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Riches and Greed

So, there is this short Parable that Jesus gives just after a long talk about the yeast of the Pharisees and the mounting pressure from them to get rid of him. Out of the blue, and from the crowd, some guy shouts, "Teacher, make my brother divide the inheritance with me!" (Luke 12:13).

How times have changed and how nothing has changed. This poor guy got the shaft from his dead parent. Or maybe he got what he deserved. Whatever the case he was bold enough to shout out his question that seemed totally unrelated to Jesus' current topic. 

Luke 12:13 to 20 constitutes one paragraph in Luke's narrative. One hundred and seventy one words in my English version. Rather insignificant in a literary context as big as the Bible. Yet it wasn't so meaningless that Luke (the Holy Spirit) left it out of his account. Remember, Luke was writing to Theophilus. Maybe a rich guy? Maybe for this reason Luke talks about the rich man and Lazarus, the rich young ruler and this guy with the inheritance problem. 

Jesus' initial comeback seems contradictory at first, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" The reason that this response seems strange is that it is Exactly Jesus, who is to judge the universe! However, in his then current ministry Jesus was the Teacher. 

Jesus then proceeded to give the key thought to the coming parable, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." This is NOT what this anonymous guy from the crowd was wanting to hear. You can bet on that. 
 
I think again of Rush Limbaugh who died recently. Rush's annual salary was $85 million and his net worth was $600 million. To you and me $85 million bucks a year seems like a lot of cash! What would you do with that kind of money? 

Another famous person, John D. Rockefeller, was once asked, "How much money is enough?" to which his reply was, "Just a little bit more." An article that I read said the following about him, "With a peak net worth of approximately US$418 billion in 2019 dollars, American oil magnate... Rockefeller was the richest person in American history, and the richest person in the post-Industrial Revolution era." 

Both Rush and Rockefeller had all that money could buy. Yet both died. They left all that they had. Thus Jesus' illustration about the man who had a great crop and decided to tear down his old barns and build bigger ones. His problem wasn't his need for bigger barns. It was his lack of focus on the provider of his blessings, God. 

We, with our puny fortunes, must remember what has true and lasting value. It's not our bank account, our real estate or stock holdings. Rather, our true wealth comes as we invest our lives into our relationship with God. It's not wrong to be rich. But riches can change our perspective and focus. Don't let this happen to you. 
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