Thought- Like in the game Monopoly, in life everything goes back in the box eventually.
Scripture- “Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 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.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:13-21
Insight: In day 33 of learning to apply biblical principles to our daily life, what we are referring to as Practical Christianity, let’s consider what it means to avoid being the “rich fool” that Jesus alludes to in his parable in Luke 12:13-21 by always being rich towards God. Jesus knew the importance money and wealth played in society. That is why he spent so much timing teaching about. He knew both the pluses and minuses of wealth. He knew if we control it, it can be used for amazing good, but if it controls us it could cause great harm. I hear many misconceptions that some teach about $ and what Jesus said about it. Some say money is bad or evil. Jesus never said money was bad or evil. He did say to us though in 1 Timothy 6:10 that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” The love of money is called idolatry and that is what happens when we put anything before God. Idolatry and greed leads to destruction! That is what the parable about the Rich Fool teaches us.
Jesus knew money could buy a lot of things but not the best things. He knew with money you could buy a house, but not a home. You could be sex, but not love. You could buy a position, but not respect. You could buy a Doctor, but not health. Jesus knew how much money would be at the center of our world. He taught out of love to put it in its proper place and to use proper perspective in where and how it fits in the hierarchy of needs. I have personally seen wealth and greed lead to quarrels and hurt feelings in my own family. I have seen the despair of wealth that doesn’t provide tranquility or satisfaction. I have also seen wealth used to save kids from starvation, from keeping kids out of orphanages, from being able to afford the best medical treatment, for providing necessary education. The main conclusion you can draw is like almost anything, money can be both used for both good and for evil, to save and to destroy. Jesus knows what we need even before we do. That is why he spent so much time teaching us on this subject. Don’t let money puff you up in pride but stay humble if you’ve been giving the gifts and talents required to create wealth by always being rich towards God and seeing everything as His. Because in the end, it all surely is.
Prayer: Father God, help us put money in proper perspective. Teach us the way to use your abundance to grow your Kingdom and provide eternal returns. Father, we freely admit we need your wisdom and guidance in this area, maybe more so than any other. Please teach us! In Jesus name. Amen!
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