It was a strange phone call from one of the "spiritually mature" ladies of our church. Her mother had recently died. It would have seemed normal if she had called me to talk to me about her grief since her mother had died unexpectantly in her sleep at the first of the week and wasn't discovered until later in the week. Several calls had gone unanswered by friends and family. Finally her small group leader and his wife decided to go over and see how she was doing. When she didn't answer the door, they broke in and found her.
But the call wasn't about grief or embarrassment about her mother's death. It was similar to verse 13 of Luke 12. She wanted me to tell her brother, who was also a "mature believer" in our church, to give her part of the antique furniture. Apparently, he'd gone into his mother's house after mom had passed and taken several valuable items for himself and his kids without consulting his only sister. Now she was calling me to arbitrate the division her deceased mother's estate.
I thought it extremely odd that these two outstanding families were fussing over stuff within days of their saintly mother's death. As calmly as I could I listened to this lady's complaining, frustrations and arguments. After she vented for a while, I, as gently as I could, challenged her thinking and suggested that she get everyone together and sort it out as the believers in Christ that they were. She paused for a moment and realized the greed that had overtaken she and her brother's hearts. Later the family did as I suggested and worked everything out.
To be honest, I felt like I was in the midst of two children fighting over a toy. "Mine." "No it's mine." "I had it first." "No I had it first. Give it back." As my kids got older, it was who was going to sit in the front seat. Me first. My needs. My wants. "She got this. How come I can't have one too?" Sound familiar? It must be ingrained in us. That spirit of selfishness. It's more than self protection. It's greed. Ever fought over the last piece of cake or pie or even a chicken leg. Why do we act that way?
Just like the man in the story, this older woman had passed away leaving a lifetime of accumulated goods behind. It happened suddenly. That morning she was joking with me at church. That evening she was in the very presence of God. Her children were left to fight over her estate, something they would have never done in her presence. My guess, if she knew that were going to happen, she would have given it all away to someone in need.
This Christmas many will max out the credit cards to buy stuff. Oh sure it has material value now, but what about lasting value. No doubt some will spend hundreds maybe thousands on new clothes and electronic gadgetry, while others go hungry, wear worn out shoes and shiver in the cold because they can't afford the electric bill. Sadly, their needs aren't just at Christmas.
Another family in that same church I served decided one Christmas that instead of spending the doe they spent on each other, they would invest in a struggling homeless shelter. They were able to replace the worn out kitchen appliances and provided enough funds to expand the facility and put on a new roof. The hundreds (probably more like a few thousand) they could have spent on each other went to minister to several lives in desperate need. Now that's being rich toward God.
God, your Son set the example. He gave His life away so that we could have life. I want to follow your example. I don't have a lot in terms of material possessions, but what I have I want to give to you. Like Peter and John at the temple, I don't have silver and gold, but I'm willing to give myself, my time, my talents for you in ministry to people.
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