Shalom,
Now we have entered the month of October. We can't stop giving thanks for the endless love God lavishly gives us from day to day. The Lord is always with us that we can enjoy the Sabbath amidst the uncertainties of this world; and it’s only because of His grace.
Through the shepherding word of God today with the theme “A Rich Life in God’s Eyes” taken from Luke 12:13-34, we can get useful advice. What is the definition of the word "rich"? According to the dictionary, it means people who have a great amount of wealth in terms of material. But actually ‘having a lot’ (of food, drink, clothe) is very relative. Example: Person A, who has 2 clothes, sees person B, who has 10 clothes, as a rich person; whereas Person B will think that person C is rich because he has 100 clothes, and so on.
At that time Jesus highlighted two groups that were with Him, namely:
- The crowd (murias: ten thousands, an innumerable multitude)—common people (vv. 13-21).
- Jesus' disciples (vv. 22-34). What advice did Jesus give to them?
TO THE CROWD: Don't be greedy!
Jesus' teaching attracted the crowd (v. 1). “Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” (v. 13).
Unfortunately, this person aimed at using Jesus’ power and popularity to merely gain more treasure and inheritance for himself.
What was Jesus' response? “But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator
[divider] over you? Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”(v. 15).
It is clear that this man’s relationship with his brother was inharmonious so he used Jesus to solve the inheritance problem, but actually his main goal was to fulfill his greed. Obviously, he was greedy as he wanted to steal his brother's inheritance even though he had heard Jesus' teaching about the yeast of hypocrisy. This proves that this person still carried the yeast of hypocrisy in his heart, only the term was changed to the yeast of greed since he wanted more and more.
Introspection: What goes through our minds when we listen to the Lord’s Word? Do we listen attentively when the word of God is talking about uncleanness or our mind wanders, thinking about dirty and evil things? Do we attend crusade and actively minister to Him just to take advantage of Jesus to cover up our greed?
Jesus knew exactly what the man's intention of asking such request was. Therefore, He gave a parable of the rich fool to expose his greed (vv. 17-20). Through this parable Jesus reminded all who listened that greed could not be solved by hoarding anything because it is never satisfying. Notice, Jesus is not against rich people as He even encourages us to prosper by working hard (v. 16); however, He dislikes greed. How to solve the problem of greed? The vaccine or medicine for greed is to learn to be grateful for what we have and to make a habit of giving thanks and being content with what we have.
Application: We should increase gratitude and always learn to be grateful starting from small things at home – thanking the husband who works to support the family; thanking the wife who manages household chores; children thanking parents who have raised and educated them etc. Especially during this pandemic, we are taught to be grateful for whatever we have amid the limitation. Remember, greed stems from ungratefulness.
Then who is the 'rich man' in Jesus’ eyes? Someone who has a philosophy of eternity in their lives.
Jesus rebuked the man for having a wrong philosophy. He thought only of what to do to amass wealth and then revelled in his soul. He was so egocentric because everything was centered on “I” (15 times spoken in verses 17-19). He never thought that death could come to him anytime. He should have thought about the philosophy of death, too.
So we must have a philosophy of life as well as a philosophy of death. For example: what we should do in this life and what legacy we will leave after we die.
Once again, let’s not misunderstand God, assuming that He does not like us to be successful and rich. He loves people who succeed because of hard work and manage finances well. In the Gospel of Luke alone, we can read some examples of rich and high-positioned people: a noble official named Theophilus (Luke 1:1); tax collectors and soldiers who received special attention from John the Baptist (Luke 3:12-14); Levi the tax collector who followed Jesus (Luke 5:27-28); the centurion who got Jesus' attention (Luke 7:1-10); John, the treasurer of Herod, whom Jesus helped (Luke 8:3). In addition, of the three trials Jesus experienced, two were related to livelihood and wealth (Luke 4:3- 7).
We must improve our view toward God. It was because He loved the rich that He rebuked them. What is the anti-covetousness medicine? Sharing and not being self-centered! In fact, without realizing it, we have practiced sharing, for example: we pay income tax, we faithfully give tithe, etc. But this man extorted money and accumulated all the wealth for himself.
There are two sentences that are not pleasant to hear for hoarders of wealth for themselves, namely:
- “Fool!” for being greedy and never thinking of others.
- "This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things [the treasure] be which you have provided?” → what was in him did not belong to him fully but God’s to be shared with Don’t you realize that we are ambassadors of humanity sent by Him? Can you imagine how sad it was that after he died, all the treasure he had been working hard for would have to be given to others?
Because of his wrong philosophy, he thought that his pile of wealth could prolong his life; forgetting the fact that there is no correlation between the abundance of wealth and the extension of life. We must admit that having a great amount of wealth can make things easier, but great wealth can sometimes lead to complicated life.
Jesus deliberately used the word "soul (psuche)" instead of breath because after death there will be accountability we should take when He comes again. The criteria for accountability are not complicated, as revealed in Matthew 25:14-15 about the master who entrusts his wealth to his servants. One with 5 talents, another with 2 talents and the other with 1 talent according to their abilities. We will be held accountable not based on the amount we earn but how much we receive as well as how much impact we have on other people. The more we receive, the more accountability we should take (5 to 10 talents, 2 to 4 talents and so on). So, if we receive a lot from God but we use it all for ourselves, we must be prepared to take the accountability on the judgment day after we die.
Application: God wants us to enjoy what we have as happily as we share it with others (husband, wife, children, relatives, etc.). We must remember that what we do now is related to our life after death.
TO THE SIMPLE PEOPLE—JESUS’ DISCIPLES (vv. 22-34): Don't worry!
When the crowd had anxiety due to their great wealth, Jesus’ simple disciples had potential worry about what they would eat, drink and wear for they had given up works, families and others to become Jesus’ disciples (Luke 18:28-30).
What advice did Jesus give them? “Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.” (vv. 22-23).
The verses above reminds us that we ourselves determine the value of our lives.
To His disciples, Jesus said that a rich life in the sight of God must have eternal value.
Jesus reminded them not to worry even though they didn’t have much that was important because they already had what was most important. He wanted to emphasize that for God there was no difference in value between the rich and the ordinary like Jesus’ disciples (servants of God). In other words, before God, they (and we) have eternal value that is incomparable to food, drink and clothes.
Indeed, the guarantee of provision from God is not easy to understand; that's why Jesus gave the parable of a raven which neither sows nor reaps but is fed by God. Do you know the uniqueness of a raven? This bird is omnivorous (eating everything) and the size of its brain is larger for the size of its body. This makes the quality of his intelligence very admirable. He is very good at using resources around him to obtain food. For example: this bird can reach food in a hole using a dry twig.
Application: God knows we need food and clothing, and He has provided everything on the surface of this earth. The problem is, the guarantee of provision does not come in front of us by itself but we have to work hard to get it. Don't stand idle and cry over your unlucky fate, instead rise up and try harder! This effort and hard work will surely be blessed by God.
Unfortunately, there are Christians who are confused about life because they have a misconception about verse 31 that says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." They feel that the promises of God's Word do not match up to the facts. They have been diligently attending church but still live in poverty while the unbelievers are richer. Remember, food and money do not fall directly from the sky but they are blessings received by anyone who is willing to work hard and smart to find them. Don't think that you will be rich by following God because many people who don't know God also live a life full of riches! The difference is, we have a guarantee of salvation in eternal life.
In addition to the parable of a raven, Jesus also mentions about the lilies which are more majestic than Solomon's glory; meaning that the disciples have the most glory of all.
We now know the type of life that is rich in God’s eyes. It is not materially rich but has philosophy of eternity and eternal value. For that, we should not be greedy by continuing to pursue wealth for ourselves but like sharing it with those in need. Let’s learn to be grateful in any condition and not to worry because we have the most important and glorious thing that is salvation in eternal life to live with the Heavenly Bridegroom in the New Jerusalem forever. Amen.