Daily Scripture Reading: Luke 12:15 KJV
Luke 12:15 KJV
(15) 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.
Today’s Devotional Is OUR POSSESSIONS
The following is a selection of the petition addressed to Christ in this paragraph. It has been repeated repeatedly to Him throughout subsequent ages. Men always ask Christ to divide the inheritance more evenly. Our Lord didn’t come to alter human relationships through His autocratic will. He focuses on the greed and overreaching avarice that leads the wealthy to withhold and the discontent that compels the poor and to murmur. He saw in the request of the suppliant the same tendency to covetousness that prompted the other brother not to share the inheritance.
The profound truth of life is not in what you have, but what you are. This was the message from Our Lord. Our wealth is not measured in terms of the money we have in the bank or the land that our parents inherit, but in the pure, strong, and generous nature of our being. If we accumulate wealth for ourselves, we are a pauper in God’s world. Covetousness is a way to deal with it. We can only consider our property as gifts that are entrusted to others for their benefit. We can all be ashamed of the greedy spirit that is within us all by sowing the acreage for our lives as described in 2Co_9,1-15.
Many worship sensual appetite (Php_3;19). Many prostrate themselves before idols such as eating, drinking, feasting, and pleasure-seeking. There are many other idols, too. If any object on earth engulfs our soul and prevents us from receiving the love and faith of God, it must be destroyed. We can use and enjoy any object we have if we are able to look up at God and thank Him for it. It is unlikely that we will make idols of what we get from our Heavenly Father. His good pleasure is to give good gifts for His children (1Ti_4.4-5).
PRAYER for Today
Our Lord, the Portion from our Inheritance, grant us grace. We pray Thee that we never seek or desire anything other than Thee. Give us what we can in Thee according to Thy Will. What we cannot, we will deny. AMEN.