Luk. 12:15 ... "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
Evaluation, the process of putting a value upon something, is an activity in the daily routine of everyone. It is as vital to commerce as breathing is to the body, for businessmen must state the value of their goods and services. If customers and clients accept these values, they may purchase the products. If they do not agree with them, they usually try to persuade the businessman to reduce the prices to a level which they will accept. Because our activities are so dependent on such transactions, we easily come to the conviction that nearly everything has a value that can be assessed in terms of money or other forms of wealth.
It is often said that "everything has its price," meaning, of course, its material value. From this we deduce that people can also be assessed in monetary terms in accordance with the amount of wealth they have. If someone has an annual income of a million dollars, lives in a mansion in the elite part of town, has an impressive portfolio, and is well connected via his wealth to other affluent people, we count him as worth a great deal to society. He is often honored, favored, and publicly recognized. On the other hand, if the annual salary of another is only a few thousand dollars; if he lives in a common rental house between a warehouse and the railroad; if he has no investments and is perhaps in debt; and if he is known only among people like himself, then we count him as not being worth very much to society. Only when businessmen need cheap labor is he noticed, but then only by his employer with evident condescension. Only when a war is to be fought is he appreciated as a patriot who will sacrifice his life and limb to preserve the affluent world of those who hold wealth and were probably responsible for the war's inception. Even then, when the war is over, he is quickly forgotten and relegated to obscurity. If he returns disabled, he is often despised by the wealthy, who view him as a burden to be borne from their coffers.
In the lead text above, Jesus refutes this common conviction that a man's value is proportional to his wealth. God's view of what constitutes wealth is radically different from ours. What we esteem is often contemptible to Him, and that which God treasures often seems worthless to us. Notice how this contrast is brought out in the Letter to the Laodiceans: "Because you say, 'I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eyesalve to anoint your eyes, that you may see," (Rev. 3:17-18). The limits of this brief essay prevent the development of the interpretation that "gold refined by fire" means "loyalty to Christ in spite of severe oppression," that "white garments" means "righteousness by virtue of adherence to divine law," and that "you may see" means "the ability to discern good and evil." These are things that make one rich in the value system of God. Jesus would surely say, "A man's life does consist in the abundance of his covenant loyalty, his humble righteousness, and his keenness in discerning good and evil.
Most people dream of building an investment large enough to enable them to live on it securely in comfort until life's end. This is admittedly desirable, but Christians must never let it become their primary goal. Above all else, each day of our lives, we must be building in our souls deposits of loyalty to Jesus, righteousness through adherence to His teaching, and training in the ability to discern good and evil. Material wealth we shall leave behind in this world, but spiritual treasure will accompany us into heaven.
