greed – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

When our time comes

Our life is fragile. And in an instant, it can be taken from us. Whether it be in a car accident, an earthquake, or whatever it may be.

And on that day, when we see God, what will he say to us?

Jesus was asked by a man to make his brother divide the family inheritance.

Apparently, there was some dispute on how it should be divided, but the main point was, the man was in love with money.

Perhaps his father was rich, and for years, he had dreamed of the money he would inherit when his father died. But when that day came, he found himself on the short end of the stick, and all his dreams of comfort and luxury were dashed.

And so he came up to Jesus to try to rectify the situation.

But Jesus quickly rebuffed him, saying,

Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you? (Luke 12:14)

In short, “Forget it.”

And then Jesus gave the second warning in this chapter.

Earlier he had given a severe warning about hypocrisy. Now he warns us against greed, saying,

Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. (Luke 12:15)

What was he telling the man? Life isn’t all about things, and the comfort and luxury they might bring.

He then told a story about a man whose life was all about money and luxury. He had had a very successful crop one year, and wondered what to do with it.

He could have given some to feed the poor. He could have used his profit to help others in need. But instead, he had only one thought: Himself.

He said,

This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” (Luke 12:18-19)

That’s the dream of a lot of people. Retire early, and then live for themselves. Eat, drink, and be merry!

But God told the man,

You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself. (Luke 12:20)

And Jesus said,

This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:21)

So we get back to my original question. When your time comes, what will God say to you? Will he say, “You fool. You totally wasted your life on things that were not important.”

Or will he say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

What’s in the heart

Here in Luke 11:37-44, Jesus gives a blistering criticism of the Pharisees. And basically what it came down to was what was in their hearts.

The Pharisees looked so good on the outside. They were so careful to keep the law. But inside, they were full of hypocrisy.

One thing Jesus pointed to was the greed that stained their hearts. Oh, they gave their tithes to God, down to the herbs they grew in their gardens.

But when they saw a person in need, they walked by without a second glance. Their love for money far outweighed their love for those around them.

They also were so quick to pass judgment without really looking at the situation through God’s eyes.

One example was their criticism of Jesus’ healings on the Sabbath and the unjust way they not only treated Jesus, but those he healed (John 9).

In so doing, they forgot the words of Micah who said,

With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:6-8)

Jesus called them on all of this.

But he also pointed out the stain of pride in their hearts. That the reason they desired these positions of leadership was not to serve the people, but to be seen as important.

And because of these things, he called them unmarked graves which men walk over without knowing.

Why was that so bad? Because graves were unclean by Jewish law. To touch them was to make yourself unclean. (Numbers 19:16)

So Jesus was saying to these Pharisees, “Not only are you unclean, but you make everyone you come into contact with unclean too.

Worse, these people don’t even know that they’ve been made unclean because they think you’re righteous.”

Harsh?

Yes. But the truth often is. And the thing is, these people needed to know that while they were fooling others, they certainly weren’t fooling God, and they were headed for disaster unless they repented.

And so are we if we are merely “clean” on the outside but filthy on the inside.

It’s not enough to do religious things. To go to church. To tithe to the church.

These things are not enough when all the while, you’re filled with pride and greed, lacking the love of God in your heart. And not just lacking love for God, but lacking God’s love for those around you.

God sees beyond the exterior into your heart. And he is looking for people after his own heart.

What’s in yours?