“He then told them, ‘Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.’” – Luke 12:15

In the “car guy” subculture where I spend a lot of my time, we have this strange thing we do; we somewhat define one another by our cars. It usually goes a little something like this…

“You know Carl Johnson?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“He drives that red ’66 Fairlane with the late model 5.0 in it.”

“Oh yea! I know that guy.”

It is kind of silly, and we get teased about it quite a bit, but I don’t think we are the only ones who do this. We, as a society, often define one another by “stuff.” – the kind of clothes someone wears, the house they live in, the amount of money they make, etc. “Stuff” is very important to us.

When we read a passage like Luke 12:15, we tend to focus on the “greed” part of it and self-righteously proclaim, “I’m not greedy!” But we often ignore the rest of the verse. We don’t like the word “greedy,” but in all truth, how much time and energy do we spend worrying about “stuff.” I really want to challenge you today to stop and think about how much of your life revolves around your things; caring for them, acquiring them, and dreaming about more of them. How much worry do you have in your life caused by your pursuit of the material vs. your concern for the spiritual? Make a commitment today to pursue the things of God first and foremost and let all the “stuff” in your life simply serve that purpose.

Heavenly Father, You have promised to give us everlasting joy and to care for all our needs. And yet, we pursue the material like it will provide all our happiness. Teach us to lean into You, Your promises, and Your joy more and more every day. Let us find all we need in You and then let all our “stuff” serve Your purposes.