And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.”And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
5 sermons cite this verse
… Otherwise, I'm going to be dissatisfied and discontent. Jesus says this in Luke 12, verse 15. Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed, because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be. I've said this so many times. Never judge your self-worth by your net worth. Never think your value is related to your valuables. Realize that the greatest things in life aren't things. He said, life is not about the acquisition of things. I didn't bring anything into the world. I'm not taking anything out of the world. and the stupidest use of my life is to spend it building a pile. That's dumb. To acquire, life is not about acquisition. Life is not about achievement. Life is about relationship. It's learning how to love. Learning how to love God, learning how to love other people. Everybody knows the prayer of Jabez, God enlarge my borders. But the prayer of Agur is just as important. …
… Always wanting more things. In Luke 12, verse 15, Jesus says this. Watch out. Always be on your guard against all kinds of greed because your life is not defined by how much you make or how many things you own. So materialism, just like misplaced identity, can cause me to overwork. A third cause. In the Bible it says that envy can cause you to overwork. And that is wanting to be like other people. I'm trying to keep up with the Jones. I'm trying to keep up with my neighbors. I'm trying to keep up with everybody else. And that will cause me to do things that I don't really have the time to do. Too busy trying to keep up with others, and that's envy. Their kids have dance lessons, so we have to have dance lessons for our kids. And their kids are involved in these five extracurricular events, and so our kids have to be involved in these five extracurricular, not necessarily. You know, my girlfriend is on social media all the time, so I better be on social media all the time. …
… man who shouted, Jesus offered these words of warning. Take care, be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. I'll leave that on the screen for a moment, if you'll put it back up there for a moment. And I'd like for you to say that last part with me, what's in capitalized? One's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. See, Jesus is trying to make something really clear to us about where life is found. I memorized that scripture probably 35 or 40 years ago because I never wanted to forget this truth, that one's life, my life, does not consist in the abundance of my possessions. Neither does your life. Life is found somewhere aside from amassing more and more possessions. Jesus goes on to tell a parable to this crowd and the man who's asking about, you know, asking Jesus to settle the inheritance. By the way, Jesus says, look, that's not for me to do. Somebody, you're have to talk to somebody else about that. I'm just going to tell you, be careful that you're not motivated by greed. Be careful about how important possessions and things are, because they'll destroy you and destroy your family. So he goes on to tell this parable of a rich man. And this rich man, his crops were just, they were bumper crops. And so he had so many crops that it overflowed the barn. The barn that he had, he couldn't store all these things. And so he decides, you know what, …
… Take care. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. And then he told them a parable. The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And the rich man thought to himself, what should I do, for I have no place to store my crops? Then he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, you fool. This very night, your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves, but are not rich toward God. Friends, this is the word of God for you, the people of God. Thanks be to God. Well, whew, finally an easy one. …
… Take care. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. And then he told them a parable. The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And the rich man thought to himself, what should I do, for I have no place to store my crops? Then he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, you fool. This very night, your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves, but are not rich toward God. Friends, this is the word of God for you, the people of God. Thanks be to God. Well, whew, finally an easy one. …