Our life is not a reflection of our possessions

How do we measure our worth? If we were to follow the trends of society, possessions would be how we might measure our value or success in life. Money, houses, cars, personal accomplishments, children’s accomplishments, gadgets ...the list goes on. 
“And he said to them, ‘Be on your guard against all forms of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of one’s possessions’” Luke 12:15.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus made it clear to the crowd that our life is not a reflection of our possessions. It takes discipline to remove the clutter from our lives and remind ourselves that our accumulation of things does not define us. 
“For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.” Luke 12:23
Much more important than possessions, God gave us gifts and talents to share to the best of our ability and to do his will in our life. The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). provides an excellent lesson of stewardship. This parable teaches us that God will give us what we need to do His will. God only gives us what we can accomplish and it is our job to have the confidence to uncover these talents. 
Much like the master in the Parable of the Talents expected his servants to do more than complacently store the gift entrusted to them, so God expects us to generate a return by using our gifts and talents to serve others and do His will in our lives. 
Finally, the three servants were asked to account for the talents they were given and rewarded for fair returns. Revelations tells us that in the final judgement we will be held accountable for our deeds. “… Then another scroll was opened, the book of life. The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls” Revelations 20:12. 
In the end, we all want to hear our Heavenly Father say to us: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
­­— Shannon Roh is the Executive Director of the Office of Development and Stewardship for the Archdiocese of Mobile.