What REally Matters

​     One day some people who were following Jesus were arguing over money. So, He took the opportunity to tell a parable of a rich man. This particularly rich man stored up many things for himself but was not rich toward God and as a result Jesus called him “a fool”. (Luke 12:20) He was a fool because he left God out. Have you ever played the game of monopoly? The goal of monopoly is the same as the goal for any game – to win. And in monopoly to win means that you own all the best property and the most expensive property. You collect houses and hotels, and of course lots of cash. If you do really good in the game you have stacks of money, and railroads, and the bank is borrowing money from you, but when the game is over what happens? Every dollar, every red hotel, every green house, every piece of property including Park Place and Boardwalk goes back in the box when the game ends.
     The man in Jesus’ story of Luke 12 played the game of life pretty well. In the eyes of the world he would never have been called a fool. But he was a fool because he forgot what really matters – loving God and loving others is the identification of those called to be saints (Romans 1:7) and live holy lives (1 Corinthians 1:2, Hebrews 12:14, 1 Peter 2:9, 2 Peter 3:11). 

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Clark Tatum