Luke 12:15,18–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…” 18 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.

I think if we really look at the demands of the things we do everyday to sustain ourselves or families, it’s easy to see how we can practically be overwhelmed.  But do we take the next step mentally to examine why we are doing what we are doing?  Is it always out of necessity? Or is it birthed from our need to validate value and our perceived purpose in life?

Many times are attitudes for achievement can come from our surroundings.  For example if you live in an area where everyone has a nice patio and garden, we might feel pressure to do something about the way our yard looks.  Of course that is not bad, especially if you want to upgrade property value or not degrade it.  But it also could be from a heart that compares and covets what our neighbor has?

Jesus is very concerned with our motivations of gathering and accumulating goods. Not because having abundance is bad, but the heart to gather more and more puts our focus on individual gain, at the expense of God and others.  Practically speaking, it takes work and most of our time and energy “to tear down our barns so we can build bigger ones”.  My focus becomes having more than I need, for reasons usually rooted in covetousness like Jesus warns against…

So does Jesus not want us to enjoy the fruit of our labor or have a savings?  Of course not!  He does however want us to manage our heart, and where our security lies.  Is it in God, “who values us more than the birds”, leaving us more time and energy to invest in His purpose (Luke 12:24)?  Or have we enclosed ourselves in the never ending cycle of accumulating more goods to manage, for more stress in preserving them?

In His Love, Ld