Luke 12:14

But he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness; for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth.

Christ clearly implied by such a reply to the man who demanded redress against his brother that the problem was not social injustice, but covetousness, laying down the dictum that "a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he owns," a premise that flatly contradicts all of the political axioms of every nation on earth. A man's "standard of living," calculated by prevailing yardsticks, is in reality no such thing. "The world in every age has bypassed or refused to acknowledge the truth of this principle, and yet every age has abounded with proofs of its truth."[21]

He said unto them ... This plural indicates Jesus went on teaching the multitude, not that both brothers were present.

Covetousness is the great cancer eating out the heart of mankind; and the Lord in his teaching here moved to lead men away from it. Human wants are insatiable; and getting only adds to the appetite for more. Paul associated it with moral uncleanness (Ephesians 4:19), calling it "idolatry" (Colossians 3:5).

THE PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL

This parable was spoken to illustrate Jesus' teaching, just spoken, on covetousness.