Greed

Good Morning,

Luke 12:15-21 (NIV)
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."
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
"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."

We are all more than familiar with the verses which immediately follow this short section of Scripture. You know, the section in Luke where Jesus tells us three times that we shouldn't worry. I love that section of Scripture and it has given me great peace and comfort over the years. But, we sort of skim on past this section. I guess it's because, maybe we don't particularly like to be told not to be greedy and that temporal riches of today are pretty much useless in the grand scheme of things.

Jesus is pretty firm when He tells us "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." I don't know how you see Jesus when He's sort of laying down the law to those who are listening to Him and warning them with the words He's saying. I picture Him as being, well, let's say "firm" would be a pretty close word to use. Maybe "forceful" would be even better.

Jesus knows the dangers and harms that come from greed. Jesus knows that our earthly desires and greediness move us away from God. Jesus knows what riches and earthly monetary gain can do to people. So, when I picture Him in this setting and talking about this subject, I see Him with a certain fire in His eyes and I hear His voice rising so that He will be clearly heard, and so that His words will be clearly remembered. I see Him standing up and using His gestures to make His points. I see Him somewhat angry about the subject and the fact that so many people put their faith in their wealth, possessions, and creature comforts...instead of in God. I certainly DON'T see Him calmly sitting there all peaceful and nice when subjects like this come up. You know, that picture that's portrayed of the Gentle Jesus in most portrayals of Him. Yes, of course, He was gentle and loving, but I also think He could be pretty dynamic and intense. That's how I see Him in these verses.

Jesus then goes on, in way of explanation, to tell the parable of the wealthy man with way too much wealth...and growing more and more all the time...and what happens in the end for his life. God clearly tells us here that all we have is absolutely useless as the breath of life passes from this body. Here I see Jesus sort of shaking His head at those who don't much like what He's telling them about earthly riches. I see Him imploring the people around Him to listen and hear the truth of His words. I see His eyes seeking out those who have their heads down and are maybe feeling some shame because of their feelings and actions.

He finishes with, "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." We come into the world with nothing and we will surely leave exactly the same way. All we've accumulated and all we've done to do that accumulation comes to, well, it comes to nothing, doesn't it? But, if we are "rich toward God," well then, we have a different outcome, don't we?

These verses are simply brilliant in their simplicity about what Jesus is telling His audience...those people there who could hear Him and all the generations that have followed and have read what He said. I guess calling God "brilliant" is pretty much an understatement, but is sort of fits here, I think.

Let's beware of how we're living our lives. Let's be sure we're hearing what Jesus said, "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mat. 6:20-21)

Love, peace, and blessings,

David