Focus: Luke 12:19-21 - KJV
19. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21. So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Ecclesiastes 2:18-23
The life of man on earth is just like a vapor: visible at a point and invisible in a moment after. It becomes worrisome when people determine to acquire unto themselves treasures for earthly splendor without taking a deep thought about their hereafter. There is indeed no lasting splendor from things acquired. It is a momentary enjoyment and within a twinkling of an eye, it is really no more, as it is redistributed by the true owner. Incidentally, the time between the gathering and the enjoyment is so short that it can be said to be a waste of time. In the end, the “wise one” who took the pain to acquire all, leaves the treasure to someone whom he has no control over, who may not be so wise after all, and may end up squandering it all. Even those who give their assets to charities do not get to know how the same is managed after them.
Solomon was a wise man and the Bible refers to him as such. With his wisdom, he acquired so much treasure which included women and a very vast kingdom, inherited from his father. Thank God, after spending a while on earth, with all his splendor, he realized all the acquisition and materials garnered amount to vanity and vexation of spirit. Imagine that after his passage, he left the bulk of his wealth to his offspring, chief of whom was Rehoboam to the extent that shortly after his demise, Rehoboam lost a chunk of the kingdom to another. That exemplifies his kind of impetus in matters of life. Indeed, upon all the description of Solomon’s wealth, no one can really say where the same is a few years after his demise. The case of the rich young fool is also a clear example of how not to place reliance on earthly treasure. When the owner of the soul for which we make the acquisitions demands the soul from us, what more can we do with the treasures acquired?
The Lord is inviting us to be more thoughtful about the place we would be in eternity so that we would not because of the short time we have on earth mess up the period in eternity unending. No wonder scriptures say what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul in the end. We are therefore to realize that earthly acquisitions are in the real sense worthless but eternal acquisitions are such that cannot be erased. Hence, as we live our lives on earth, we are to ensure moderation in all things knowing fully well that we own nothing and that all things belong to God. Unlike the rich young fool, we should always be grateful to our God who blesses our souls with the things that pertains to us while on earth. And for our side in eternity, we ought to show love to others magnificently out of those things that so pertains to us on this side of eternity knowing fully well that we could have been in the shoes of the person we are to help.
SOLUTION: Show gratitude to God the owner of “your” belongings in all things. Also, share that wealth with others who really have need, in love. Never assume anything you possess is your right or entitlement.
Please pray:
· Give thanks to God for all the things that had been used for you on earth from the day you took your first breath until now, for they all belong to God and it was a huge privilege that you were allowed to have them
· Ask God to please continue to bestow you with His goodness and beautiful materials that will make your life worthwhile on this side of eternity
· Pray that you will never be in a position to pride acquisition more than God or, in other words, the gift more than the Giver, at any point in life
· Ask God to please guide you to store up more treasures in heaven than you can ever get on earth, by all means
· Ask for your daily bread today
If you are blessed by this post, kindly share with your contacts, as well as others, that they may be blessed also. Thank you and may God bless you abundantly as you do so, in Jesus’ name
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