Luke 12:13-21
Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. “And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ “So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ‘ “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
In this Gospel Jesus reminds us that ‘we can’t take it with us’. The rich man in this parable is busy collecting things in abundance but is about to die. This parable makes me wonder about the things I value and have collected over my lifetime and how these material things determine my worth as a child of Christ? Often you’ll read in scripture that those with nothing will be rich in heaven. Life is about challenges and how we respond to these challenges. Are we bitter and angry because we see others with more? Or do we embrace our gifts and praise God? Who are we inside? If we strip everyone from their worldly possessions all that is left is what is in our hearts. When we face Jesus will we have heavy hearts because of our behaviors in this realm or will our hearts be as light as a feather because we embraced our true nature and our love of one another.
It’s not a sin to have been blessed with wonderful things. But what do you do with what you have? Are you a good steward in the way you handle your good fortune? Arrogance is a sin. Treating others with less respect because they don’t have in abundance what you have, is a sin. Consider your good fortune and how blessed you may feel. Now consider how much more rewarding it would be to share your Time, Treasure and Talent with others both fortunate and less fortunate. There are many ways to minister to others. Jesus is telling us that being wealthy in this realm doesn’t matter to God. Remember that being wealthy here doesn’t mean being happy. We’ve all heard that cliché and laugh but that doesn’t make it any less valid. Typically those with these treasurers are burdened with how to keep their treasures.
I want to leave you with two key points that I recently heard in a ministry video. One, death is a reality and all of our “things” will be given away. Two, our true treasure is life with God. Jesus is giving us an opportunity to pray together for God’s grace to accept the reality of death and the priorities of the Kingdom here and in eternity. What choice will you make?
