“And one of
the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the
inheritance with me. And he said unto
him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of
covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do,
because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and
build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up
for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and
be merry. But God said
unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then
whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich
toward God.” (Luk 12:13-21)
Our Lord Jesus has a way of
addressing issues that is sometimes baffling. In His encounters with men, He
always addresses the root cause of issues rather than the surface symptoms.
Here was a man seeking the powerful Teacher’s help to get what he felt was his
right, instead he got a rebuke and a lecture. God looks at the heart and not
just what a man says or does; hence he is able to answer to the heart cries of
man. Come along with me as we reflect together on these thoughts.
What a man thinks is his
problem is not the problem at all. (Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the
inheritance with me)
This man came to Jesus with a
simple request: ‘Master, help me recover my inheritance’. When a man has an
opportunity to ask for something from a powerful personality, he would
naturally ask for the important issue in his life. This man must have felt this
inheritance palaver was the most pressing matter in his life. But Jesus thought
otherwise!
What do you think is the most
crucial issue for God to handle in your life? A husband, a wife, a child, a
good job, a house, a car, healing…? You may be surprised if God should talk
with you. For this man, Jesus discerned that his problem was covetousness. For
you, God may be more interested is dealing with anger and un-forgiveness in
your life. It may be some other manifestation of sin in your life. Generally,
Jesus is more concerned about your soul than about your body; about your
eternal fate than your earthly state. He thinks more about your spiritual state
than your physical issues.
Saul ben Kish was looking for
lost asses from God; God was looking for a King in Saul. Saul of tarsus was
looking for Christians to destroy; God was looking for a preacher called Paul,
the Apostle. What do you think is your greatest need? I am so sure it is God Himself and not
anything God gives.
What a man thinks Jesus came to
do is not what He came to do. (Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?)
The man came to Jesus because somehow he felt his problem was one of
the problems God sent Jesus to solve. Many people still don’t know why Jesus
came to earth! Even His disciples thought He came to set up an earthly Kingdom.
Others thought he came for free food distribution. He did not come to right
every wrong, He did not come to stop every injustice. In fact He is not a Human
Rights crusader. Jesus did not come so that He can help your favourite team win
the World Cup in Brazil. He did not come to eradicate poverty. He did not come
to stop all wars.
Jesus came to save sinners of
whom I am chief! Yes he cares for all you care about, but he came first
to save you from hell and take you to heaven, the rest they say in Nigeria ‘na jara’. It is only after he has done
his main work in your life that he can attend to the ‘addendums’ or “AOB’s”.
Jesus always puts first things first in His dealings with people. He has to be
your savior (from sin) first before He can become provider and protector.
Life is not about abundance of possessions.
Human being generally rate men
according to externals: beauty, dressing, wealth, power, position etc. The
average man wants to have ‘things’ and to cling to them and to flaunt them. We
feel ‘thick’ when we have ‘things’ that we know will make others respect or
even envy us. This is at the root of all cravings. It is the foundation for
materialism (the desire for material things-possessions). What makes Mr. Man
covetous is that when he sees another man having things he does not have, he
feels the other man is more important and no one must be more important than
Mr. Man. If Mr. Man knows that life is not about possessions, that will make
him less bothered about possessions.
So why did Jesus say He came to give life abundantly? Life is about
knowing God, loving God and serving God! Life is about doing the will of the
master Jesus. (John 4:34). This is what He came to give in abundance. Possessions
are means for doing God’s will and not the end or reward of serving God. We
don’t serve and worship Jesus to get possessions; we use possessions to serve
and worship Jesus! Possessions are only good if they don’t possess us. To be
possessed by possessions is the same as to be possessed by demons (mammon is a
demon!).
Conclusion
When you don’t know your real
problem, when you don’t know what problems Jesus came to solve, when you don’t
know what life is all about, then you really have problem. Next week we shall
examine the parable of the Rich Fool!
Prayers.
1. Father,
please solve my real problem and not just my perceived problems. Give me what I
need and not what I want.
2. Father,
open my eyes to what you really want to accomplish in my life.
3. Daddy,
deliver me every form of materialism.
4. Father,
possess me fully so that what you give to me will not be able to possess me.
5. In
the name of Jesus Christ I deliver myself from every form of demonic
possession.
6. Lord
God, please give me everything I need to serve and worship you effectively.
