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. 19 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.”
Storing up our “stuff” gives us a false sense of security. At anytime it can be taken away from us. And we are left with an empty life that did not glorify God.
But a life storing up eternal treasures-serving Him, our families, building relationships, building the Kingdom, sharing God’s love with others– that is what will matter to God in eternity.
We’re not bringing our house, car, or any other material items with us. And God certainly will not be impressed by them.
The world’s standards are very different from the Christian’s standard. We must be careful not to live by the worlds standards of success.
Do my kids love the Lord or do they love things that money can buy?
Do my kids value helping others or helping themselves?
Do they live by HIS standard or the world’s?
The world says brothers and sisters naturally should argue.
Yet the Bible says that we should love all people, and that most certainly includes our family! Families should be together, not divided. We must live by God’s standards!
I must be storing up treasures in heaven. This life will end and that can not be avoided. I have no fear in death anymore because I am secure in God. But my security comes from knowing the Truth of His Word.
So while it is fun to enjoy early belongings, we must not put our security in them. We must be storing up things that are of value to God.
Having material items in itself is not the problem, but it is our heart attitude and what we do with those blessings God has bestowed upon us….
And the “greed” of wanting more is also a dangerous path to go down…
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:20
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