Perspective: Not a Country Club

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Not a Country Club

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:3 (NRSV)

There's a lady who's sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for

From "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin

I can recall, in my thirty-six years of life, going to a country club only twice.  On one occasion, I was invited by relatives to either a birthday party or an anniversary party that was held at a country club.  On another occasion, I was invited to by an acquaintance.  For many years, my grandmother sewed curtains, and one day one of her recurring clients, who happened to be a member of a country club, once invited my grandmother and I to join her there for lunch.  I had just graduated from high school, and this client wanted to offer me some advice regarding college and scholarships.

What both of my experiences at country clubs have in common is that I was invited.  I was not a member.  Not all country clubs are the same, but what they all have in common is that memberships are expensive.  Yearly dues are in the thousands of dollars.  To be a member of a country club, one must have a significant amount of disposable income.  For this reason, most people don't have memberships to country clubs.

In the Gospels, we read that the Kingdom of God can be compared to a lot of things.  One time, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a vineyard owner who pays all of his harvesters the same amount, whether they worked one hour or twelve hours.¹  At another time, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed, some yeast, a treasure hidden in a field, and a pearl merchant.²  One thing to which the Kingdom of God cannot be compared is a country club.  In fact, the Kingdom of God is very much the opposite.  To join a country club, one must have wealth, but, according to Jesus, the Kingdom of God is a place where wealth is actually a hindrance.

One day, Jesus says to the Disciples, "I assure you that it will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.  In fact, it's easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God's kingdom."³  There are different interpretations regarding what Jesus meant when He referred to "a camel" or "the eye of a needle," but basically Jesus is suggesting that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.

William Barclay suggests that "riches encourage a false independence."⁴  He writes,

If people are wealthy, they are apt to think that everything has its price, that if they want a thing enough they can buy it, that if any difficult situation descends upon them they can buy their way out of it.  They can come to think that they can buy their way into happiness and buy their way out of sorrow.⁵

Before Jesus describes how difficult it is for wealthy people to enter the Kingdom of God, He is approached by a rich man who asks Him, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?"⁶  As a man of means, he seems to have a "country club" mindset.  He thinks that there is something he can do - some price he can pay - to gain admission to the Kingdom that Jesus has been describing.  Wealth seems to open doors in the kingdoms of this world, but it apparently closes doors in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus instructs the rich man to rid himself of his wealth, saying, "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor.  Then you will have treasure in heaven.  And come follow me."  The rich man walks away, dejected.⁷

Upon hearing that it is extremely difficult for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God, one of the shocked Disciples asks, "Then who can be saved?"  Jesus replies, "It's impossible for human beings.  But all things are possible for God."⁸  Wealthy people focus on what their wealth makes possible for them, but Christ calls us to focus instead on what God makes possible for us.

If the rich man had followed Jesus' instructions, he would have lost not only his wealth but also his independence, but he would have gained something else, a newfound dependence on God.  Barlcay writes,

The basis of all Christianity is an urgent sense of need; when people have many things on earth, they are in danger of thinking that they do not need God; when they have few things on earth, they are often driven to God because they have nowhere else to go.⁹

Behind the pursuit of wealth is perhaps a pursuit of independence.  In other words, we want the means to do the things we want to do.  The Kingdom of God is nothing like the kingdoms of this world, so we need to change our mindset.  In other words, we need to repent.  There is nothing we can do to purchase admission into God's Kingdom or in any way entitle ourselves to it.  We are fully dependent on Christ's invitation.


Notes:

1. Matthew 20:1-16
2. Matthew 13:31-33, 44-46
3. Matthew 19:23-24 (CEB)
4. William Barclay.  The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew, Volume Two.  2001, Saint Andrew Press.  p. 253
5. Barclay, p. 254
6. Matthew 19:16 (CEB)
7. Matthew 19:21-22 (CEB)
8. Matthew 19:25-26 (CEB)
9. Barclay, pp. 255-256

The photograph of Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California was taken by Dan Perry and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.