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Luke 12:13 - 21

13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of [a]covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Jesus, the Word of Life, has been teaching in a life changing way. One day someone shouts out from the crowd, “Jesus, tell my brother to divide our inheritance properly!”

Jesus replies in essence, “I will not be a judge or arbitrator in this matter.” In the following parable Jesus gets to the heart of the matter - covetousness, or, the desire for other people’s stuff. 

Jesus tells the story of a rich man who builds bigger storehouses for his possessions, not realizing that he will soon die and leave all of these possessions to someone else.  The fact is, the rich man couldn’t take his riches with him. Neither can we!  

Jesus gives us a choice: have your treasure here and leave it here when you die, or be rich in God and have everlasting riches that can never be taken away.  What will be your choice?