A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Monday, November
26, 2018
"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions" (Luke 12:15).
There's been a lot of shopping the last several days and will be until Christmas. But then there will also be "the after Christmas sales" (Brooksyne's favorite shopping time). Last week we had Black Friday, Saturday was Small Business Saturday and today is Cyber Monday, a marketing term used since the early days of internet-based shopping to connote the special deals available to online shopping the Monday following Thanksgiving.
These
three days mark the
"official" start of
the Christmas shopping
season, at least here
in the USA, although
"Black Friday" deals
have been posted all
month. Now our snail
mail and email boxes
are both loaded with
more than the usual
amount of sales
pitches.
"All kinds of greed" Greed takes many forms. Although in the context of today's passage it's material things the dictionary states, "Having or showing a strong or excessive desire to acquire money or possess things, especially wishing to possess more than what one needs or deserves. 2. Having or showing a desire to eat or drink in large or excessive amounts. 3. Extremely eager or desirous for an activity or pursuit: greedy for the opportunity to prove their ability."
"A
Warning For All"
Message
summary:
Greed can impact us all
regardless of how
wealthy or poor we
consider ourselves to
be.
Listen to our
message on your audio
player.
"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions" (Luke 12:15).
There's been a lot of shopping the last several days and will be until Christmas. But then there will also be "the after Christmas sales" (Brooksyne's favorite shopping time). Last week we had Black Friday, Saturday was Small Business Saturday and today is Cyber Monday, a marketing term used since the early days of internet-based shopping to connote the special deals available to online shopping the Monday following Thanksgiving.
These
three days mark the
"official" start of
the Christmas shopping
season, at least here
in the USA, although
"Black Friday" deals
have been posted all
month. Now our snail
mail and email boxes
are both loaded with
more than the usual
amount of sales
pitches.Even when
I'm studying from an
online Bible the ads
pop up! Our lawn
tractor needs to be
replaced so I have
been doing searches
online. Now, as I am
examining today's text
in Bible Gateway I
notice that Home Depot
has an ad beside the
Bible showing various
lawn tractors for sale
which I admit did
distract me!
Most of us
make purchases during
the holidays so we can
provide gifts to
others, but many of us
also make purchases
for ourselves during
these sales as well.
The materialistic hype
during the holiday
season highlights an
ancient problem the
human race has dealt
with since the time of
creation; "greed". In
a sense greed was
demonstrated by Adam
and Eve at the time of
the original sin. They
were surrounded by
beauty and more than
enough provisions were
allotted to them;
provisions they didn't
have to share with
anyone else, but they
wanted even more!
Greed can
impact us all
regardless of how
wealthy or poor we
consider ourselves to
be. The Lord Jesus
Himself warns, "Watch
out! Be on your
guard against all
kinds of greed"
(Luke 12:15).
A nifty page
on the Bible Gateway
site lists all the
versions of a
particular verse. One
of my first tools when
studying a passage is
to examine this page.
Here's the link to Luke
12:15.
Let us give
consideration to
today's verse phrase
by phrase:
"Watch
out!"
Other versions render
this "take heed" and
"beware". In the Bible
this word precedes
something we really
need to give our
attention to!
"Be on
your guard
against"
This speaks to our
personal
responsibility in this
matter. It is in the
present imperative
which is a call to a
long-term commitment
for our attitude or
action to be our
continual way of life
(lifestyle). (See here)
This needs to begin
when we are young
since even children
demonstrate greed. No
matter how young or
old, the temptation to
be greedy is lurking,
as we candidly
acknowledge!
"All kinds of greed" Greed takes many forms. Although in the context of today's passage it's material things the dictionary states, "Having or showing a strong or excessive desire to acquire money or possess things, especially wishing to possess more than what one needs or deserves. 2. Having or showing a desire to eat or drink in large or excessive amounts. 3. Extremely eager or desirous for an activity or pursuit: greedy for the opportunity to prove their ability."
"Life
does not consist
in an abundance of
possessions" This
is especially where I
find the various
renderings in
different translations
helpful:
- "For not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions." (Amplified)
- "One’s
life isn’t
determined by one’s
possessions, even
when someone is very
wealthy." (Common
English Bible)
- "A
man’s life is not
measured by how many
possessions he has."
(Evangelical
Heritage Version)
- "Your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be." (Good News Translation)
- "For real life and real living are not related to how rich we are." (The Living Bible)
Now let us
be very candid here.
Today's warning is to
all, including a self
warning to the writers
of this daily
encouragement. We
readily admit that, in
this world with an
abundance of material
things promising to
make life easier or
happier, we
continually need to
find balance. Hard to
believe, but we read
of one man in a
previous generation
who fought his greedy
nature by living on a
pole in the desert
(true story). The
antidote to greed is
contentedness, a topic
we will examine in
tomorrow's message.
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, why is it,
that when we're given
far more than we need,
we want even more! It
seems that we try to
find satisfaction,
enjoyment, and comfort
in material things
that are temporal
which can distract us
from spiritual
pursuits which have
lasting eternal value.
When we are tempted to
indulge help us
indulge in that which
has lasting value and
influences others for
the kingdom of God. In
Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, why is it,
that when we're given
far more than we need,
we want even more! It
seems that we try to
find satisfaction,
enjoyment, and comfort
in material things
that are temporal
which can distract us
from spiritual
pursuits which have
lasting eternal value.
When we are tempted to
indulge help us
indulge in that which
has lasting value and
influences others for
the kingdom of God. In
Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.May the Lord
help us to keep a
healthy balance so
that we are not loaded
down with unhealthy
debt for we should be
careful to let no
debt remain
outstanding, except
the continuing debt
to love one another. See Romans
13:8
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"Everything
We Need" Video
Acappella
Regarding
children who get
materialistic: Remember
when we used to get the huge
Sears and/or J.C. Penney's
catalog in the late fall. It
would arrive before Christmas
just in time for children to
drool over the latest toys,
adults could check out the
latest appliances, tool sets,
fashions, etc. Yesterday in
church our associate pastor told
the congregation that over the
past week, since a particular
catalog advertising toys arrived
in their mailbox, his 5 year old
daughter asks to meet with him
early each morning. She shows
him the toys she would like for
him to buy her and adds to her
requests each day. It reminded
me of how worn our catalog from
Sears would get in a short time
as the catalog was passed back
and forth among my four siblings
and me. I had the pages
memorized that I especially
liked. It sure didn't mean that
we got the toys we wanted, as
money was limited, but it sure
was fun to dream about it!
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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