Luke 12: 15-20““And Jesus 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?'” “ The Christian’s life is one that is of great responsibility. In this portion of scripture, Jesus warns not about the dangers of wealth, but rather the dangers of mismanaging wealth. Have you ever thought just how important it is that you pay your bills or provide food for your family? Of course you have, but have you ever thought that by doing so you have exercised both wealth and stewardship? The truth is God desires you and me to be faithful to Him regarding whatever wealth we do have, whether small or large. We must never think that it is ours alone and that we have accumulated “stuff” by our own doing. The precious time we are given each day and the very air that we breathe is on loan to us from God Almighty. He has given to us what we have and He holds you and me accountable to be wise with it all. The passage above reveals a man’s selfish heart. This man had accumulated much wealth and had actually run out of storage space to keep all of it. This, in turn, made him feel very satisfied within himself and so he relaxes and believes he can just kick back and enjoy the good life. He had no inclination to help others or to give of the abundance in which he’d acquired. The end of his sad life is quite alarming as it is stated that the very night he decided to relax selfishly, his very soul would be required. Where would his “stuff” be then? Whose would it be? Not his, for we bring nothing into this world and it is certain we will take nothing out. Let’s be known as a giving, unselfish people. Let’s not rest on our own accomplishments, but rather let us learn to be generous to others. Sometimes it doesn’t come naturally so we must allow our hearts to be taught. When our day comes that our soul is required of us, may it not be said of us, “You fool.” Pastor Jack Have you been blessed by Pastor Jack’s Devotions? Email us now: CLICK HERE |
