That Which Is But a Drop

Luke recorded one man who came to the Savior with this request: “Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.” Perhaps the man was thinking that since Jesus was able to do mighty miracles of healing, it would be no problem for him to help resolve a small dispute between two brothers. So the response he received was surely surprising to him: “Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?” Jesus was not interested in this kind of petty argument about people getting their fair share of money. Instead, He taught this powerful lesson: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:13-15). This reminds me of what Jesus taught as He declared that He is the Good Shepherd: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The abundant life is not a life full of material possessions; rather, it a life full of Jesus Christ. If our greatest aim in life is the riches of the world, we will in the end have very little of what matters most. The Savior put it this way in our dispensation: “Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:7). True riches are to obtain eternal life, which means that we come to know and follow Jesus Christ: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). To come to know Him is of infinitely more value than to obtain even innumerable wealth on earth.

               After responding to this man who wanted Him to divide their inheritance, Jesus gave this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:16-20) I have thought often of this parable and this rich man’s desire to “build greater” when he already had plenty. It should invite us to ask whether we really need the figurative big barns that we acquire for ourselves. I love the way that the Lord spoke to William Marks and Newel K. Whitney after telling them to “repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires” and leave Kirtland for the land of Zion. He said, “Is there not room enough on the mountains of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and on the plains of Olaha Shinehah, or the land where Adam dwelt, that you should covet that which is but the drop, and neglect the more weighty matters? Therefore, come up hither unto the land of my people, even Zion” (Doctrine and Covenants 117:8-9). The possessions of the world are “but the drop” compared to the blessings that the Lord has in store for the faithful who become His people. This was the promise the Savior repeated in our dispensation: “For since the beginning of the world have not men heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath any eye seen, O God, besides thee, how great things thou hast prepared for him that waiteth for thee” (Doctrine and Covenants 133:45). As we wait for Him—instead of worldly possessions—we will receive of His greatest blessings.