Bible Reading Blog
“Learn to Be Content”
Categories: Congregational Bible ReadingBIBLE READING: Luke 12
This blog is an excerpt from Sunday’s sermon, “The Rich Fool”
According to the gospel of Luke, the presence, pull and pursuit of things is one of the greatest obstacles to faithfulness and our eternal outcome. He would address it through 5 teaching accounts from Jesus, and two of those were direct interactions with his followers (Luke 12.13-21; 18.18-30). A clear reality emerges in Jesus’ teaching: our attitude towards possessions will impact our faith. Jesus would describe our affections for things as thorns in the soil of our heart that chokes out the word of God (Luke 8.14). So we must recognize that eternal issues are at stake when handling our possessions. Jesus would address this directly in his Parable of the Rich Fool.
The parable is prompted by a man shouting for Jesus to pass judgment on matters of his inheritance (Luke12.13). But Jesus finds this irrelevant to his mission. Instead, Jesus challenges him consider where his treasure lies [Luke 12.34]. “Beware; keep yourself from covetousness, for life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions” (12.15). Jesus does not dismiss this man altogether, but he makes a clear point of condemnation about his behavior towards his stuff. “‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’” (Luke 12.20). God expected this man to handle his stuff differently; and when he didn’t, he is condemned as a fool.
Most of us are not all that different than this man. We are caught between two worlds, and the pressure of the ‘seen’ is significant. But the result of caving to these pressures is only fear and anxiety. The only way to overcome this outcome is with a proper relationship with the things of this world. We must accept that more things won’t make us happier (12.15); more things will bring more stress (12.17); and more things will breed self-sufficiency (12.19). But more importantly, we must acknowledge that God has given to us with expectation that we will see and serve others (1 John 3.17). We must take stewardship seriously recognizing the opportunity God gives us with our possessions.
We must not be deceived about why we have what we have. We don’t deserve every good thing. Many followers of God live with much less than us. It is not because God loves them less. It is because God uses various ways to serve others and draw us to him. So we must learn to be content in every circumstance, trusting God’s faithful provision (Philippians 4.11). That only comes from life experience and is sometimes difficult. But that’s the purpose of God’s grace. He gives us exactly what we need. We don’t need to complain or wish we had more. He gives and takes away to shape us into who we ought to be. So, whether we have or do not we, like Paul, must learn to be confident and content in every circumstance.
