Daily Verse: Luke 12:15

Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
 

Luke 12:15 has Jesus saying something that completely contradicts mainstream culture today…”a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”. I am struck by how completely opposite this is from what we are taught by the “world”. The world tells us that the more we have…the more wealth, cars, clothes, electronics, houses…the better off we will be. It’s a false measure of achievement, competence, and self-worth. If we do not have that massive house in the exclusive neighborhood, then we have somehow failed or at the very least underachieved. And we are fooled into thinking that if we do achieve that elite social status, then we will somehow be satisfied, happy, and content. Such a foolish game we are sucked into. I love how the text goes straight to the point in saying that life is not about material wealth. Sure, material items are nice to have…in fact they are incredible blessings straight from the hand of a merciful and loving God…but they are not to be our true source of joy, success, and contentment. They are to be a part of our lives…not the focus of our lives. It’s great in verse 20 how we see that when we keep it all for ourselves…when we fail to give to those in need…when we fail to use the financial blessings to bring glory to God…the blessings go to waste. May we take time today to count the blessings in our lives, give all due thanks and praise to God alone for these gifts, and then allow the Holy Spirit to work through us in sharing these blessings with others. To God be the glory!