Military procurement focuses on getting the best, latest, biggest, and most. If we don’t, we could lose the next war. Modern advertising pounds home the same message: last year’s model or the competition’s product is no good—got to have more gigabytes, more flavor, more style, and more horsepower. You know the storyline; you hear it dozens of times a day. If we’re not careful, we can buy into this thinking, and decide we have to have more than we need or could possibly use.
“And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.” And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 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. 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.’ 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?’ ‘So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God'” (Luke 12:15-21, NKJV).
These verses point to a higher priority, one that is eternal. Yes, we do have to work to provide what we need to live on this earth. But let us not forget the better investment of laying up treasures in heaven.
The content of this article comes from “The Warrior’s Bible” (2014) and is copyrighted by Life Publishers International. Used with permission.
