“Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’”
Luke 12:15
It seems like this might be the biggest lie that the modern world has bought into. Jesus warned us that life is not about how much we own or the money we have, but we have, for the most part, ignored him. Life in the modern world has become about one thing more than almost anything else: wealth. We base our society completely around what we can buy and what possessions we have. We elect our leaders based on who can promise us the least taxes or the most benefits. We dedicate most of our waking hours to jobs that, for many, are nothing more than a means to a paycheck. As a whole, the world today spends vastly more time and effort trying to make money and accumulate possessions than trying to follow God.
There are all kinds of issues facing the world today that Jesus never mentioned in his life on Earth. That’s probably because most of these issues didn’t exist when Jesus was alive. This one, however, did. Greed is universal. It has been around since the fall of man and it will be until Jesus returns to judge the world. It is a plague that flies directly in the face of everything Jesus taught, yet we cling so tightly to it.
I challenge you today, take a moment to meditate on your life. How much of what you do is dictated by money, greed, or material desires. Compare that to how much of your life is spent working for God’s kingdom, spreading the gospel, caring for the poor and oppressed, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and imprisoned, etc. If the former outweighs the latter, something needs to change.
Jesus wouldn’t give us this warning if it weren’t important. In fact, he gives several others like it throughout the gospels. It’s obviously a point he doesn’t want us to miss, but yet many of us have. Jesus doesn’t want you to waste your life chasing fleeting wealth and pleasure, he wants to give you permanent and eternal wealth that nothing on this earth could ever compare to.
Prayer:
Father,
Help me to let go of my greed and lust for worldly possessions. Let me not cling to my wealth, but instead give it freely to you to be used in accordance with your will. Forgive me for my greed, father, and transform my heart to align with yours.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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