To be shared on Nov 24 - offering exhortation
When Jesus was talking and teaching, a man suddenly interuppted Him from the crowd "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Luke 12:13-15.
I was just wondering what was in the man's mind when Jesus was teaching. Was he not listening to what the Lord was saying? Why did he suddenly blurted out this request in the middle of nowhere? Whatever triggered him to ask the Lord of this request?
Perhaps this was something that he wanted to ask the Lord all along. Perhaps this was something that was bothering him and he was just waiting for the chance to make this petition to the Lord. Unlike others who came with requests for healing, he came with this request about money!
However from what he spoke, it was clear that something manifested when he opened his mouth to make this request. The spirit of covetousness just skimmed to the surface and out of his mouth he revealed a self-seeking heart attitude.
This incident recorded in Luke really made me do some hard- thinking...I am wondering "Lord, am I like that in my prayer life? Do I ask things of you out of a covetous or self-seeking attitude? Unconsciously or sub-consciously in my prayer life would I have been asking for this kind of things from you?"
I guess left to my own devices, I would have been the same as this man being self-seeking in my prayers and obviously with a tendency to be covetous as well. Give me...give me...give me....!
It is only in praying in the Spirit a lot that I am finding my prayers being aligned to the will of God!
Just look at all the Cantonese soap operas. Fiction they may be but they are not far from the truth. Families have broken up because of fight over inheritances and money. In real life we seek it happening again and again especially among rich families.
God seems to know that without us receiving any teaching or stories on giving we would most likely be praying covetously.
Almost one third of the Gospels say something about money:
1. The rich young ruler whom Jesus asked to sell all and follow him (not that the Lord was going to leave him destitute but I believed that he lost out on the greater riches that Jesus had planned to give him).
2. In the debate on whether we should pay our taxes, Jesus told the people to render to Caesar what was Caesar's and to God what is God's.
3. Parable of the talents.
4. Widow who threw in her last 2 mites.
5. Lazarus and the rich man.
6. The prodigal son who got his inheritance in advance only to waste it all on wasteful spending and later to realize that the love of his father went beyond money and material possessions. Money was incapable for buying him unconditional love.
7. Jesus overturned the tables of the money-changers in the temple.
8. Parable of the rich fool. He thought that he could tear down his barns to build more barns to store his material possessions only to have his life taken from him that night itself when he was planning all this in his mind!
9. The parable of the shrewd steward.
10. The man who asked the Lord to ask his brother for the share of his inheritance.
Luke 12:13-15
"Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me" But He said "Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" 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"
Jesus is giving us a warning. He wants us to guard against covetousness. Man does seem to have a covetous tendency or a covetous streak. Covetousness can be seen in our actions, speech and even in our prayers. Covetousness is not just about money alone, it can be just envying another person's success, family-life or material possessions.
What is the abundance that Jesus wants us to have?
John 10:10 - the spiritual abundance here speaks of the intangible things of the Spirit i.e. life, love, joy, peace, blessing, favor, eternal life - these things are the abundance that God wants us to have. This kind of abundance cannot be measured in material possessions.
Giving is one way to break this covetous streak or tendency. When we give to God our tithes, offering, gifts, talents, worship, resources we will experience:
- healing from poverty
- deliverance from covetousness
- shifting of priorities from the things of the world to the things of God
- re-aligning of our spiritual focus
- streamlining our spiritual perspective to focus on the main thing. Keep the main thing the main thing.
Today when we give, let us determine to ask God to keep us from the covetous tendency. Let us ask yield ourselves to God for Him to break every covetous spirit in us, confess every wrong priority in our lives, confess the pursuit of money without regard to the things of God.
Give more than you normally give in order to experience the abundance that Jesus promised us!
