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And Jesus said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:15 NRS

This verse, pulled from what is often called the parable of the “rich fool,” speaks to so many pieces of our lives. Perhaps the most important is how we spend our lives in this place and time. Jesus knew that how we spend our greatest resource, time, is perhaps who we will become not only here and now but also, for all eternity.

Jesus spent much time directing his disciples on how to concentrate on the activities that lead to God’s Kingdom and not those that we think will make us happy. In a world that is constantly pushing us to do more, experience more, make more and gain more so that we can be happy, Jesus tells us to slow down, listen to God, feel the moving of the Holy Spirit, and to give our time to the betterment of others. Those who would be first will become last and those who are last will be first in the Kingdom of God.

In this time of year, the pressure to do more, to buy more and accumulate more seems almost unstoppable. It seems there are thousands of things we “must” do before we can settle in to celebrate appropriately. If Jesus truly wanted us to live in this rush and hurry, it seems this parable would be very different. It does seem we should perhaps be doing a little less and concentrating on God a lot more.

After all, this is the season of Advent, the time we remember Emanuel, God with us, and prepare for the time when we will completely dwell with God once again. So, how are you reminding yourself to spend time with God and draw nearer to your creator? Perhaps we should be truly concentrating on growing closer to God each day so that we can care less and less about the things of this world and not trying to check so many boxes. To receive the great joy of God with us, our hearts, minds and spirits must detach from the world’s push to things and instead strengthen our relationship with a God who is indeed with us!

KEITH LEACH is Pastor of College Church and College Chaplain at Hampden-Sydney College. He can be reached at kleach@hsc.edu.