Guarding Against Greed: Luke 12:13-34

If you have ever faced or struggled with worry in your life, the message Jesus shares in our passage for this episode may be a relief for you, or it may challenge you. However, regardless of whether this passage is challenging or it brings relief, Jesus’ message in this passage is both powerful and relevant.

And this teaching, or perhaps just the parable included in the first portion of Jesus’ teaching, is shared because of a request from someone in the crowd listening to Jesus. Let’s read what happened.

Our passage for this episode is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will read from the New American Standard Bible. Starting in verse 12, Luke tells us:

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to Him [referring to Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

Pausing reading for a moment, Jesus’ words here are powerful, and if you highlight statements in your Bible, this last message is worth highlighting because it is worth remembering. While we intellectually grasp the idea that our lives don’t consist of our possessions, almost every message we will receive from culture, from advertising, and from social media will try to define the value of our lives as being based on what we have, what we don’t have, and what we supposedly need.

However, even with everything, our lives are distinctly different from our possessions. From Jesus’ warning about greed, I wonder if greed in our lives is at the foundation of seeing our worth as been the sum of what we own and what we have.

Let’s read Jesus’ warning again, and then continue into the parable He shares as a follow-up illustration. Reading from verse 15, Jesus said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ ²¹ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Pausing our reading again, this parable is powerful every time I read it. While some people might read this parable as God judging and killing this man for being greedy and not generous, the big truth in this passage comes from the rhetorical question God asks this man at the end of this parable. Summarizing God’s question, He basically asks this man what all the savings and value the wealth he had stored up will do for him once he is dead. After this man is dead, he cannot take what he has stored with him beyond the grave.

This means that regardless of how much we store and save in this life, when we die, the result is the same: Someone else will get everything we saved.

The implication is that we can choose how to use our wealth while we are alive, but how our wealth is used after we are gone is completely up to others. Even with a will, it is up to other people whether they will honor our last wishes or not. By being generous with our money when we are alive, we get to experience the joy that comes with giving because we can see how our gifts are able to benefit others.

However, Jesus isn’t finished sharing. Continuing in verse 22:

²² And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? ²⁶ If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ³² Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

³³ “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In this big teaching about how useless it is to worry, Jesus makes a powerful statement at the end of this message. In verse 34, Jesus tells everyone living at every point in history: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Where we have placed our treasure, we have also placed our hearts. When we give money away to help others, we have the amazing opportunity of storing up treasure in heaven. Our intentional generosity is never lost, even when we do everything we can to be anonymous.

When we give up our possessions and give money to help others, we rob greed of its power. Greed is powerful in our lives when our focus is placed on what we own. When we shift our focus onto selling, giving, and focusing on helping others, greed is robbed of its power in our lives.

However, the biggest benefit of choosing a life of generosity isn’t the removal of greed, or the storing of our treasure in heaven. Instead, the biggest benefit of living a generous life of service to others is that our hearts will be stored in the same place where our treasure is, and when our treasure is stored in heaven, our hearts will be there as well!

God desires your heart and mine. When we live lives focused on serving God, helping others, and storing our treasure in heaven, God gets our hearts as well – and God is the only one who is able to restore a sin-stained heart. God solved the sin problem through Jesus, and He is willing to solve our personal sin problem when we give our hearts to Him!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to live a life of generosity and service in order to store up treasures in heaven! Trust in what God has given to us through Jesus and His sacrifice and live a life of gratitude, giving thanks to God for everything He has blessed us with!

Also, always continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. Through personal prayer and Bible study, strengthen your relationship with God and discover what He wants to teach you personally through His Word. While others people have ideas and opinions, God wants to speak through the Bible to you personally!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!