Semiramis Building Babylon, by Edgar Degas (1861)
Luke 12:15
English Standard Version (ESV)
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.”
Semiramis built for herself a great monument. On the outside she had inscribed these words: "Whatever king wants treasure, if he open this tomb he may be satisfied." Darius saw these words and opened the tomb of this woman. He found no treasure in the tomb, but he did find another inscription which she had left. It read, "If thou were not a wicked person and of insatiable covetousness, thou wouldst not disturb the mansions of the dead."
The multimillionaire, John D. Rockefeller, was once asked the question, “How much money is enough?” He answered quite transparently, “Just a little bit more.” In other words, “I will never have enough.” Might this be our conscious or unconscious mindset as well?
Proverbs 30:8
English Standard Version (ESV)
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
Our small ambitious vs God's greater work:
“Tell the students to give up their small ambitions and come eastward to preach the gospel of Christ.”
― Francis Xavier
