The Bible says, "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." We see it in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, where the love of money has closed off Scrooge's heart. And hasn't money shattered countless families throughout history?!

Apparently the dangers of money increase as we get more of it. Because few of us can resist the seductions of wealth. We fall into a money trap. All we want is more. No wonder Jesus says, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24).

When we hear that, we may think Jesus is talking about salvation and warning that wealth gets in the way. Because, if nothing else, having a pile of money can make us feel immune from everything, even from the justice of God. But I think Jesus may have something more immediate in mind: living the way of God's kingdom here and now.

Wealth can put the squeeze on us and keep us from living the way of God's kingdom. And, proportionally, people who have less tend to be more generous than people who have more. No wonder Jesus says to people who are poor, "Yours is the kingdom of God." Their generosity already fits.