MosesSole

Q4. (Matthew 11:12; Luke 16:16) Admittedly, this is a hard passage to interpret. However, if you take the "forceful" or "violent" people as seekers who are doing whatever it takes to press into the Kingdom, then what is Jesus teaching us here about the nature of the Kingdom? I'm quite surprised by this fact. I never knew that there was violence, and a coup d'etat happening in Heaven. I also don't under why Jesus is encouraging people to force their way into the Kingdom. Isn't this telling us that how we are in life is ultimately not going to affect where we end up in afterlife, if we can just force ourselves into Heaven?

Q2. (Matthew 6:33) What does it mean in verse 33 to "seek first his Kingdom"? What does it mean to "seek first … his righteousness"? Well if you're a disciple of Jesus, the requirement is that you give up your worldly possessions and follow him. The teaching, as I understand it, is to seek the Kingdom, and all the righteousness that God imparts for His children. Basically, it's the idea that you surrender yourself to God for everything-- food, clothes, etc-- and God will provide you with all that you need. How can we both seek the Kingdom and support our families? What is the promise found in verse 33? Honestly, I don't know how realistic this is in our current society. If we stopped working, we would get evicted and be on the line at the food pantry. I think there's a verse in the Bible that says God helps those that help themselves, and we have to be mindful of being self-sufficient enough not to get put out on the street while still putting God first in our hearts. This is likely the more logical option since being homeless does not make you more God-loving. It would make you bitter and stressed out not knowing where to rest your head. There is an underlying assumption that poor people are better at putting God first, more so than people with jobs and money. I think this is an unfair assumption. Never judge a book by it's cover, and as such, do not judge a person by the size of their wallets.

Q1. (Matthew 6:24) Jesus seems to make it sound like you can't seek wealth and God simultaneously. Does he really mean this? Is this hyperbole? Figurative? Literal? I think Jesus does mean that we can't be seeking wealth while serving God. I'm not sure that working to be prosperous in your work, is the same thing as having money as your Master. But I do think that this is literally what Jesus means-- if you're seeking prosperity, money has become your Master, therefore, you are likely not putting God first. I don't agree with this assumption. Can wealthy people serve God in actual fact? Absolutely, and in fact, wealthy people can serve God 100 times better than those who are poor and devoid of assets. If you're a small farmer with only tools to work your land, you might produce abundant crops, but only a small portion of that can go to honor God because majority of the earning from your harvest will need to go to feed your family. A successful farmer might have several tractors, horses, vehicles and hired hands which would produce 100 times the amount of harvest than that of the less successful farmer. Providing that both farmers are equally pious and God-loving, it would be a gross injustice to anyone to be assumed unfit to serve the Lord, just because he has wealth. It's possible that the wealthy farmer could use the overflow from his crops, to donate to the local churches; he might even build a new church to honor the Lord that brought him so much prosperity. One should not assume based on someone's finances, whether they are rich or poor.

I, too, find it difficult to rejoice in pain and suffering but I wonder if the question is referring to the act of being persecuted, rather than rejoicing in, or "finding pleasure in the pain." Merrian Webster defines persecuted as a verb, "to harass or punish in a manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict specifically: to cause to suffer because of belief." So we are right to feel uncomfortable with rejoicing in the act of being "punished and injured," but perhaps the question is actually asking us, Is there a reward of being persecuted?