#eye of a needle

[just-bible-musings]

*exasperated sigh* No, that's NOT what the Bible says.

And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:24

Jesus may not be referring to a literal "eye of a needle". There are stories of a narrow gate in Jerusalem with a very low doorway called the Needle's Eye. You couldn't ride your camel through it. You had to go out in front of your camel and lead it through, make it get down on its knees and pretty much crawl. Which means you had to be extremely patient, because, of course, camels are notoriously stubborn, and they are not meant to walk on their knees.

The story of the Needle's Eye Gate may or may not be true. No one's ever been able to empirically prove or disprove it. If it is true, then the metaphor is obvious: you can't get to heaven standing up, or on your own. You have to humble yourself and let Jesus lead you.

Even if the Needle's Eye Gate wasn't real, Jesus still isn't saying it's impossible for rich people to go to heaven, just difficult, because they don't want to give up anything in their lives for Jesus (which is what salvation is all about). Here's the full passage:

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

There was a common misconception back then (and today, but I digress) that riches are an indicator of God's favor towards a person. Jesus disproves that notion in this passage. The rich man was also very legalistic. He thought that because he followed all the rules and had lots of stuff, that God must love him more than most. Jesus told him it doesn't work that way- salvation isn't based on following the rules, but on giving up everything and following Him (John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-9).

When His disciples expressed shock at the statement that rich people have so much trouble entering the kingdom of God (because, again, they had always been told that wealth is a sign of God's favor), Jesus calmed them by saying, "with God all things are possible." If all things are possible with God, then it is possible for a rich man to be saved; BUT they must be willing to risk losing EVERYthing when they choose to follow Him.

Paul says this in 1 Timothy 6:

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

He's not condemning riches but the desire for riches ("they that will be rich", ie, those whose goal is to be rich). People often misquote the phrase as "money is the root of all evil." NO! "The LOVE of money is the root of all evil."

Having said all that... I also realize the tweet above was meant to condemn capitalism. So to you, I have this to say:

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10

The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7

If you're accepting money from the government- whether it's welfare, stimulus money, student debt forgiveness, etc, they OWN you. For instance, if you haven't heard, the IRS is now "aggressively" going after people whose taxes were previously suspended due to covid. (Praise the Lord, I was not one of those people.)

Whoever pays for you or your debts, or forgives your debts, owns you.

Which, btw, is the whole point of salvation. Satan was given dominion over this world after Adam and Eve chose to sin. Now all who choose to sin (read: every single person who has ever lived, except for Jesus) are slaves to Satan, and since Satan will be cast into the lake of fire at the end of time, that is where everyone who has chosen to remain in debt to Satan will also go. Jesus died to pay the debt for our sin, and if we accept His payment for our sin, He becomes our owner. But He is a much better owner, and the story has a much happier ending.

[valeriapryanikova]

don't fucking trust the fucking elephant

[arcanegifs]

Arcane: Season 2 | Enemy of My Enemy | Official Clip ↳ "You know what they say about the enemy of your enemy. Jinx, Smeech and Sevika return in Arcane Season 2, the final chapter coming this November to Netflix."

[cynicalclassicist]

Sure, I'll keep up the camel's journey!

Maybe they can manage... 10,002 straws! 10,003? Now we're cooking with fire!

And maybe he can get there before the rich guy blocks it up.

Something about the camel's nose, I suppose.

Nah one straw is no problem bro. I'm the strongest camel ever, I'm carrying like TEN THOUSAND straw right now. If I can handle ten thousand straw then what's one straw gonna do? Stands to reason. Just chuck it on bro, it'll be fine.

[vickozone]

drew two of my favorite princesses. <3 love these guys.

[maximahem]

I got even more fanart because this game has me in a chokehold. Don't worry about how much I fawn over the adversary and the eye of the needle, because I definitely DONT have a thing for buff women. I love her giant bug eyes <3

[helium-stims]

x / x / x

[stolos]

Just imagine like a thousand more needles in ‘em

Guys I’m trying to get a proper Needles design out but I cannot get them to look how he does in my head😭 I did this one in like an hour bcs i wasn’t sure if my design could strike a balance of “trying to hard” and “could genuinely be unsettling” but like the other two sketches I’ve done look like this so:

I’m sorry Needles I’ll try to do you better next time😔😔😔

Edit: Adding my very first sketches! (Top right is why I never share em)

[amerricanartwork]

Oh my, is that really what I think it is...?

It is!! Another little creature has arrived! And it's so fluffy too! Though that isn't gonna do much in this hot weather!

Here, have some food, little guy. And come inside! I'm sure the others would love to have you!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

That's right guys, Rain Wool is back in business!! Now that I'm getting back into the swing of needle-felting and FINALLY have lots more core wool to make all sorts of projects with, it's only right that I keep on going with this project, especially since, after Saint, I'm only one away from being done with the slugcats! I apologize for waiting so long to continue on with this project, but going forward I hope to start felting more of these guys more frequently.

In the meantime, however, I'm happy to finally share this fluffy little green bean!

It probably isn't very visible in these images, but on the cheeks, arms, and tail I intentionally left the wool less felted in for a softer, fluffier appearance. Since I have barely any of the straight wool roving felters normally use for long hair, this is my general go-to method for fluffy creatures.

I still think he looks adorable though, and I'm so excited to be close to finishing the slugcats!

Well, I hope you enjoy this new Rain Wool content! Hopefully there will be more to come soon!

[answermywearyquery]

great 😳 + dr. tyme's large equipment 😏

[cradle-of-darkness]

hes so fun to draw in different outfits. bro did NOT go to medical school

[seasaltyjack]

Would you still be the same person if all your DNA was replaced?

[vreenak]

Bonus:

Telek R'Mor [2/?]

STAR TREK: VOYAGER | Eye of the Needle, 1x07

[v-albion]

CW BLOOD AND VIOLENCE

Angelo and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

Prev: Part 1 | Next: Part 3

Masterpost

[maeve-is-annoying-about-books]

Arcane Season 2 and Jinx

Oh moon above, the way they handled Jinx is fantastic. They really never let you forget she has this... almost otherworldly innocence to her despite all of the violence she consistently commits. She's not Powder, anymore, but she's not really the monster everyone thinks she is either. Not some grand mastermind, and not the face of Zaun's evil.

Look at what she's done in season 2. She blasted away some thugs because they were threatening a kid. She reminisces with Sevika and makes her a brand new arm. Just based off that small little kindness, and it's returned fivefold. And then, then her big plot? Her massive attack against Piltover?

It's just neutralizing the Grey being used against Zaun and blowing it all back topside. It's a paint bomb, it's graffiti. It's a re-enactment of a children's tale framed as something sinister so that Vi and Cait will show up and they can settle this. Jinx, at her most salient, thinks "Yeah I should probably die. That's fair. At least it'll be from Vi." And who saves her? That same child she helped earlier, clinging to her because, well, who else? Ilsa is that childish part of Jinx that's still left, an external representation of it even. Her heart, essentially, in plain view.

Just... AUGH. It's so good! It would be so easy to start Jinx's monster arc and they will never let you forget that no matter how damaged, no matter what crime, no matter what happens, Jinx is still a person. Attempting to erase that aspect is what makes another person a monster, and I think nothing better represents that than the final moments of the battle. If Caitlyn had made that shot, it would have been at the expense of that understanding. It would have been merely slaying a monster. It would be making another monster in her place.

[sonjalikestodraw]

The Eye of the Needle kabedon's YOU, the viewer!

Thanks to Lorcus for commissioning me ~