A lesson about greed

Summer is pretty much over. I have started one class at MSJC now. If all goes as planned, I will be taking a class at UCR and 5 classes at La Sierra as well. It's going to be a very busy quarter! It'll be a total of 24.5 credits (I think). Really, it won't be quite that bad because 2 of those credits are internship... and I just need to write a paper for that before I'm done. :) I also have some financial stuff to work out. With going to three schools also comes an added amount of financial issues, but God will provide. Today we learned about greed at church. We studied Luke 12:13-21.

Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But He said to him, "Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" 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." And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. "And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' "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. '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."' "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?' "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

It is important to realize that greed comes in different forms. It isn't one of those things that jumps out at you. It is something that you have to watch carefully for. Greed is also at the center of impurity (Ephesians 4:19). It is even put on the same level (to some extent) as immorality (Ephesians 5:3). We ought not be "reasoning to ourselves." God should be the center of our reasoning. We need to be pursuing things of eternal value. To be rich toward God means that He is the treasure and we are serving Him with all that we are. To do everything as unto the Lord should be our goal!