Thought for the Day

Verse 7 - This verse compares a rich and poor man; distinguishing between true riches and worldly wealth. True riches are found in Christ, while the wealth of this world is simply temporary ownership of money and things. A man may accumulate great wealth in this life, but he will not be able to take any of it with him when he dies. Jesus told a parable about a wealthy man who had such a large harvest he ran out of room to store it. He tore down his barns, built bigger ones, and congratulated himself: "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment" (Luke 12:19-23).

Verse 8 - One benefit of being poor is that there is never a fear of being held for ransom! A spiritual analogy can be drawn. If we remain "poor" before God, claiming nothing as our own and recognizing that we are mere stewards of it, we will not worry about losing our possessions. How can we lose what is not ours? I take the position that everything I have belongs to God; Satan has no authority to take any of it. When the Lord tells me to give something away, I do so without a second thought. I refuse, however, to let the devil rob me of anything God has given me. I want to be a good steward and will fight the enemy if he tries to steal anything in my possession.

As a young shepherd tending his father's sheep, David overcame a lion and a bear on separate occasions. He risked his life to be a good steward of his father's sheep. We must have the same attitude; through prayer, fighting to keep the enemy from destroying our children, mates, homes, businesses, ministries, and even our lives. The enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy, but Christ came to give us abundant life (John 10:10-11). However, we must contend for it using our faith and God's Word against the enemy.

Verse 9 - The light of the righteous grows brighter each day, but the light of the wicked will be put out. The choice is ours: to walk in the guidance of God's light, or to walk in the darkness of hell.