Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." – Luke 12:15

 Today's Scripture Reading (December 2, 2020): Luke 12

American novelist Chuck Palahniuk, in "Fight Club, "writes, "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy [stuff] we don't need." We keep thinking that the next thing that we possess is the ticket that will make us happy. But we are wrong. And, deep down, we already know that because it has never worked in the past. We live in a society where we are continually driven to acquire things, and yet when we realize the things that we desire, we only seem to yearn for the next item we want to possess.

Things have become an addiction in our culture. The more that we get, the more that we want. And if you have any hoarder tendencies inside of you, the harder it is to get rid of the things you have acquired. For me, my major acquiring addiction is for books. I have too many. I had a conversation with a younger friend who teased me over the number of books in my library at my office. I foolishly reminded him that I had double the number of books at which he was looking at my home. To which my friend replied, "haven't you ever heard about digital books." And then I had to admit that I have another four hundred books on my e-reader. I am trying to trim my library, and I find that getting rid of books is hard.

Jesus instructs us to "be on guard" against the things in our lives. It isn't that we should just be aware that stuff might be a problem in our lives. The wording indicates committing ourselves to an active campaign against the property that we have acquired or look forward to buying in the future. It is why some Christians have historically taken vows of poverty; they have understood this need to guard against the stuff that we don't need.

And the tragedy of the situation is that amid our addiction, in chasing after things, we lose sight of life and what is really important. I have discovered that there is a law active in our lives that says that there are only so many things that we own. If I want a new sofa, I have to make space in my house for it by discarding things that are currently taking up space. Things are fine, but when they start to steal the joy from life, we have not actively been on guard against greed and the stuff in our lives.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Luke 13