09/03/2026
CCO Daily Devotional
Hearing but Not Listening
Today’s Passage:
Luke 16:19–31
Highlighted Verse:
“Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’”
— Luke 16:29
There are times when we know what God has said, but we still put off letting it change us. We hear it, understand it, and still find reasons not to respond. Luke 16 reminds us that there is a danger in hearing God’s Word and not responding.
In this passage, Jesus tells of two men whose lives could not have looked more different. The rich man lived comfortably and had more than enough, while Lazarus lay suffering right outside his gate. The rich man saw that need day after day, yet he never responded to it. Then both men died, and suddenly everything looked very different.
Lazarus, who had seemed forgotten in this life, was comforted, and the rich man, who had enjoyed every comfort, found himself in torment. Jesus was not teaching that poverty saves us or that wealth condemns us. He was showing how badly outward appearances can fool us. The rich man’s life may have looked blessed, but it revealed a heart centered on himself while a suffering man was right in front of him. The comfort he enjoyed was never proof that everything was right between him and God.
Faced with a reality he could no longer change, the rich man began to think about his brothers. He wanted Lazarus sent back to warn them, believing that someone returning from the dead would finally get their attention. But Abraham answered, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” God had already spoken clearly. The problem was not that they needed a greater sign; they needed to listen to the truth they had already been given.
We can make the same mistake in quieter ways. We can measure how we are doing by our comfort, our possessions, or how life looks from the outside while ignoring what God has already said and the people He has placed in front of us. We do not need to wait for a dramatic moment or a greater sign. God has spoken, and the right time to hear Him, trust Him, and let His Word shape the way we live is now.
Let’s pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your Word and making Your truth known to us. Help us not to measure our lives by comfort, possessions, or outward appearances, but by what You have said. Keep us from becoming so comfortable or distracted that we miss the needs right in front of us. Show us where we need to repent, give us willing hearts to obey You, and help us live with eternity in mind. May Your Word shape our priorities, our compassion, and the way we treat others today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.