“Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ Jesus replied, ‘Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions’” (Luke 12:13-14).
Be on your guard against all kinds of greed . . .
Greed is idolatry, plain and simple. God’s will for us as his children is that we be content with what he gives. He even warns us about coveting what isn’t ours.
So what is idolatry?
So often, the picture that comes to my mind is of a wooden or golden figurine that is placed in a prominent place and worshiped. But idols are more than such things. Idols are whatever takes the prominent and foremost place in our hearts before our God. Idols are whatever we choose to be more important than our God and listening to him and obeying his will for us.
So what is greed?
So often, the picture that comes to my mind is of wealth and possessions—desiring the physical things of this world over and above the contentment God calls us to have in life. Desiring them because those earthly, worldly things are where we think we’ll find our purpose and fulfillment, our contentment, our peace, and our security.
That seems to be what Jesus was warning the man about in the account quoted above from Luke’s gospel. The man was so focused on those earthly possessions that Jesus went on to tell a parable about a wealthy man who got his priorities out of order, focused solely on the here and now, and failed to ensure that he had a right standing with his Creator—the very one who had given him such blessings so that he might use them to God’s glory.
But greed is more than just a love and wanting of wealth and possessions, just like idolatry is more than worshiping shiny gold figurines. Jesus warns against all kinds of greed. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions, but it also doesn’t consist in an abundance of any other undeserved blessing that I try to hold on to and refuse to let go of because I think it’s mine or I want it to be mine.
My family . . . my friends . . . my health . . . my employment . . . my social standing . . .
God showers us with so many undeserved blessings. He gives graciously for Jesus’ sake, but he takes away too, because he knows what is best for our spiritual good. I struggle with that. I want to keep holding on to such blessings and don’t want them taken away. Or if I don’t have them, I wonder why someone else does and not me. That too is greed.
Watch out! Be on your guard, dear Christian. All that we have in this life is not our own. Everything we have is a gracious gift from our heavenly Father. While we have such things, we use them to God’s glory as good stewards of God’s gifts.
What truly matters is having a right relationship with the one who has done all things for us. In sending Jesus to rescue us from our sins of greed and idolatry, God has opened heaven’s doors—eternal life forever with him.
That is what we set our eyes on—the undeserved inheritance won for us by our Savior Jesus, who has graciously, lovingly, and abundantly given us all things.
Stewardship is usually a personal topic for Christians, but it is crucial for carrying out God’s ministry today. Because we are redeemed children of God, we have a desire to serve our Savior with all that he has blessed us with. Stewardship: What I Do With What God Gave Me, from the People’s Bible Teachings series, focuses on God and the gifts he has given us and, in doing so, works to increase our desire to serve him.
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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