I pity the fool

Life does not consist of possessions, but possessions are a necessary part of life.  Things don’t matter to God, but what we do with things does matter.  Some of us have great wealth and good health; others have poverty and physical afflictions.  All of us, though, are called to use what we have been given to bring us closer to God.  All of us are called to discern whether we are using the things we have been given as God intended for us to use them.  All of us are called to be generous with our gifts, whatever those gifts might be.  All of us are called to be detached from our possessions, and not to hold them greedily.

We’re greedy if we are focused on keeping what we have for us, instead of using what we’ve been given for the greater glory of God.  We are greedy if we dwell on our misfortunes, ill health or other seemingly negative gifts with regret and bitterness, instead of using these possessions as paths to find greater comfort in God’s arms.  If we selfishly keep what we have, and do not find the way to respond generously to what we’ve been given, we’re not rich in what matters to God.

We all are called to know and love and follow Jesus.  We are called to read about His life here on earth. We are called to listen to His teaching and to obey His commands.  In doing this we become rich in what matters to God.

But we have to do it continually during our lives here on earth. We can't put off following Jesus until some future date because we don't know how much longer our life might last.  We have time now to begin to grow rich in what matters to God.  We might not have time later on.

As we look around us in today's world, we can see people who are like the rich man Jesus tells about in Luke 12:13-21.  They accumulate great wealth in order to live a worldly life of ease and comfort and pleasure.  They’re selfish and think only of themselves and their own happiness.  They give no indication of being concerned about life after death.  Unless they change their ways, they risk the same fate that befell the rich man in Jesus’ parable.  May we all become rich in what matters to God.