Luke 12:15
“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.”
In the verse above, a man came to Jesus requesting that He would talk to his brother about dividing the inheritance. Apparently, the parents of this young man had passed away and left everything they had to his brother. This man thought that Jesus would be able to persuade his brother to split the inheritance. Instead, Jesus rebuked the young man by saying, “beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Jesus wanted this man to understand that life filled with things will ultimately mean nothing.
We live in a world that seems to be wrapped up in things. There is nothing wrong with having things, but life is not all about things. Many people have their focus upon things, and things only complicate life.
My grandparents were married for seventy-two years before my grandmother passed away. As a young man, I can remember going to their house in Shelby, Indiana. What amazed me about their house was that it was very small. The master bedroom was barely big enough to get a queen bed and dresser in it. The other two bedrooms were very small. In fact, one of the bedrooms was only big enough to get a mattress in it. When you got out of bed, you stepped into the living room. Their kitchen was small and the living room was smaller than most hotel rooms in which I stay. They did not have a lot of things, but they were very happy. They found out early in life that having things is not where happiness is found.
The verse above is teaching us that life should not be wrapped up with things. Many of the things we have in our homes are not even used. Sadly, people spend thousands of dollars on things and are still not happy. They have debt they say they can’t pay, yet they can find the money to purchase the things they want. You will never find joy and happiness when you wrap your life around things.
Moreover, the abundance of things does not dictate your status. God said that life does not consist of the things he “possesseth.” In other words, it is not who has the most things or the best of things that determines one’s status in life. We often get the newest technology or vehicle to show people our status in life. People will place themselves in tremendous debt to get big homes and fill those homes with expensive furniture just to impress others with their status. Sadly, churches have fallen into the trap of trying to impress people with their extravagant buildings thinking that will give them greater status in the community. Things do not dictate your status!
Furthermore, when you make things your focus in life, then covetousness will take over your life. When things become your focus, you will always find that someone else will have something that you want. It is a never ending cycle. Covetousness will control you and leave you financially broke and spiritually destitute.
Friend, let me encourage you not to get your life wrapped up in things. Things will only complicate your life. I’m not against you having nice things, but don’t make that your life. Let God give you what you need, and wrap your life around what is truly important, and that is living for Christ. When you take your eyes off things and place them on Christ, you will find that you will have everything that you want.