A man from the crowd once said to
Jesus, "Master, tell my brother to give me my share of the property
that belongs to us." Jesus answered, "Man, who made me your judge to
divide between you?" Then to the people he said, "Take care that you
do not become greedy for wealth, for life does not consist in having
more things than you need."
And he told them this story: "The land of a certain rich man bore
large crops; so he thought to himself, 'What am I to do, for I have
no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I will do:
I will pull down my barns and build larger ones in which I can store
all my grain and goods. Then I will say to myself, Now you have
plenty of things laid up for many years to come; take your ease,
eat, drink and be happy.'
"But God said to him, 'Foolish man! This very night your life is
required of you, and who will have all the things that you have
gathered?' So it is with the man who lays up wealth for himself
instead of that which in the sight of God is the true wealth.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and
rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for
yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys,
and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also.
"No man can serve two masters: either he will hate one and love the
other, or else he will be loyal to one and untrue to the other. You
cannot worship both God and wealth."
Once as Jesus was sitting opposite the treasury of the Temple, he
watched the way in which the people put in their money. Many rich
men were putting in large sums, but a poor woman came and dropped in
two small coins worth less than a penny. He called his disciples and
said to them, "I tell you, this poor widow has given more than all
the rest who have put their money into the treasury, for they have
given out of their plenty, but she out of her poverty has given all
that she has, even that which is needed to keep her alive."