TOPIC: THE PLACE OF MATERIAL POSSESSIONS
SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 12:13-21
... "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
This passage explains Jesus’ teaching to guard against all kinds of greed. Someone wanted Jesus to tell his brother to divide up the inheritance which was due him in a fair way. Jesus’ point was that life does consist in having many possessions. The disciples needed to learn the lesson that life is more important than material things.
To explain this teaching, Jesus told a parable about the rich man who continued to build bigger and bigger barns to store all his grain and goods.
The rich man’s attitude was that he would have an easy life because he had everything he could possibly want or need. God’s response in the parable was that the man was foolish (You fool!) because when he died that night his goods would do nothing for him. They would simply pass on to someone else. Such a person is not rich toward God (1Timothy 6:6-10).
To make earthly possessions or riches the desire of one’s life is a serious mistake that leads to eternal loss. The Greek word for greed literally signifies the thirst for more. While we work for our needs, we must be rich toward God by seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. In addition, each of us should listen to Jesus’ warning and examine whether selfishness and greed exist in our hearts and ask the Lord to deal with these.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I want to be rich toward You and so help me seek Your kingdom and Your righteousness and I know that you will grant me all other things that I need.
BY: REV ANGELINA BOADAA DANSO
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA, THE NETHERLANDS/BELGIUM DISTRICT