Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.
Luke 12:15
We look around and see everything that everyone else has and often we want it too. We get caught in the trap of "keeping up with our neighbors" or just coveting what our neighbor has. God put it this way in the Old Testament. "You shall not covet your neighbor's ...." The Apostle Paul wrote about our inward sin struggle that produces in us the desire to covet everything that is not ours (Romans 7:7-8). Living a life of covetousness will leave us feeling empty, lost, and full of regret.
In the passage above, Jesus deals with the foolishness of always wanting and living in the pursuit of more. In His teaching there was a rich man that had more than he could ever use. He had so much that he had to build more buildings just to have a place to put all his stuff! Then this rich man said that he would finally enjoy all the stuff that he had. He talked to himself and said, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." (Luke 12:19) We can see that he had been working hard all his life to get where he was at. Sounds great, right? But that was the very root of his brokenness. He had been Chasing After the Wind for all those years. God spoke back to this man and called him, "Fool!" Furthermore, God told him, "This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be ..." Luke (12:20)
Jesus is talking to us. He is letting us know that if we spend our lives in the pursuit of things and lay up treasures only in this world that we will miss out on what He offers. The world and our flesh clamor for us to get more, earn more, have more. There is nothing wrong with being rich. The brokenness of covetousness comes when we are only rich in laying up treasures here on earth and we are not rich towards pursuing our relationship with God. Those who do so will stand before the God of all eternity and wish that they had not chased after the wind.
We as Christians are called to use the abundance that God gives to us to be kingdom builders. The Bible commands us to be rich in good works, ready to give and willing to share. (I Timothy 6:17-18) Then when we pass on from this life we will pass into the true riches of God's goodness and hear the most blessed words. "Well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things." (Matthew 5:21)
Blessings to you!
covet means eager or excessive desire, especially for wealth or possessions. The Bible
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