Are we accepting accountability to Almighty God for our actions?
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’” (Luke 12:20)
Accountability is a word that many people do not understand. Some people do things and never give consideration to the fact that at some point, they will have to answer for their actions. Each one of us is responsible for what we do. Each of us will have to explain our actions to Almighty God.
There are people who do not believe that God is in control and that He knows everything they do. He knows the good as well as the bad. They will carry on actions with the thought that no one will know. Other people may not know, but God does know.
When we do things contrary to His Word, we are accountable. Jesus tells us about a man, a rich fool, who had his priorities all out of order. He was very concerned about worldly things instead of divine things. He was interested in all he could get, what earthly possessions he could acquire, and how well off he would be with more stuff. This man was committing one of the seven deadly sins and that is the sin of greed
. “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
When we are young and foolish, we think we need everything our eyes encounter. We fail to realize or understand or believe God when He says, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25)
Many people are more concerned about worldly things and worldly stuff than their destiny. People make wills leaving their worldly possessions to certain individuals, charities, or churches. This is wonderful and good. A will is supposed to prevent family and friends from fighting over the possessions of the deceased.
Although the will is a good thing and follows the law, people still tend to want what they are not entitled to or what they think is theirs. There are people who have gone to court to acquire worldly possession. They sound like the man in the crowd who said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me” (v. 13).
When Jesus was asked to intervene in this inheritance issue, He said, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” (v. 14) Jesus could have intervened in this issue, but He was more concerned with divine or heavenly issues. An accumulation of earthly wealth is not what life is all about. The most important element in life is our relationship with our Creator.
You and I do take our problems and issues to God in prayer and that is good. Sometimes our requests are not granted by God because our thought or our attitude is not right. At times, God will answer our prayer, but not with the answer we are expecting.
God tells us the same thing He told the rich fool, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (v. 15). Jesus is saying that greed is not in line with His Word. We don’t need everything that comes our way or everything that looks good to our eyes.
Advertisements are presented in a way which gives people the impression life will not proceed down the right road if they do not purchase a certain item. Happiness comes with owning the best, newest, and latest of all things.
A person life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (v. 15). Covetousness is a sin and will lead one down the wrong path of life. Covetousness places things first and God second. Covetousness brings about earthly treasures that cannot be taken out of this world. Covetousness will not lead to everlasting happiness.
The flesh does not live on forever, but the soul does. Everything belongs to God and are only loaned to us. His second mistake was to hoard or stockpile what was not his. Instead of sharing with God’s children, he only thought of building bigger barns.
We do this same thing. Our thinking follows the same path as the thinking of this rich fool. We think a bigger house, new car, higher paying job, family raised and gone, and so on will place us in a position where we can begin to live and enjoy life. We should be living and enjoying every day because we never know when the Lord will call us home.
The rich fool could have lost all his crops to some disaster. Something could have invaded the crops and destroyed them. A strong wind could have blown the barns down. Lightening might have hit the barns and caused the crops to be burned up.
There are times we wait to take life with ease, eat, drink, and be merry. We make excuses like: money is short, body aches, car needs work, can’t get away from work, and the list goes on and on. We never know how much time the Lord will allow us upon this earth.
Each one of us is accountable for what we do. The fool is just as accountable as is the man or woman of God. The story of the rich fool is about people who are more interested in earthly things than in heavenly things.
The rich fool lays up worldly treasures which are not favorable toward God. The rich fool does not understand what life is all about. The rich fool is more concerned about self and not about other people.
We are accountable for everything we do. One day we will stand before our Creator and we will have to give an account of our life here on earth. If we have taken Jesus as our own personal Lord and Savior and we have lived according to the “words in red”, He will see our name written in the Book of Life and we will spend eternity in His presence. Amen.
WHOSOEVER WILL WORSHIP MINISTRIES
www.wwwmjesus.net
Associate: Pastor Wesley Fulton
429 Bayou Rd, La Marque, Tx.77568
Need prayer Ch. Ph: 409/933-9878
