UV 3516/10000 The Foolish Versus The Wise
But God said to him, “ You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own all the things you have prepared?”
Luke 12 v 20
The tiny Covid virus is preaching a big sermon today, world-wide. Jesus said to the rich man planning to build big barns to store all his grains and goods: “ You fool, you are considering building big but your soul will be asked of you tonight.” Read that in the context of a big business owner dying in Dubai without being able to reside in the largest house of 45000 square feet newly built in his home state, Kerala. Read it along with a prophetic verse in the book of Amos that speaks of bodies being buried with long fishing hooks. It is a precise description of a Covid burial witnessed on social media recently.
God is not against wealth. Abraham, the father of faith was wealthy by the standards of even today’s world for he owned cattle on a thousand hills. He is against people who store up and hoard possessions for themselves alone and are not “rich” in their relationship toward God. To be rich towards God is to spend time in His presence, soaking in His love, to spend time at His feet learning, to lean on Him in times of weakness or crisis, to observe, study, understand and apply His word, to obey His commands, to believe His promises, to emulate His model. Jesus taught us that life is more than all the things or substance of what we own. We are created in the image of God and renewed in the image of Christ. We are to celebrate our relationship with Him, we are to celebrate the purpose of life, we are to celebrate His promises, His blessings. We are to celebrate or rejoice in the people He has brought into our lives. We are to rejoice in the opportunities and equally rejoice in our failures and setbacks. He measures the inclination or priorities of our hearts.
Life is more than food, clothes, house, cars, work, pleasure or leisure.. It is not the sum of all these things. It is about giving God first place in our hearts, to seek Him daily, to trust Him for provision and protection for we are more valuable than the birds that fly carefree, do not sow, reap or store food. Life is about caring for other creatures and fellow human beings and giving out of the extra that the Lord has placed or trusted in our hands. It is not wrong to be wealthy but it is wrong to be foolish and wealthy. It is right to be wise and wealthy. To be wise and wealthy is to revere and love God above all things and above all people, to know and acknowledge that all blessings come from the Lord and He can both give and take what He gives. To be wise is to be always prepared to meet the Maker.
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