"13 Someone in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.' 14 But he said to him, 'Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?' 15 And he said to them, 'Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.' 16 And he told them a parable, saying, 'The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' 18 And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 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, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God." Luke 12:13-21Can you imagine the audacity that the man has for asking Jesus to tell his brother to give him money? Seriously, I wonder what is going through Jesus' mind. Here is the savior of the world who is about to lay down his life for this man who wants Jesus to say his brother is in the wrong. (wait...let's not be too hard on the guy, I'm sure we have asked God for material things more than once). I love Jesus' response to this guy-'who made me a judge over you?' Kind of ironic, coming from Jesus. Basically, Jesus is saying that this man is missing the point! Jesus didn't come to settle financial disputes, and to become involved in this trivial matter would distract Jesus and His followers from His mission. Isn't that what greed does to us now? Distracts us from seeing Jesus' purpose. How does Jesus respond? Parable! Dingdingding!
Notice how in verse 16, Jesus doesn't condemn success. I feel like this a problem with some people. Seriously, you can be a successful, money-making Christian. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making profit. The problem comes from verses 17-19. Notice the personal pronouns. Let's see-I, I, my, I, I, I, my, my, my. Notice a trend? This guy thinks his own soul belongs to himself! He feels entitled to it all, even though it's all God's. This, I think, is one of the hardest things to overcome. Even the most humble person believes that he is worth something. Where does this worth come from? Are you giving yourself worth because of your profits, or are you valuing the worth that God gives you simply for being created? We are foolish to think that we are worthy of anything apart from God. That's really easy to type out, but it's hard to actually live in a way that reflects that belief. Next, notice how verse 19 talks about retirement! Isn't that the goal? That's the dream, right? To save up more and more and at the end of our earthly existence we can worship ourself! Sounds great, right? This is what American's see as truly living.
Verses 20 and 21 point out how dumb we are to think that this world is all there is. Do you live in a way that expects all earthly things to be destroyed and your soul to be saved? If so, how does spending God's money reflect that? I'm not saying you have live poor or break-even lives to be saved; that's not the message at all. Where are you placing value? Are you saving up more and more money so that they day will come when you can serve yourself? How can we be 'rich towards God?' I assure you it's not easy! I'm sure it will be a continual struggle everyday. Deciding to honor God with money isn't one choice. It's a choice that's made over and over again. Quite honestly, I don't exactly know what it means right now. I know that I don't want to live in a way hinders my relationship with Christ. I believe that this can look differently for different people, and I don't even know what it will look like for me. Right now, I pray that God gives me wisdom in that area. I want my money to honor God, however direct or indirect that is. I know money isn't 'the problem', but it's such a helpful tool in evaluating our hearts desires. I'm selfish, and I pray that God would continue to humble me with his overflowing grace and love. I pray that he would convict me whenever I'm making decisions that are made to glorify myself and downsize Him. Here are a few topics that I hope to reflect on during future decisions:
ENTITLEMENT
The money you make does not belong to you. Your ability to work, or your husband's ability to work, is only because God allows it. In fact, maybe it's time that God has you depend on him more. Thank God for the times that he has made you more dependent on Him. Feeling entitled to rule over 'your' money has nothing to do with money, but everything to do with your heart and your understanding of the gospel. If God blesses you with a raise, don't begin to think that this was because of your doing. Can you show the poor how good and generous God is to have given you an abundance? If you believe that you are entitled to more money, you're not. Because money belongs to God, how will you use this to care and serve other people?
BEING CONTENT
You don't need more wealth, you need more wisdom. Day in and day out you are bombarded by media that sows discontentment in your heart. Nothing you buy will EVER make you content. Because you have tasted God's grace, you will never be content if you lose sight of why God has put you on this earth. You can posses everything but still be empty (Colossians 3:5). Being content isn't about money. Discontentment comes from worshiping yourself. Money only exposes the true issue. Let's face it-your selfish. You're going to make decisions that serve your best interests. Pray that God would continually remind you that He is all you need. Whenever you are feeling ungrateful, think of the Cross. Mark 8.
GREED AND COVETING
Whenever you compare your house, job, looks, or relationships to other people you are either setting yourself up for either 1) depression or 2) self-righteousness. If greed has taken root, it will blind and control you. You'll lose sight of what eternally matters (Love God, love others). Greed produces ingratitude, grumbling and discontentment. It turns families against each other and destroys relationships. Greed is going to make your relationship with Christ more shallow. You know that. Long to reach a place like Psalm 73:25.
FACING OUTWARDS
I want you to go look at your account history. When was the last time you spent money on somebody else? Were you doing it to bring glory to yourself? Maybe you were doing it out of obligation or maybe even a desire to earn approval. When was the last time you blessed someone simply because God has blessed you? Pray that God will help you to use wealth in a way that expresses that He is the treasure of your life. Ask that God will give you that wisdom because, let's face it, your heart is selfish.
There's so much that can be said about finances and money, when really it's not about the money at all. It all boils down to your understanding of the gospel. How did Jesus use his time and resources while here on earth? The older we get, the more opportunities we have to love God and love others with our time, energy, and resources. I know the decisions might be hard, especially with a family or when somebody other than me is directly affected. I pray that God continues to work in my heart and give me guidance in those situations. Not only this, but I thank God for the grace that continuously extends to me whenever I choose to glorify myself over Him. If I take away anything from this, I remember that I am only satisfied when I remain in Jesus. John 15.
