How Much You Own
As we step into this fall season the cold weather can drive us inside to our warm comforts and our minds can quickly turn to Christmas wish lists and Black Friday sales. In this culture of consumerism we can easily believe that the more we have, the happier we are. Money can buy happiness, we’re told. Go on a shopping spree—you’ll feel better. Pay monthly fees so you won’t have to pay for shipping! Get the latest streaming service, buy the newest phone, don’t you need a new jacket for this season? Through all the noise of consumerism, we can forget that the world sees Christ in us by how we love and how we live.
“Then he said, ‘Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.’” (Luke 12:15)
“Life is not measured by how much you own.” Does your life reflect those words of Jesus? The Boston Globe once reported that the average American home contains 300,000 items, “from sofas to salad forks.” The average American is $131,000 in debt, spends $69 every day, and has less than $1,000 in savings. According to the data, we are not reflecting Jesus’ words. Jesus tells us to guard against every kind of greed. To guard against something means to be on the lookout for it. We should be on the lookout for every kind of greed in our life so that we can guard against it.
“‘Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.’” (Luke 12:21)
God is not anti-money or anti-success. “Money is the root of all evil” is one of the most misquoted verses in all of Scripture. Paul wrote, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10). Jesus said a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God. If you are pursuing money and storing up wealth at the expense of your relationship with God, then you have a problem. When you put your pursuit of money above your pursuit of God, that’s when you have a problem. That’s a love of money and that is what Paul said is the root of all kinds of evil. It’s okay to be wealthy, as long as it is not at the expense of a rich relationship with God.
So let’s be sure that we are guarding against every kind of greed, that we are at our post on the lookout for any kind of greed in our lives. Remember that our relationship with God comes before anything else. And may our lives reflect Jesus’ words, that life is not measured by how much we own.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
—Redeemed
