Possessions

“Watch out! Guard yourself against all kinds of greed. After all, one’s life isn’t determined by one’s possessions, even when someone is very wealthy.” This is a quiz. Who said that quote? Was it, a) Trump, b) Obama, c) Biden, d) AOC, e) none of the above? Greed can take on all forms of possessions. In fact, we can be so obsessed by our possessions to the point of becoming possessed. A possessed person has an evil spirit. Yes, you can possess a valuable object or possess a quality that makes you special. You can own something that if not careful becomes idolatry. If we say a person is possessed, it usually implies a negative demonic power having complete power over them. We can own property or something precious to us and that may define our possession or state of mind that we are in control of something. We are not in control when we have that state of mind, in my opinion. I have heard of many highly talented, wealthy, possessive people ending their lives too soon because they could not cope. Why? I believe they thought about the things on earth instead of thinking about the things above. “So, put to death the parts of your life that belong to the earth, such as sexual immorality, moral corruption, lust, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).” (Colossians 3:2-5) We cannot control ourselves unless we are obedient and “set aside these things, such as anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene language…and put on the new nature…as Christ is all things and in all people.” (Colossians, 3:8-11)

We are in danger of being possessed by our possessions. We can see it in all parts of our lives. Even if we are totally aligned with a higher power that allows us to let go of our earthly possessions, we are subject to all sorts of schemes or miscommunications to influence our thoughts to make illogical decisions. We may find ourselves reacting to a situation unaware of the risk of fraud. How many of you get at least one or two robocalls per day? What about deceptive contractors or exorbitant insurance premiums that when a file is claimed reveals a no coverage clause. How about all the “breaking news” that is just a ploy to keep you watching. I can go on, but I think you get the picture. Back to my initial quiz to watch out and guard ourselves against all kinds of greed. Who said it? The answer is e) none of the above. The real answer is Jesus. (Luke 12:15)

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