Five Minutes with God: Day 196

HOST: Ron House

SPONSOR: Start2Finish

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

“One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” It is one of the great truths of God’s Word that has been lost to our world today. In all of our striving after the things that this world deems as valuable, we have too often come to trust in those possessions as all that we need. It is this danger that Jesus warns against with the telling of the Parable of the Rich Fool. On the surface, this man had done nothing dishonest or unlawful. He had gained his wealth honestly; he had not robbed or cheated anyone. He had not damaged the property or belongings of anyone else. He had simply stored up the fruits of his labors and was preparing himself for the life of leisure that those things would provide. But the Lord calls him a fool because he had foolishly believed that material things were all that he needed and had made no provision for his soul. The clear and unavoidable truth for this man, and for all of us, is that our physical lives will someday end, and we will enter eternity. At that point, our physical wealth will be meaningless, and all that will matter is our relationship with God. Are you prepared?

What can we do to prepare for eternity?

Don’t forget to pray and have a great day!