Be On Guard

Luke 12:^13-15 “Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed…”

Luke 12:^15-21 “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; Life is not measured by how much you own.” Then he told them a story:

 “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.  He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’  Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods.  And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (NLT & NIV, emphasis added).

People are fighting for this and fighting for that. Intimidating this and robbing that. The truth is, it is the person who sleeps and wakes up that lives long. Yesterday, we said that it takes different things to settle different people. For some people, when they have ten billion dollars, they settle. For some people, it is a million dollars, and they settle. I heard the story of a Pastor in Kenya who won a lottery equivalent of Twenty-four thousand dollars, and he shut down his church. For him, twenty-four thousand dollars meant he had arrived. I am not the one saying it, but he is a fool. It is in the Bible. Twenty-four thousand dollars, even if it is twenty-four million dollars or twenty-four billion dollars, he is still a fool.

Even if it’s twenty-four trillion dollars, he is still a fool. There are only two things that last forever – the souls of men and the Word of God. Until you secure these two, you are not done. There are certain stories of Jesus that I read in the Bible, and I am puzzled. Philip came to Jesus and said some people have come to see you. John 12:²⁴ “Jesus said except a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone”. I am like, Jesus, how can that be your response? Every child should have an inheritance from his or her father, right? The background story to Luke 12:15-21, one child wanted to take everything. And the one who was being cheated came to Jesus and said, can you help intervene in this matter? And Jesus told him to be careful of greed.

Think about it. This man said, “I am about to be cheated out of my inheritance”. And Jesus said, “Be careful, you are greedy”. I am like, Lord, did you hear what the man said? However, one thing we need to learn from God is, that sometimes greed can manifest even in things that are your right.

Prayer: Father, help me to discern Your heart in all things, in Jesus Name. Amen!