Verse of the Day 3/30

Verse of the Day 3/30

Luke 12:13-15 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." ¹⁴ But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?" ¹⁵ 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."    English Standard Version (ESV)

For today's verses we'll go back to the beginning of the passage from yesterday in Luke 12.  These brothers were in a disagreement over their inheritance and sought Jesus to settle the matter, they were unable to "settle their differences" between themselves.  As we had considered, Jesus didn't come to settle such disputes, "weightier" matters were of more concern to Him, especially their eternal destiny.

There are plenty of laws on the books to settle legal matters brought before the court.  But it shouldn't come to this between brothers, especially Christians.  Jesus went to the "heart of the matter" and told them "be on your guard against all covetousness".  We have examples throughout the Bible beginning with Abraham and Lot where Abraham let Lot choose where he would like to settle.  Abraham had faith, it wasn't worth arguing about and it wasn't worth damaging the relationship within the family.

The last line of verse 15 from The Message reads, "Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."
How much better would our lives be, how much less fretting and arguing would take place if we "protected ourselves", our hearts against the least bit of greed.

Years ago, mood rings were a fad.  The color of the ring would change according to the temperature of our fingers.  It's too bad that there aren't greed rings where we could clearly see the least bit of greed by a change in color of something around our finger.  But if we look closer we may be able to "see it" by the condition, the warmth of our hearts, looking for, desiring to give rather than to get.

Read what Jesus said later in the chapter, from The Message:

^33-34 "Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can't go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. Luke 12:34The Message (MSG)

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Luke 12:13-15The Message (MSG)

The Story of the Greedy Farmer

¹³ Someone out of the crowd said, "Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance."

¹⁴ He replied, "Mister, what makes you think it's any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?"

¹⁵ Speaking to the people, he went on, "Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."