Today’s scripture: Luke 12:13-21 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Sue Robinson):
I have learned to appreciate Jesus’ words in this passage. “…life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
I heard a story one time, purported to be true, about a father who was playing Monopoly with his children. Now this father was a cut-throat game player. He had amassed houses, hotels, and all the good properties. His kids got tired of paying all the rent on these properties and quit playing. Dad folded the game board, dumped the pieces into the box, and had an epiphany. “When I die, that’s what will happen to all I have. It will just be dumped and someone else will take over all my stuff and start playing again.”
Five and a half years ago, when my partner and I met, we both had good jobs. We both owned homes. We both had insurance, and we both had “stuff.” But in the ensuing years, we each lost those jobs, had serious medical issues, lost our insurance coverage, and lost one of our homes. In order to move into our smaller home, we got rid of much of that “stuff.” We were proud of all of our possessions and had worked hard to acquire them. It was traumatic and embarrassing to lose them. The feelings of worthlessness were overpowering! We couldn’t have foreseen in a million years that in such a short time we would be required to change our lives so drastically.
The man in Jesus’ parable was like that. Look at how many times he speaks proudly about all he has done. He uses the words ‘I’, ‘my’, and ‘myself’ eleven times in a 65 word speech. Evidently, he assumes that all he owns has come to him by his own hand. Not that he wasn’t a hard worker. He certainly was! But where is the gratitude to God for God’s guidance, care, and grace? So God said, “Tonight your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be?”
The pride in our ability to do it ourselves is a slippery slope. It can lead to a fast ride down the hill. Here today — gone tomorrow! Jesus wants us to have something lasting to grip onto. Not the riches and things that we accumulate, but the true riches of his care and concern that are there for us to reach out and hang our lives on. Those things are always there for us.
Prayer for the day: Lord, I thank You for all the plentiful seasons in my life. Let me always thank You as well for the times of hardship, that I can be aware of Your hand in my life. Amen.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.