A bit about bad investments.
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Wasted money – spending money and time on things that don’t work out
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We should avoid bad investments
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If we get reliable investment tips and warnings, we should take them seriously and act on them!
The Rich Man in today’s parable made a bad investment
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He wasted a lot of money and time – he spent it on things that didn’t work out AT ALL
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He should have avoided bad investments
The Rich Man’s brothers were making the same mistake.
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He knew they were wasting their efforts on things that weren’t going to work out
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He wanted to warn them to stop wasting their time and money
Father Abraham did not allow him to go and warn his brothers – why?
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Was it because he didn’t like his brothers? Because he wanted them to fail? No!
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He loved his brothers so much that he gave them
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The prophets
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The law
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A heart built for compassion
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A mind built to figure out the best way to help others
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Riches and talents so that they could satisfy the prophets, the law, and our heart’s true desire (i.e. to serve others well)
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This poor man at their gate so that their hearts would be called to repentance and helpfulness
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If his brothers, like him, had all these warnings, what more could Abraham do?
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They had become completely selfish, blinded by their greed to the sufferings of others and to their real purpose on earth
The implications of this parable for us should be clear: God has given us the best investment information you can ever get: live your life in service and devotion to God and others
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Because he wants us to get the kind of riches that really endure, he has given us every opportunity to learn and follow this way to endless wealth
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The prophets
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The law
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A heart built for compassion
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A mind built to figure out the best way to help others
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Riches and talents so that we can satisfy the prophets, the law, and our heart’s true desire
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Poor and needy people all around us so that our hearts will be called to repentance and helpfulness
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Even a man raised from the dead who still teaches and enables us to live a selfless life
What is our response? Will we follow this advice, or will we harden our hearts to compassion and blind our eyes to the truth?
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We have forsaken the poor. We have been blind to their suffering. We have ignored the proper use of our gifts. But we repent now.
We thank God for his warning and for his gifts.
