Monday, February 25, 2013

Be On Guard


Then Jesus said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. -Luke 12:15 (NIV)

Have you ever seen the 1979 movie, "The Jerk?" It's judged by many to be one of the funniest movies of all time although (as I recall) it has quite a bit of offensive and objectionable content. (Disclaimer: I'm not endorsing the movie but I am going to use it as an illustration in today's devotional).

In the movie, Navin Johnson (played by Steve Martin) is a simple-minded man who is on a quest to "find himself." Along the way, he invents the "Opti-Grab," a device that prevents eyeglasses from slipping off of a person's nose. Navin subsequently gets rich and it goes to his head. He becomes consumed with "stuff". Later, his wife confesses that she misses the way things were before they became wealthy. This infuriates Navin and he tells her that he doesn't need her or anything else. As he's storming out the door, he changes his mind and says that all he needs is an ashtray...and a paddle game...and a remote control...and matches...and a lamp...and a chair. (You can watch the entire scene here. Don't worry: it's clean.)

Navin thinks that "stuff" is all that he needs to make himself happy. We have a tendency to think this in our own lives too, don't we? "If I just had that house, or that car, or that job, or that shirt, then I'd be happier." The problem with this approach to life is that we always want something else. Our greed can prevent us from being content with what we have and make us unwilling to share what we have with others.

In today's suggested scripture reading, Jesus cautions his disciples to "be on guard against all kinds of greed" and tells them that "life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." He then uses a parable to communicate the danger of storing up things for ourselves instead of being rich in the things of God.

May God grant you the grace to be on guard against greed today, to find contentment with what you have, and to be willing to share what you have with others.


Note: I will be at a Clergy Spiritual Life Retreat through Wednesday of this week. I may not have time (or internet) to post devotionals. Thanks for understanding.


Tomorrow's Reading:  Luke 13

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