Rich in God

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:13–21
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Rich in God
To say we live in a material world is to state the obvious. Wealth is judged by the number of things you have. We want money so we can get things. And the possession of worldly goods is promoted and glorified. But to be rich in things does not equate to being rich in faith. Jesus underlines the great danger of being rich in earthly things but poor toward God. In our materialistic culture, the dangers of covetousness are often downplayed; in fact, to many, greed is a virtue. In love for us, however, Jesus warns us against the self-destructive nature of covetousness and gives us new hearts, which He, the very source of life and goodness, fills with joyful satisfaction through the Gospel. By God’s love and protection, our eyes are kept from becoming envious and our hearts from self-destructive greed. He moves us to find satisfaction in His promises and to trust that He will more than provide for us and our loved ones.