With the roll of a dice (or the first-century equivalent) the only thing worth anything that Jesus owned was gambled away at the foot of his cross (John 19:23-25).
A London cab driver used to appear occasionally on a podcast I used to enjoy. He was full of interesting stories of the happenings around London and was always sure to include a section on the hardships caused by the powers-that-be. The last time I heard him speak everything had changed. Life was good and getting better. He said that the London flat that he had bought in the 1980s had recently sold for a very large sum of money. “Funny thing is,” he concluded, “me and my neighbours were the poor people back then.”
I wish others nothing but joy in their prosperity—I praise God for the good that they do with it. The apostle Paul cheers on those who have the gift of giving with: “He who gives, with liberality” (Romans 12:7).
But greed ever lurks in prosperity’s blind spot.
A man tried to draw Jesus into a legacy pay-out dispute. He said, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me” (Luke 12:14a).
A man doesn’t have to live very long before he too witnesses what happened to Jesus that day. Once seemingly contented souls morph into the most selfish of creatures. All Christians must respond as Jesus did: “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” (Luke 12:14a)
We are all wired to view wealth as a right, and the stuff of dignity and success. With it, it is believed, a man can hold up his head in the presence of his fellow man, but without it he hangs his head with the unfortunate.
Jesus clears the tables of all such foolishness. “For one’s life” he insists, “does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).
Money, possessions, talents, and resources are available to all to one degree or another. Most people use them for unrighteous means, but for the Christian, they are tools to build the church.
Jesus throws down the challenge: “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? (Luke 16:11).
Don’t be satisfied with anything less than true riches…!
John Staiger
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