Nov 3 Devotion: Paying Attention To How We Live

     “PAYING ATTENTION TO HOW WE LIVE”

And he spoke a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  17).  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?  18).  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  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, thou soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou provided?  21).  So is he that layeth up treasures for himself, and is not rich toward God.                                         LUKE 12:16-21

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 (VERSE 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?

-IBC