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Continuing our studies of Luke Chapter 12, this week we are considering verses 13-21. Please read them every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 12:13-15 (NIV)
‘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; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”’
I have to admit that I quite like watching certain kinds of films. I love ones that have a strong storyline that twists and turns keeping the watcher guessing as to what’s going to happen next. They don’t have to be action packed, just so long as I have to think about what could happen next. I don’t care much for films that are ‘musicals’. However, there are exceptions to my general dislike and one of those films is the 1968 version of ‘Oliver!’.
Based on the Charles Dickens novel ‘Oliver Twist’, I’m sure that almost everyone has seen the film. Perhaps you can remember the image of Jack Lester playing the title role with an empty bowl in his outstretched hands. He had finished his meal of ‘gruel’ and tentatively walked up to the person running the workhouse and asked for ‘more’. Mr Bumble called him greedy but I really don’t think that a child being fed such miserly rations could be accused of greed.
The real definition of the word ‘Greed’ is ‘the thirst for having more’. In today’s society we are actually being ‘fed’ a culture of greed and for always wanting more. Advertising slogans such as ‘once you pop you can’t stop’ encourages us to not only eat something but to eat the entire pack! We are continually being told to get the latest and greatest versions of something we already own and engenders a ‘thirst’ for more.
The implication from Jesus’ words in these verses today is that the man making the request for the division of the inheritance had actually received something but wasn’t happy with the amount. That could be the reason that Jesus goes on to talk about greed and in particular, He uses the phrase ‘A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions’. Not only is Jesus saying that the man had enough to survive already, but that there was an ‘abundance of possessions’ and therefore was issuing a warning to all who were listening.
As I said earlier, wherever we go, we are literally bombarded with messages of greed and materialism. Newspapers and TV are filled with advertisements ‘offering’ us the best deals on all kinds of goods. Jesus is asking us all to be on our guard. Greed can begin with the smallest of seeds and finds its way into the root of our desire. Whatever it is that you are fond of, greed will ensure that you are never satisfied and that you need more of it. If you like technology, then greed will attempt to seduce you into wanting better versions of the product. I know of people who simply ‘must’ have the latest phone and spend thousands of pounds in that quest.
The warning that Jesus is bringing isn’t about ‘the things’ themselves. The encouragement from the Saviour is to understand what life is really about. The word ‘consist’ is from the verb ‘to be’. An alternative translation is “life doesn’t ‘exist’ in the abundance of possessions’”. Life is found in Jesus only and He came to earth so that we may have life – life in all its fullness.
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