The Desire to Acquire

SERIES: BEWARE OF THE LITTLE THINGS 9/29/13
 A guy in the crowd asks Jesus to intervene in a family dispute over inheritance. Fighting over money can cause such contention in families.

He has not gotten his fair share, and he wants more. He expects Jesus to get involved and ensure that he gets his rightful portion, but Jesus does not become entangled in this family dispute over money, instead he gives a stern warning, Lk 12:15 – “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist of abundance of his possessions.”

Now Jesus is not teaching that he doesn’t want us to succeed or have money, or to save. In fact the man in Jesus story is a rich man. The problem is not that he is rich, the problem is his obsession with having more, it is his attitude toward money or possessions that Jesus warns against. So today we want to consider Jesus warning against greed, and how it applies to our lives.