Luke 12:13-34

II. Beware of covetousness, Luke 12:13-34.

What could be worse than heirs fighting over their deceased father’s estate?  We don’t know the details, although that is the point; Jesus doesn’t ask!  Instead He uses the situation to teach the crowd (v13) and His disciples (v22).

·        Beware is not the same as in Lk. 12:1.  The emphasis is on watchfulness; the man is not being careful of the greed that is taking over his heart and life.  And it is a common temptation, even for the followers of Christ.  

·        Covetousness is “an unquenchable thirst for getting more and more of something we think we need in order to be truly satisfied (WWW).  It comes from an unclean heart (Mk. 7:22), is evidence of depravity (Rom. 1:29), is not to be named among believers (Eph. 5:3), is idolatry (Eph. 5:5), and characterizes the unsaved (1 Cor. 6:9-10) and false teachers (2 Pt. 2:3,14).

·        Life (our natural life from birth to death) does not consist in the abundance of the things we possess.  Jesus is talking about how we describe our lives, our work, our accomplishments, what people will say at our funeral.  People may think of these things when they think of you but they will have missed the essence of your life.  Jesus is saying it is simply not important!

To illustrate this Jesus tells a profound parable about a man who, in fact, thought his life consisted in his abundant possessions (12:16-21).  The moment he died it was all irrelevant; it could not help him after death and in fact, at that point, it belonged to someone else.

Am I failing to watch out for covetousness?  Jesus teaches His disciples to help them (us) answer that question honestly.  The teaching centers on three words.

• ·        12:22-28: What do you worry about?  Worry involves prolonged thoughts that are troublesome or burdensome.  If we are worried about the basic material needs of our lives it is an indication we are not walking the path of faith.  We are not trusting God who will care for us as He does the rest of His creation.

• ·        12:29-31: What is your daily priority?  Daily needs ought not be the object of the zealous searching that characterizes the world.  Our Father knows what we need.  Instead the kingdom of God should be the priority of our lives.

• ·        12:32-34: What is your treasure?  Note that the question is not “what do you treasure” but “where is your treasure?”  Most people cannot see beyond their own lives and circumstances.  Followers of Christ need to understand that God delights in His flock; He will give them the kingdom.  Again, our possessions don’t define us.  Therefore we need to loosen our grip on earthly things and set our hearts on the eternal things (cf. 2 Cor. 4:18; Luke 9:25).

Followers of Christ, take heed and beware of covetousness!