Today in God's Word—August 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
August 5, Luke 12
Every day we’re told the same lie. It comes to us meticulously crafted, appealingly packaged and maddeningly repeated. “You need, you lack, you could have more; your life is pathetically limited and less than cool as long as you do not have our product. People will like you if you use our product. Our product will make you an object of desire. You’re not really living if you don’t have what we’re selling. And we accept all major credit cards.”
We think we’re too sophisticated to fall for it. But we find ourselves caught up in the idea we need more—more to be happy, more to enjoy life. So we spend and buy on credit and mortgage our future to acquire things, chasing the elusive butterfly of fulfillment and significance. The next gadget, the newest model, the boldest fashion —surely some of it will make us feel complete and validated.
And it’s so easy these days! One of my favorite online merchants has “one-click shopping.” I just click the mouse, and my next purchase is on its way to me.
Jesus offered a vaccination against the insidious, creeping plague of materialism in his warning: “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” He exposed the fallacy of thinking that real fulfillment or meaning can be bought, sold or acquired in a material thing.
It’s easier to see how others are believing the lie than to realize our own vulnerability. We shake our heads at sad stories about wealthy people who are not happy. We see people desperate to get more, because they’re not content with what they have. But how many of us who know what Jesus said are also struggling with too much debt and confused priorities, unsure of what we want, but eager to get the next thing?
The rich man made several errors in judgment. He thought a lot about himself. He thought security could be stored in a barn. He thought
material things could satisfy his soul. He thought he was going to be around a long, long time to enjoy all he had amassed. According to Jesus, the man was laying up treasure for himself instead of being rich toward God.
All this has a very modern, contemporary feel, doesn’t it? The rich man’s values are the values of many people in the world and in the church today. People really haven’t changed much in 2,000 years. Technology has advanced, bringing more and more sophistication to the things we collect and our methods of acquiring them. But we’re still susceptible to the painful emptiness of trying to find meaning and life in the things we call our own. Jesus offers real significance to his followers. But he says lasting satisfaction is found in self-denial, not self- fulfillment. Abundant living is in relationship with him, not in a pile of possessions.
From The Abiding Companion: A Friendly Guide for Your Journey Through the New Testament, Copyright © 2010 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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