While working on the third part of the Lazarus and the Rich Man Parable in Luke 16, one of the key take aways from this passage was the biggest dividing factor between Lazarus and the Rich Man. While everything indicated that Lazarus lived day to in poverty, The Rich Man or Divies, as he is know from the story lived richly. Having all the comforts of this life at his finger tips. In the end when they both died Lazarus was seen in Heaven along side Abraham and Divies found himself in Hades, or the Grave. Abraham pointed out to Divies that while he lived he had good things. While Lazarus had bad things. While on the surface it would seem that that is why Divies ended up in Hades, there are many reasons he ended up there. One of them was serving himself above the needs of others.

The problem was always him focusing on himself. His prefferences his comforts. He knew of Lazarus enough that he was comfortable enough to ask for him to cross over and ease his torment. The Problem was, even then he was concerned about himself. Not Lazarus or anyone else, but his brothers. At least there was that in him to be concerned about them.

To understand what happened to Dives we have to understand that focusing just on our needs chokes out a lot of things that have higher meaning in our lives, That includes most importantly God. In the Christian community it is understood that riches and abundance are more harmful than being poor. We end up relying on them more than we do God. Even being poor we can be full of self pitty, entitlement and be sinful in other ways. Neither one is good without the right focus.

That right focus should always be on God and his son Jesus Christ. We are to emulate him. in every detail over time.

One of the biggest ways we can do this is found in Philipians 2:

2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,

 did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7 rather, he made himself nothing

 by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,

 being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,

 he humbled himself

 by becoming obedient to death—

 even death on a cross!

Lazarus and the Rich Man proved that living for ourselves we will be outside of God. Being so has dire consequences for our spiritual future.

Your Brother in Christ,

Steve Koenig