Thursday March 13
“Beware of Covetousness”
Luke 12:13-21
13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." 14 But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" 15 And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." 16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' 18 So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." ' 20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' 21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Luke 12:1-12 begins with Jesus giving a warning to His disciples to, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy”. Jesus said, “Beware of hypocrisy”! Then He teaches us how to overcome the temptation of hypocrisy and compromising our Christian faith. Hypocrisy is a terrible sin that destroys our responsibility and opportunities to be a faithful witness for the Lord Jesus to the lost world around us. We should take this warning of our Lord to heart every day!
Today in Luke 12:13-21, the Lord is giving us another warning! Here Jesus says, “Take heed and beware of covetousness!” At this point, Jesus is approached by a man in the crowd who interrupted Him by asking Him as the Rabbi or Teacher, to solve a family problem and help settle a legal dispute with him and his brother over their inheritance. Rabbis were expected to help settle legal matters, but Jesus refused to get involved. Why? Because He knew that no answer He gave would solve the real problem, which was covetousness in the hearts of the two brothers.
The "you" in Luke 12:14 is plural, which meant Jesus is speaking to both of the brothers. As long as both men were greedy, no settlement would be satisfactory. Their greatest need was to have their hearts changed. Like too many people today, they wanted Jesus to serve them but not to save them. Jesus also knew the crowd needed to hear this warning, so, “He said to them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Jesus knew we needed to hear this warning too and we should “take heed” and listen carefully to what He has to say about this sin of covetousness.
Someone said that covetousness is an unquenchable thirst for getting more and more of something we think we need in order to be truly satisfied. It may be a thirst for money or the things that money can buy, or even a thirst for position and power. Jesus made it clear that true life does not depend on an abundance of possessions. He did not deny that we have certain basic needs (Matt. 6:32; 1 Tim. 6:17). He only affirmed that we will not make life richer by acquiring more of these things.
Mark Twain once defined "civilization" as "a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities," and he was right. In fact, many Christians are infected with covetousness and do not know it. They think that Paul's admonition in 1 Timothy 6 applies only to the "rich and famous." Measured by the living standards of the rest of the world, most believers in America are indeed wealthy people.
Jesus then told this parable of a rich farmer to reveal the dangers that lurk in a covetous heart. As we read and study it, we will notice several things. We need to recognize that Jesus did not say this wealthy man was a fool because he was rich. He was not a fool because he worked hard and was fugal and saved a lot of money that he now had available for himself. No, Jesus says he was a fool because after he acquire this money and goods, that he didn’t know what to do with it.
This no doubt is a sin that many of us have in America. The poorest person in America is richer that ninety-five percent of the rest of the world. We tend to waste money, spend money, and invest money to gain more money and a better living, but we spend it and invest it for temporal rather than the eternal.
I love this quote by the missionary Jim Elliot, “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” As we think about this warning from Jesus, we need to look into our own hearts today and make sure we are not seeking to be satisfied with money or possessions. Their satisfaction is only temporary and will not meet the deepest need of our soul that can only be satisfied by our relationship with Jesus Christ!
Today, may God help us to “beware of covetousness” and seek Jesus first and foremost (Matthew 6:33).
God bless!
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