"And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 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."
St. Luke 12:15-21
***From the Blog Archive Series, May 23, 2011&***
Howard Hughes was one of the wealthiest people in the world. He was a maverick film producer, industrialist, aviator, engineer, hotelier, business magnate, and philanthropist. He financed some of the biggest films in his era and dated many famous women in Hollywood. Through all of his success and many accomplishments, his later years were spent in isolation and pain. Hughes had an obsessive-compulsive disorder and in December, 1947 he stayed in his film studio dark room for four months without leaving. He survived primarily on candy bars and milk and relieved himself in empty bottles and other containers. He sat fixated in his chair, usually naked, as he continually watched film after film. One film he watched at least 150 times back to back. He did not bathe or cut his hair for weeks. He spent most of his later years living in pain, becoming addicted to codeine, which he injected intramuscularly. There was nothing that his money couldn't buy, or that he couldn't seem to build on his own, especially planes. But with all that it could not save him from the sad life he lived in the end. He died aboard his aircraft supposedly in 1976 a recluse who was not recognizable. Once a towering 6 feet tall handsome man, he weighed only 90 pounds at the time of his death. Fingerprints had to be taken to even identify his body. Some reports say that only eight people attended his funeral.
Howard Hughes is a perfect example of a life filled with many possessions, but yet worthless without a rich relationship with God. When we put all we have in material things, those things that will eventually pass away (money, power, sex, etc.) and not recognize they are to be used as God planned, it profits nothing. Jesus said in St. Matthew 16:26 "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
"But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" St. Luke 12:20
"Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." St. Luke 12:15
If Christ returned today, just where would you stand? Would you be ready to meet Him? Are worldly possessions, greed and lust causing you to lose sight of your own soul? Where will you spend eternity?
Don't wait until it's too late! Examine your heart today. If you are rich in material things, yet destitute of Christ, in the end it will not be worth the forfeit of your soul. Please, search your heart today. Tomorrow may just be too late!
