Watch Out!

Please read Luke 12:13-21

As I read this passage, verse 15 makes me stop in my tracks: Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

Three things really catch my eye:
1: "Watch out! Be on your guard. . ." Those phrases seem so defensive. So active. Like greed is on the attack, and we have to protect ourselves from it. Wouldn't it be more exact for Jesus to simply remind us not to be greedy - to keep ourselves in check? But when I stop to consider . . .I realize that Jesus' words hit the bulls eye. Greed sneaks up on me. Overall, I don't think I'm a greedy person. Actually, I think I'm pretty content. Then I see how much nicer someone else's house is. . .and greed sneaks in. I hear about someone's sunny tropical vacation. . .and there's greed again. If I don't watch out, if I'm not on my guard. . .greed finds a chink in the armor, every time.

2. "All kinds of greed." I think this is an interesting choice of words. I mean, greed is greed, isn't it? I guess not - not according to Jesus anyway. There are multiple kinds of greed. This is a check for me against the habit of comparing myself to others instead of to God's standard for me. I'm not ultra materialistic. I don't feel like I spend my life trying to keep up with the Jones's. But that's not good enough for God. Not even close. Greed doesn't only look like I think it looks. So where has greed snuck into my life, in disguise?

3. "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Of course it doesn't. But sometimes I sure live like it does - my time gets consumed by earning enough money, making sure bills are paid, and hoping there's enough left over for something fun. But that's not life. When being grown-up and worrying about money feels stifling, when it feels like there surely has to be more to life than this. . .it's because there IS more to life! THANK GOD! Jesus says "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." (John 10:10, The Message).

God, guard us, and strengthen us to guard ourselves, against greed - it will stifle us, distract us from you and from your people, and consume us. Help us learn contentment - through and through. And Jesus, you are LIFE. Help us live like it's true - not chained down by the worlds' standards, but freed up for, and by, the "real and eternal life" that is both "more and better. . .than we've ever dreamed of."

Meg Henderson