Luke 12:15
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Jesus speaks this after a man asks Him to settle an inheritance dispute; He uses the occasion to warn against greed and then tells the parable of the rich fool.
What Does Luke 12:15 Mean?
Jesus gives a sharp warning against greed and a profound truth about what life really is. A man had asked Jesus to settle an inheritance dispute, and rather than take sides, Jesus addressed the deeper problem beneath the request. He warns His hearers to "take heed, and beware of covetousness" -- to be on guard against the craving for more.
The double warning, "take heed, and beware," shows how serious and subtle this danger is. Covetousness rarely announces itself; it disguises itself as ambition, security, or simple wanting. So Jesus tells us to watch carefully against it. Then He gives the reason: "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." Real life -- meaning, worth, and well-being -- is not measured by how much we own. A person can be rich in possessions and poor in everything that truly matters. This cuts against a deep human assumption that more things will make us more secure and more satisfied. Jesus exposes that assumption as false. To drive the point home, He follows this with the parable of the rich fool, who stored up goods but was not rich toward God. The verse calls us to find our life not in accumulating but in God, in whom alone our deepest needs are met.
In the Original Language
The word pleonexia means "covetousness, greed, the desire to have more." The verb here translated "beware" (phylasso) means to guard oneself carefully against something.
Cross References
“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
- 1 Timothy 6:10
“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.”
- Ecclesiastes 5:10
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:”
- Matthew 6:19
Application
Guard your heart against the craving for more, and find your life in God rather than in the things you own.