Luke 12:13-21
Some of the greatest fights have been over money, possessions, lands. Countries have gone to war. Families have stopped speaking to each other because of money.
Keep in mind, the stuff that keeps us awake at night will all turn to dust. Prices go up, prices go down. We are glued to the news hoping that the market will swing in our favor. The preoccupation with money is nothing new. A person reached out to Jesus from the crowd and asked Him to be on his side against his brother in a question of inheritance. Jesus chose not to get involved. Basically, the Lord said, “It’s none of my business.” We all think that God is on our side, particularly in family disagreements. When we fight against our family, we are shadow boxing. No one wins because we are stuck. God chose our family for us—for better and for worse. When we get into disagreements we sometimes appeal to God and Jesus answers, “It’s none of my business. You got into this mess; you get yourself out.” Naturally, we receive grace, guidance, prudence—but the Lord does not pick sides, because He love us all. There is a big difference if we pray, “Lord, help them to see that I am right and that they are wrong.” Or “Lord, let me know Your will, allow me to be like You in charity.” What is the price of being a united family? How much does forgiveness cost? So much of our life is measured in dollars—just like the rich man in the story. He had plenty—more than he needed. That is usually how we measure success—blessings—when we have plenty then we consider ourselves blessed. The folks who have little must have done something wrong. They did not save, they made bad decisions, perhaps God is punishing them. We know that cannot be true. Jesus is God and He had many opportunities to punish people and He did not. He forgave sinners, touched the untouchables, associated with the rejected by society.
Therefore, being rich or having little has nothing to do with our relationship with God. Fact is that Jesus gave a warning about possession in the story of the rich man. He said, <Be careful not to make assumptions about matters over which we have no control.> Life and death are not controlled by possessions. We can argue that a better quality of life will result in a longer life and a poor quality of life will result in a premature death. Not necessarily. Wealthy people die young—like the rich man in the story. He obviously had no warning signs. He was not sick because he planned for a long future.
There is no indication that the rich man in the story was evil. Yet, Jesus described him as interested only in his wealth, only in himself—nothing else—no one else, not even God. There is absolutely nothing wrong with possessions. Only when they dominate our life. If possessions become more important than our relationship with God, our relationship with people, something is extremely wrong! Some folks live for their money. There is never enough. When possessions are the goal of our life, we cannot see anything else. We do not pay attention to people, to their needs. Finances are one of the major reasons for divorce in our Country. Things can get in the way of people who care for each other. They can fail to communicate because of unimportant priorities. Our Lord said, “Wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Therefore, wherever we spend our time, our energy, our money—that’s what is most important to us. Unfortunately, for countless people, the family is no longer at the top of their list. The world of electronics is the main attraction. Spending time with people in conversation is at an all time low. What is going into our barns? Where are priorities in our life? Consider that every day is a gift. There are no guaranties that we will be here tomorrow.
Our goal is to live for Christ. All that we have is meant to be shared. Our treasure must be in heaven.
Some of the greatest fights have been over money, possessions, lands. Countries have gone to war. Families have stopped speaking to each other because of money.
Keep in mind, the stuff that keeps us awake at night will all turn to dust. Prices go up, prices go down. We are glued to the news hoping that the market will swing in our favor. The preoccupation with money is nothing new. A person reached out to Jesus from the crowd and asked Him to be on his side against his brother in a question of inheritance. Jesus chose not to get involved. Basically, the Lord said, “It’s none of my business.” We all think that God is on our side, particularly in family disagreements. When we fight against our family, we are shadow boxing. No one wins because we are stuck. God chose our family for us—for better and for worse. When we get into disagreements we sometimes appeal to God and Jesus answers, “It’s none of my business. You got into this mess; you get yourself out.” Naturally, we receive grace, guidance, prudence—but the Lord does not pick sides, because He love us all. There is a big difference if we pray, “Lord, help them to see that I am right and that they are wrong.” Or “Lord, let me know Your will, allow me to be like You in charity.” What is the price of being a united family? How much does forgiveness cost? So much of our life is measured in dollars—just like the rich man in the story. He had plenty—more than he needed. That is usually how we measure success—blessings—when we have plenty then we consider ourselves blessed. The folks who have little must have done something wrong. They did not save, they made bad decisions, perhaps God is punishing them. We know that cannot be true. Jesus is God and He had many opportunities to punish people and He did not. He forgave sinners, touched the untouchables, associated with the rejected by society.
Therefore, being rich or having little has nothing to do with our relationship with God. Fact is that Jesus gave a warning about possession in the story of the rich man. He said, <Be careful not to make assumptions about matters over which we have no control.> Life and death are not controlled by possessions. We can argue that a better quality of life will result in a longer life and a poor quality of life will result in a premature death. Not necessarily. Wealthy people die young—like the rich man in the story. He obviously had no warning signs. He was not sick because he planned for a long future.
There is no indication that the rich man in the story was evil. Yet, Jesus described him as interested only in his wealth, only in himself—nothing else—no one else, not even God. There is absolutely nothing wrong with possessions. Only when they dominate our life. If possessions become more important than our relationship with God, our relationship with people, something is extremely wrong! Some folks live for their money. There is never enough. When possessions are the goal of our life, we cannot see anything else. We do not pay attention to people, to their needs. Finances are one of the major reasons for divorce in our Country. Things can get in the way of people who care for each other. They can fail to communicate because of unimportant priorities. Our Lord said, “Wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Therefore, wherever we spend our time, our energy, our money—that’s what is most important to us. Unfortunately, for countless people, the family is no longer at the top of their list. The world of electronics is the main attraction. Spending time with people in conversation is at an all time low. What is going into our barns? Where are priorities in our life? Consider that every day is a gift. There are no guaranties that we will be here tomorrow.
Our goal is to live for Christ. All that we have is meant to be shared. Our treasure must be in heaven.
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