“And He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” Luke 12:15.
Jesus says that the good life has nothing to do with being wealthy or having an abundance of possessions. This is the exact opposite of what society usually says. Throughout the day we are barraged with the millions of dollars spent by advertisers to entice us to think that if we buy more and more of their products, we will be happier, and more comfortable. It is so easy to become brainwashed into thinking that life is all about material goods.
Eclesiastes 2:18-19 states an abrupt truth. “Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of may labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity.”
A recent survey of top business executives showed that over 70% would, if they had it to do over, abandon the “fast track” in favor of spending more time with their families. The problem with this is that it is only in children’s games that “do overs” work. Life truly is water under a bridge that cannot be regathered in the same way it originally passed by the first time.
In light of this, let each of us recalculate wealth not by the things we have, but by the things we have for which we would not take money. Measure and list the things that money can’t buy.
Love,
Pastor Bob
