.  Jesus said “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.”  (Matt 19)  Having money can be more of a distraction than a lack of money is.  God works during all the peaks and valleys of life, and we need to faithfully do so too.