One day we’ll give an account of ourselves to the Lord (Romans 14:12). We must, then, pay attention to how we live.
The rich man in Luke 16:19-31 made the tragic choice of living for himself without regard for the Lord. He also made two other mistakes.
First, he invested everything for himself and nothing for the life to
come. When we are blinded by our own desires and personal satisfaction,
it is easy to become lukewarm about spiritual matters. We forget that
this life is not all there is. Scripture tells us to store up treasures
in heaven, not on earth. Where our treasure is reflects where our heart
is (Matthew 6:19-21).
The rich man’s other mistake was to prepare everything for himself and
nothing for others. Crumbs falling from his table (v. 21) were the only
form of assistance he gave a poor man named Lazarus. The one who had
much wealth did not share it with the one who had little. Jesus
explained what our priorities should be to love the Lord wholeheartedly
and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:27).
We see the rich man’s mistakes repeated in another parable. This time a
wealthy man builds bigger barns to store crops so he will have plenty
for the future. God calls him a fool for such shortsightedness (Luke 12:20).
The Bible repeatedly warns us to pay attention to spiritual
matters--the Lord is to have first place in our lives and be the center
of our affections. He urges us to store up heavenly treasure by caring
for the lost and hurting people around us. On whom is your attention
focused?
from Dr. Charles Stanley
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