Luke 12:15 - Guard Against Greed

Luke 12:15
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.”

"The one who dies with the most toys wins!" That is what it said on the bumper sticker. That seems to sum up the way the world measures a successful life.

Jesus said this way of looking at life is all wrong, and we need to guard against this way of thinking!

That is easier said than done . . .  Our peers remind us of this measuring standard every day. It takes just a few minutes of watching television, reading a newspaper or magazine, listening to the radio, or viewing almost any webpage, to have the world hold up what it says we should see as our ultimate goal:  Wealth. Beauty. Stuff!

This verse is Jesus' response to a man in the crowd who was on the brink of what he thought was success and happiness -- and he could just taste it.

Apparently, his parents had died, and his brother (probably older) was the executor to the family estate. Whether this man's brother was slow about it, or just avoiding it, we don't know, but this man was annoyed at him for not letting him have his portion of the family inheritance, and was hoping Jesus could help convince his brother to do it -- to just give him his happiness!

We have all been in a similar circumstance; having something of value just out of our reach -- wanting it badly -- just knowing it would be the very thing that would make our lives complete! -- "Just give it to me, already!"

That feeling of want -- need -- gotta have -- is greed. In a very real way it causes us to displace our trust and faith from where it rightfully ought to be -- in God.

Jesus warned the man to guard against that feeling -- that greed. He warned him (and us) to not trust things of this world to take care of us -- to comfort us -- to make us feel important -- to love us.

Why? Because they won't -- they can't -- they are incapable of doing any of that!

Jesus told the parable of the rich fool who, after he had a great harvest, reveled in what he had. He wanted to build bigger barns, retire, take it easy...

But -- suddenly -- the end of his life came...

And, too late!

He realized nothing he had -- nothing he had put his trust in -- nothing he had built his life around -- was of any use to him now.

2 Timothy 6:9: Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.