Luke 12: Mysterious Power of a Dangerous Force
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus has more to say about money than about almost any other topic. Yet 2,000 years later Christians have trouble agreeing on exactly what he means. One reason is that Jesus rarely gives “practical” advice. He avoids commenting on specific economic systems and, as in this chapter, refuses to get involved in personal disputes about finances. Jesus sees money primarily as a spiritual force.
In some ways, money issues can be reduced to three questions:
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus has more to say about money than about almost any other topic. Yet 2,000 years later Christians have trouble agreeing on exactly what he means. One reason is that Jesus rarely gives “practical” advice. He avoids commenting on specific economic systems and, as in this chapter, refuses to get involved in personal disputes about finances. Jesus sees money primarily as a spiritual force.
In some ways, money issues can be reduced to three questions:
1. How did you get it? (Did it involved injustice, cheating or oppression of the poor?)
2. What are you doing with it? (Are you hoarding it? Exploiting others? Wasting it on needless luxuries?
3. What is it doing to you?
Although Jesus speaks to all three of these issues, he concentrates on the last one. As he explains it, money operates much like an idol. It can catch hold of and dominate a person’s life, diverting attention from God. Jesus challenges people to break free of money’s power, even if it requires the radical step of giving it all away.
Luke 12 offers a good summary of Jesus’ attitude toward money. Jesus does not condemn all possessions: “Your Father knows that you need (food, drink, and clothes).” But he strongly warns against putting faith in money to secure the future. As Jesus’ story of the rich man shows, money will ultimately fail to solve life’s biggest problems. The rich man’s money did him absolutely no good the night of his death.
Jesus urges his listeners to seek treasure in the kingdom of God, for such treasure can benefit them in this life and the next one too. “Do not worry,” he says. Rather trust God to provide your basic need. To emphasize this point, Jesus uses the example of King Solomon, the richest man in the Old Testament. To most nationalistic Jews, Solomon is a hero. Jesus sees him in a different light: Solomon’s splendor- long since faded- was no more impressive than that of a common wildflower. Better to trust in the God who lavishes care on the whole earth than to spend your life worrying about money and possessions.
1 comment:
Great gifts come with great responsibility.
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