The Road to Freedom....goes through here....

On this quest for His Freedom in my own life, there is a "painting" starting to form in my own mind and heart. The main focus of this "painting" is the story of the the rich fool, passed down to us through the writing of Saint Luke.
 One thought given to this painting developing in my mind...it is this power and influence from an "earthy" and potentially demonic presence who is known to many of us as: Greed.
This one called Greed is nothing to mess with... Jesus Himself warns us in the story of the rich fool in Luke...Luke 12:15 to be exact, by making this statement: "Watch out! Brace yourself! Beware of what I am about to tell you!
 You have always got to  keep a sense about yourself...when Greed is "snoopin'"
around. Greed is nothin' to mess with...he is a bad one! And he is able to appear as a vicious enemy...or a gentle friend! He will come to you in various manners.
 How will you know when he is in your midst?  Here is a clear sign...when you find yourself wanting...more..more for youtself. Remember, in My Kingdom...there is no tolerance to measuring a person's right standing with My Father...based on the amount of possessions he/she may have."

 Now just to clarify, I am not suggesting God does not grant the desires of our hearts, or it is wrong to have goals in mind in our lives...like new cars, a home, being a good steward of our finances, etc. What I am saying is...when we put the things we want...over the needs of others...then we need to examine ourselves...check out our motives of what we may be after. 
 Saint Augustine once wrote a comment in reference to the story of the rich fool told in St. Luke. He mentioned how this fellow was so much into himself he wanted to build larger storage barns to hold his grain. Two thoughts; First, he most likely wanted to hold back on selling his abundance of grain... because the price was too low to sell (again, being shrewd is not wrong in itself, being greedy and just wanting to get all he can from others...particularly the poor...that's another). Second, Saint Augustine writes; "Filling the bellies of the poor is better "storage" than the biggest barns you can build".

The other thing I notice are the verses of Sacred Scripture that relates greed with other vices we sometimes face in life.
 In 1 Corinthians 6:10, it reads:" Don't you realize those who deliberately choose to do what the Kingdom of God says not to do...how can people who put their trust in these wrong doings...be a part of God's Kingdom? People who think being unjust with others is a normal and acceptable way of life...and carry out these beliefs through to the end of their lives...Do you really think they will have a place in God's Kingdom?
 Don't be fooled...those who devote their lives to sexual sins, using and abusing one another, or those who commit their entire lives to impure and immoral idols, or those who condone through their own actions that having sexual affairs outside the perimeters of their own marriage is quite acceptable, or men who promote having sexual relationships...with other men is a God-given right, or those who acknowledge themselves as successful thieves, or those who ARE LED BY GREED, and those who are drunkards...and proud of it!, or those have found their "joy" in life being verbally or physically abusive with another, and those who say it is a good thing to cheat another...and not be caught....trust me, all of these "lifetime achievements" will never find a home in the Kingdom of God.
 Now I realize some of you were at one time a believer in these lifestyles that gave no honor to the Lord Himself...have now been cleansed...by the power of the Holy Spirit. You have been made holy...before God and His Kingdom...all because of Him, the Lord Jesus, and now you have been made whole...you have been made right..all because of Him...because now all your righteousness, all your trust, and all your lifetime achievements...now come...through Him!"

                More to come........