Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Worry”
Our Bible verse for today: “”Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Be less concerned with what you have than with what you are.”
That quote above is from the great Greek philosopher Socrates. Socrates of course was not a Christian – he lived long before the time of Christ. And he did not know the God of the Jews, so his wisdom was worldly wisdom. And yet if you’ve read your Bible, the Old Testament and/or the New, then you know that in the Bible God teaches the same lesson many times and in many ways.
Character development is more important than the accumulation of material possessions. Human beings know this intuitively. So you would think we would place more emphasis on moral virtues than we do on material wealth, but you know as well as I do that we usually don’t. People worry constantly about money and possessions, and they often neglect the more important subject of character development.
In Luke chapter 12 Jesus told the sad story of a rich man who focused exclusively on his wealth, while neglecting the condition of his soul. Jesus concluded the lesson with this statement in verses 20-21: “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
The fact is that God is much more concerned with the kind of man or woman you are becoming than He is with what you do or with what you have. While we tend to worry about paychecks and savings accounts, houses and cars, God is focused on the condition of our soul.
Don’t be the fool in Jesus’ parable who focused on the wrong things in life and ended up paying a terrible eternal price. As it turned out, Socrates had it right. “Be less concerned with what you have than with what you are.”
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 