“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 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.” ¹⁶ Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷ And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 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. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 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?’ ²¹ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” Luke 12:13-21

I love it when the Bible presents us realities that continue to be true today. I have performed many funerals in my ministry. Nothing can bring out the worst in people than the loss of a loved one – especially when it involves dividing property among family. It does not take much for greed and coveting to raise their ugly heads. It just reminds me that the Bible is not irrelevant and continues to speak to our situations today. That is why this text speaks to our reality like it did in Jesus day. Money, possessions and wealth can spark arguments between family members yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Jesus says, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” We are all familiar with the bumper sticker that reads, “The person who dies with the most toys wins.” The idea is that if we focus our lives on the accumulation of things, rather than on the spreading of G-d’s love and the sharing out of our abundance, then we have missed the mark.  All that we have are gifts from G-d – not marks for being more blessed than others. Accumulating great wealth and possessions are not marks for telling others that G-d loves us more. Instead, we should appreciate being rich in G-d – and sharing out of our abundance.

Pastor Dave