And He said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness,

for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Luke 12:15, ESV

John Ortberg tells of the time when he was a little boy and would play games with his grandmother. Their favorite was Monopoly, and grandma was very good at this particular game. So good, in fact, that she always, always, always would beat him. As you know, Monopoly is a game that is won by taking all of your opponent's possessions and leaving them broken, bankrupt and poor. As you might suspect, this was not so good for little Johnny's ego, but grandma was not concerned in the least about puffing up the vanity of her young grandson.  She was in her own small way preparing him for life.

One summer when John was about ten years old, he began to play Monopoly with one of his best friends. They would play nearly every day, and he got quite good at the game and was now ready, he believed, for his grandmother. The big day came and John did indeed finally beat her. He was ruthless, taking every house, every hotel, and every scrap of property from grandma. He even took this poor old woman's last dime.

Then, the celebration began! John gloated and exulted over his big win. The unbeatable grandma had finally been vanquished, and he was quick to let her know. His grandmother, wise woman that she was, allowed him to have his little celebration before teaching John the most important lesson of all. "That's all fine and good", she began, "but remember this: In the end everything goes back into the box! All of your houses, all of your hotels, and even all of your beautiful money. All of it goes back!"

And of course, this was his most important lesson. It should be our most important lesson as well. For we all spend way too much time in pursuit of physical possessions that will someday "go back into the box". A wise man should ask himself, "What then?"

You see, in many ways life is a test, but it should never be a game. In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon reminds us all that it is alright to enjoy the physical blessings that God gives, but we cannot lose our perspective! He did for a season, allowing the physical to dominate his life. As a result, Solomon for a very long while lost sight of the most important. He forgot that he was not here to be king, but to be a servant of God.

Do you ever have that problem? I know I do, and that's why it is so important for us all to remember that life is not about the abundance of our possessions. For, in the end, everything goes back into the box. What then? 

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