do you want to be rich or comfortable?.............

A long time ago I read that one possible explanation for the saying was that "The Eye of the Needle" was the nickname of a very narrow gate in the walls of Jerusalem and that, for a camel to pass through it, you had first to unload it completely and take it's load through separately. In other words, it was possible for a camel to pass through the 'Eye of the Needle' but only once it had been divested of its 'riches' (= load). This seemed a very reasonable and meaningful explanation, the only problem being that there doesn't seem to be any other reference to a small gate with such a name in the time of Christ. More recently, I came across a passage in which it is stated that the Aramaic word for a camel, a large rope and a beam is the same - "gamla" and that the meaning was determined by context. Many of Jesus' disciples were fishermen and knew well how to make nets, repair sails and about the larger ropes used for rigging and mooring and for drawing in the nets. It would be a very logical and pertinent metaphor to use, therefore, and would mean a great deal to simple fisherfolk, to point out that it would be easier to thread a large rope through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom. Whatever the original meaning (and it's nice to speculate but not really so important when the import is clear enough), it is the entering of the Kingdom of Heaven which is the important part and it is not really the rich man (or the little child) who is the main object of the saying but the definition of the Kingdom. There are many sayings of Jesus which deal with defining the Kingdom of God (or the Kingdom of Heaven) - it is 'like a mustard seed' or it is something which one has to become 'as a child' to enter and, it would appear, is virtually impossible for a rich man to get into. Many religions, philosophers and theologians have put forward different interpretations of what it is - from an actual physical realm to an abstract spiritual or mental concept: something that exists within us. Whatever one's understanding of the meaning of the 'Kingdom of God/Heaven' (and the Hebrew and the Aramaic words, 'malkuth' and 'malkutha' seem to have been used more often to mean a political or territorial domain as we use the word in 'The Kingdom of Great Britain' or 'The Kingdom of Lebanon'), it is certainly a place where there are riches of a much more enduring kind than the worldly ones by which the rich man in the parable is defined. I think that comfort is not mentioned as one of the attributes, however, and what YOU mean by it as you ask the question (and what others mean by it when answering) may be different things: we speak of being 'comfortably off' - meaning not overly rich but not poor either - and we speak of a 'comfortable sofa' or 'home comforts' - meaning something other than than that which money can buy (though it may help); we also speak of 'comfort' and of 'being comforted' with the meaning of the giving and receiving of love and sympathy that makes us feel better when we are sad or distressed or hurt. If we take that sense, then 'comfortable' means 'being able to accept comfort' ... something that it is not always easy to do! What a wealth of meanings we can draw from these two words! They are not really mutually exclusive, if we choose the right ones. * Richness is not really a matter of mere money. It really means having all that we need (rather than all that we desire) and some to spare to be able to give to other people. * Being comfortable suggests that we are at ease in our place and in ourselves and may also mean that we are 'able to be comforted' when need be. Both being able to give graciously and being able to graciously receive are blessings. I would like to be both rich and comfortable - in the best meanings of the words - and that is why I believe in the Kingdom of Heaven and its existence on earth here and now and within us.

i would also prefer to be comfortable. but for me, in order to be comfortable means that you need to be rich first. from there, i will not going to worry about my bills, and stuffs that includes money. i would be comfortable. being rich doesn't mean that all you have to do is to get richer and much richer. it sometimes goes with the attitude of a person how to handle money.

I do not need to be rich. I would like enough money to pay the bills and have some extra left. Just having this would make me comfortable.

I prefer to be comfortable but that doesn't mean that I'll just sit down ,relax and do nothing anymore. I'll still work to the best of my abilities and try to save for for the future. You never know what will happen right? ;)

Interesting question. I'd be honest, I want to be rich. Who doesn't? =) But yes you are correct as well about being comfortable. As long as we have food on our plate, clothes, education and roof over our head then we'd be okay. But then again, we also long for the goodlife, travelling and buying stuff we can't afford right now.

I know what it is like to be rich. My mom never worked a day in her life. My dad worked for IBM. When we moved, the house was always paid for in full. When he brought the Suburban, fully paid for. My mom could stock the frig, freezer, and pantry full of food and then take me and my dad out to eat at Chillies. Go ahead and eat all the chips, ice cream or what ever. She didn't mind going to the store three times a week. Being rich, you really don't enjoy the finer things in life. You keep on going out buying stuff and trying to get richer. Yet, you are not enjoying the things you have. I'd like to just be comfortable. With being comfortable, you learn to enjoy what you have and not what you don't have. All I need in life is to have just enough money to keep a roof over my head, pay my bills, keep cloths on my back, and food on the table. But, the biggest comfort of all is: **JUST HAVING ENOUGH LOVE TO GO AROUND THE WORLD** Being rich, you tend to forget how to love.

both, its hard to achieve new milestones while always remaining in ones comfort zone.

I really like your saying but your'e right I would like to comfortable but have enough money to buy the things I need I don't have to be rich to do that. cd

I am the same, it doesn't need much to satisfy me. I don't want to have all that money that i can't keep, plus, having that amount of money would keep bothering me as well. I don't really want to be rich, just want enough so that i can have a cheerful and comfortable life with my family and also provide others when they need it. That would keep me satisfied. A lot of money isn't a good thing for me, lol. Rich people are obsessed with money and they always want to go out get something for themselves i guess. I don't know if they would ever be content with what they have. The main reason it is said like that in The Bible is because, rich people always seem to be self sufficient in life and they never bother to even think about God.

hello Linda4ualways, I would like to have both but if I had to pick one it be comfortable. If I was too rich peopel would be really jealous and my friends would probably treat me differntly too. If I had no worries that would be rich to me. Ohh what a feelign that would be no worrries. Thanks and have a great day! Sincerely unique16

Here i wanna state that comfortable life depends on richness in material life.Without enough money(of course not "rich" as you said),It's hard for us to live comfortablely.For me,If it is allowed,I will choose to be a millionair and live a comfortable life.Maybe i'm a greedy LOL~

I remembered I read a bible about a rich man entering a hole of needle. I am not same him but I want to comfort in my own house that is not needing money or hard work.

I don't want to be in dumps over money problems, which means i can buy whatever i want, eat whatever i like, travel to some places i dream of, and be comfortabel. however i'm not greedy, cuz a greedy man never knows about satisfaction and he would never be comfortale in mind

yes this is true . in every case we all say we waanna rich but i dont . i just wannna comfortable . its about me . yes itssssssssssssssssssss about me

I grew up on a farm and I think it gives you a different set of values....I would be happy being comfortable. I don't think rich is the best thing....I also think greed can be a mental illness....it eats at some to have more and they will do anything to get it...including destroying other people or stealing money from others.

I wouldn't want to be rich. I feel as though the richer you are the more problems you will have. The comfortable life is best. As long as I don't have to be Living from paycheck to paycheck I'm alright. A long as I can provide for my family and I that's fine for me. Having to much money will just cause trouble. I believe people that are rich are never truly happy. If you see a smile on their faces it's only because they probably just bought something to make themselves feel good for another few days. But they are making a big mistake, money however cannot buy happiness. Therefore, I rather live my life comfortably.

To be honest, both options would be fine by me! But if you think about it, comfortable is all you really need, so it is kind of greedy to wish for more than that.

its better to live comfortable than to be rich.

I'd rather be rich. There is only so much miscomfort I could have when I could purchase anything I needed to be comfortable. As far as the camel saying, I figure I'll take my chances, because people without money can go to hell. If I suffer eternal damnation, at least I had a good life the first go-around.

God said that in the Bible because he would like to warn us that money is one of the most evil thing on Earth and it will cause us to betray our beloved ones, doing evil things like stealing to get the money, etc. Therefore, he said that to remind us that we should stay away from that temptation. I would prefer to have comfort and a happy life. Some people will say that money can bring them happiness but I think that money can only satisfy our materialistic life at most but not our mental needs. Only support from our families and friends can have the power to do that. Hence, I would like to have comfort so that I can enjoy my life on Earth because money is not the most important thing to me. I just need enough of them but not a lot of them as they cannot buy love from my family and friends.