Luke 12:15 KJV
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
The setting of the verse above is interesting. We find a crowd gathered to listen to the words of Jesus, and as usual, in a crowd, there are people with different interests and priorities. It is easy to view a crowd as a sign of success in ministry, but it is important to note that public affirmation and approval do not always equate to God's acceptance. The crowd will always seek after new knowledge or new opinions, and it cannot be trusted to remain committed to anything that is of God's truth. We learn an example from Jesus who always had the right reaction to the crowd. He viewed it as an opportunity to sow the seeds of the kingdom of God in the hearts of men. For us today, we also must learn the limits of the crowd. We are sent to be the mouth, eyes, ears, and feet of Jesus to a dying world. He has committed the work of the kingdom into our hands. Do I really know what the work entails and I am willing and available to do the work? Remember, this present world is dying; only those in Christ have the assurance of eternal life.
In that crowd was a young man whose father had probably just died and left substance as an inheritance. This young man had a brother and unfortunately, there was a quarrel about how to share the inheritance. I am not sure how the brother thought that the ministry and the message of Jesus at the time suited his request, but again, it is emphasized that there will always be people in the crowd with wrong and selfish motives. Jesus was speaking about His heavenly kingdom; this young man was only interested in an earthly kingdom. As it was in the days of Jesus, so is it in our own days too today. While God is looking for daily labourers who will be engaged in winning souls for the kingdom, we still find men who are busy pursuing relevance and importance by possessions and property. I have to audit my current pursuits and priorities and be sure that I am not such a person.
Unfortunately, the deceit of riches and possessions is such that you do not always realise the folly of the pursuit until it is too late. Men have died pursuing that which they could not take with them even into the burial ground. We make enemies of men like us, by pursuing that which is temporary. We lose sleep over things we cannot control, and sometimes we lose sound health over the inordinate ambition to be something the world has still not been able to successfully describe and define. We subscribe to an image of success that is constantly shifting, and we mortgage our eternity with God for a mess of pottage that can only satisfy for a very short time. There is an eternity to prepare for and a heaven to inherit. I cannot afford to be distracted by the mundane. Life, from the perspective of God, is best lived when pleasing God is at the centre of my life. Whatever else He gives me is secondary to having Him as Lord and Saviour. That is true life. Do you have Him? God's time of favour is here.
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