Stuff

Stuff

Luke 12:15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Scripture warns us over and over about covetousness. In fact, one of the Ten Commandments tells us, “Thou shalt not covet.” (Exodus 20:17) Specifically, that Commandment tells us not to covet anything that belongs to our neighbor. Now, some people hear that and think to covet is simply to desire something that belongs to someone else, but the sin of covetousness is more than that.

To covet is to desire, to want, to long for something. Covetousness consists of greed, materialism, and gluttony. Sure, to covet is to desire what someone else has, but it also means to desire what the world has. When Jesus spoke the words above, He was warning His disciples about greed. He says life doesn’t consist of owning a bunch of stuff; there’s much more to life than that. Jesus followed those words with a parable about a man who had accumulated so much stuff he wanted to tear down his perfectly good barns so he could build bigger ones to put all his stuff in.

You might be asking, what’s so bad about having a lot of stuff? Well, the problem isn’t necessarily having stuff so much as it is trusting in your stuff rather than God. That’s what happened in the parable Jesus told about the man and his barns. That man told his soul to kick back and relax because he had enough stuff to last a long time, and God said he was foolish for doing that. (Luke 12:16-21)

Jesus follows all this by saying, “But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Luke 12:31)

Put God and His Kingdom first, and God will take care of the other stuff.

Have a God Filled Week,
Brother Donnie