Someone in the crowd said to Jesus: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
Gospel of Luke
Susan Muto tells a story in her book "The Dark Night".
"I remember a woman in our neighborhood who could never throw anything away. Her parents, middle class people who had survived the Great Depression, had instilled in her a save-and-conserve mentality. This collector tendency led to a full-blown character disorder. She was full of fears. Everyone who came to her door was thought to be a potential thief. People were sent by the devil to persecute her because they envied her possessions. An avaricious streak dense as a vein of coal made her reluctant to share so much as a glass of water with a stranger. We neighbors tried to be kind, but she was suspicious of our attention. Her only goal in life was to guard her precious things. When she died, the police found her body wedged between paths in her apartment created by piles and piles of old newspapers and magazines; pathetic evidence of her inability to part with anything."
There's nothing that disturbs my inner peace more than when I begin to compare what I have with someone who has more. Yet in the past, I've caught myself doing exactly that. It's very hard to live in our Western culture and to be free from avarice or greed. Our culture has most of us fooled into thinking that our own level of greed is OK. We have convinced ourselves that the problem of greed exists in the other person.
The woman in the story, in all probability, felt very justified in feeling the way she did. After all, not all people can be trusted. Do we not use this very same logical argument to justify our over-diligence in protecting our precious possessions.
One of the parables in the Gospel of Luke begins: "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me". Is this so much different than the demands we often make, demands for justice for ourselves while at the same time ignoring the implications to the other party.
Jesus offers advise on this issue. And it's not just advice to this unidentified individual in the Gospel of Luke, or to those caught up in various frauds and scandals. Jesus is aware of the avarice that existed in His own culture, and He knows how it leads to deception. And His advise is: "Watch Out". Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."
And I have to go back to one of my opening statements: "There's nothing that disturbs my inner peace more than when I begin to compare what I have with someone who has more. This disturbance to my inner peace is God speaking to me. This disturbance tells me that I cannot find peace of mind, comfort or security, only in the things that I own, or in acquiring more.
The parable of the man with the abundant harvest tells us that the peace and joy we seek cannot be found in the abundance of possessions, but in seeing all that we have as gift, a gift to be thankful for, and a gift to be shared.
When are we the happiest? The answer is; when we are filled with gratitude and when we share. This is synonymous to being at one with our God who loves us.
Our culture can divide our attention on the important issues of life. Our attention can be directed against those persons who have been caught up in avarice behavior. Our culture encourages us to point our finger, to look with an accusing eye, with contempt at apparent abuses. We often feel good for not being like them. And we fall into a self-righteous trap.
Our task is not to keep score, but to "Watch Out", be on our guard against the temptation of greed that comes our own way.
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