Optimist Roundtable
By Martha Sykes
There are times in our lives when we have to stop and say “What’s really important in life?” In the book of Luke, chapter 12, Jesus was once again sitting and teaching His disciples, but there were also others around Him, just listening to Him teach. All of a sudden, He was interrupted by this man who apparently wasn’t listening to Jesus, but was worried about his own problem. This man said, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide his inheritance with me”.
I’m sure that Jesus’s answer wasn’t what this man wanted to hear, when He said, “man who appointed me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And then He continued with His teaching. It was probably because Jesus saw this man’s concern as one of greed so He kept on with his message and this time He said, “Be on guard against all kind of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. ” I guess Jesus saw this as a teachable moment.
Jesus is telling His followers that things don’t matter on earth, but things in our hearts need to be what Christ wants for us. I don’t believe that Jesus really had a problem with somebody having possessions or being wealthy, but I think Jesus was concerned with a man’s heart; whether it is about getting more and more or is it about loving and giving where it is needed, because at this part of the passage, Jesus decides to tell the parable of the rich man.
Today, in this present world, we are bombarded by advertisements showing us something bigger, something better, or something different. Sometimes we have to stop and think about what is important or how much difference there is between being comfortable and wanting more. Jesus was making a point in this passage about having too much and how that can be wrong.
We don’t want to be called a “fool” as this rich man was called. We need to realize that all we have is from God and not stored up for our own benefit, but store up our treasures in heaven as the scripture says. We do all need to stop and consider what is really important in life. Do we want a life dependent on the things of this world or do we want to live a life knowing there are no guarantees of permanence in this life, but knowing that treasures await us in heaven and that we can have so much more of Christ in our lives and less of ourselves?
