Scripture Reading(s)
Luke 12:13-21
12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
12:14 But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”
12:15 And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
12:16 Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly.
12:17 And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’
12:18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
12:19 And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’
12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
12:21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
Reflections
When you think of the word “treasure” I think that some common things that come to mind are your house, job, material possessions, family, and reputation. I also believe that success is the root to all of these things. How you measure success will equate to how big your house is, or how accomplished you are at your job, and how other people think of you. But earthly treasure even for those who earned it is a waste.
One main thing that this passage focuses on is the love of wealthy possessions. Greed is the root that drives this love and it is what fuels the desire to want more and to be remembered for having so much. However, what Christ warns us about in this passage is that if you choose to put our value in things that are material, then what good will it be when we are gone? More importantly, it points to the heart condition which will either show that we lived a life to Glorify God or to give glory to ourselves.
God wants us to experience more in this life, beyond the material things. He created us not so that we can live for ourselves, but so that we can reflect Him. God has given us the gift of life and our response to living each day is to be thankful and praise Him for all that He’s done for us. Having material things is not a bad thing, but loving them in place of God is what leads us down a dangerous path. In that path we miss out on living a life of experiencing God’s true joy and peace in our lives.
Let us always choose to pursue God’s love for us and thank Him for each day He has given us to live.
“So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
The gospel of Luke emphasizes certain facets of Jesus’ ministry that the other gospels writers only hint at. Namely, that money, goods, and greed, are all temporary and completely worthless in the kingdom of God. The storing up of treasure on this earth is the most meaningless task we can busy ourselves with. Money does not make us better people. It does not produce in us the fruits of the spirit. Money is the currency of this earth but has no value in heaven.
Rather, we should focus on doing the work of God. The kingdom of God and the souls of mankind are the only things that will live beyond this earthly existence. We must focus on producing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We should focus on loving our neighbors and living a life the honors the Lord.
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