Rich or Poor

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

RICH OR POOR

Luke 16:19-31

19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30 "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'" 

NIV

We are still on the heels of Jesus having told the Pharisees, who loved money, they cannot serve two masters, either they will love the one and hate the other, they will be devoted to one and despise the other. They cannot serve both God and money. One other observation about that teaching is it sort of flies in the face of some pastors or religious leaders who live in extreme abundance from the purses of others. But here we have Jesus saying about that same thing in regard to the Pharisees and it surely could apply to the Christian life today. The story about the rich man is about those who love money so they can live in abundance, the Pharisees in this case. Lazarus was the least of men, a beggar, dependent on living off the scrapes of the rich, but because he died and went to Abraham's side, we have to think this beggar was a believer in Christ, in this story. Perhaps Jesus was actually referring to himself as the beggar. The point Jesus was making in this story was that while men search wealth in this world they will not be seeking God, even if they think themselves religious as the Pharisees did. The result of the love of money, the pursuit of worldly gain, men will not go to Abraham’s side when they die for they served money instead of God. Jesus goes on and makes the point that once a person is in hell there is no way for them to get to heaven, period. They made their choice, they had Moses and the Prophets and did not pay attention to them, which pointed to the way to Jesus. So even if Jesus dies and comes back to life, these Pharisees will still not believe and find themselves in hell. At least that is his point to them. We should take that lesson to heart as well. Yes, we have accepted Jesus as our lord and Savior, but have we forsaken him or simply pretend to serve him, but in actuality use him to pursue the things of this world? We ask him to bless us with wealth, with the abundant life, with things rather than being at his service. Do we live as if it is all about us, or all about Jesus? If we are man or us centered then perhaps we are not much different than the Pharisees. But if we are as the beggar, knowing our lowly state, or dependent condition on the grace and mercy of our Lord, then we shall see the side of Abraham and once there we shall be there for eternity. So we are back to the point of who shall we serve, God or money? Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall inherit the kingdom of God. I choose God.