“This Very Night Your Life Will Be Demanded From You”

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 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.”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 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 my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain 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 whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:13-21

There is nothing wrong with shopping to enjoy the things God has made available to you. However, when we become pre-occupied with obtaining material goods, we lose focus.

How can we learn to be content with what we have and not be consumed with amassing more? View material goods as given by God to be used wisely. Work hard to earn and to save money. Give to the Lord’s work and those in need. And always remember to be thankful and to enjoy what God gives.

To be rich in God is far better than to be rich in goods.

Our Daily Bread – July 22, 2013