Luke 12:13-21<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n 13 <\/sup><\/em>Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, \u201cTeacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.\u201d 14 <\/sup>But he said to him, \u201cFriend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?\u201d 15 <\/sup>And he said to them, \u201cTake care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one\u2019s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.\u201d 16 <\/sup>Then he told them a parable: \u201cThe land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 <\/sup>And he thought to himself, \u2018What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?\u2019 18 <\/sup>Then he said, \u2018I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 <\/sup>And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.\u2019 20 <\/sup>But God said to him, \u2018You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?\u2019 21 <\/sup>So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Money and possessions<\/strong> can all too easily dominate our thinking. This was certainly true in the case of a man listening to Jesus: \u2018Teacher,\u2019 he said, \u2018Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me\u2019 (12:13). Jesus had been speaking about life and death matters, but this man was thinking about an injustice that was gnawing within him. Without missing a beat Jesus asked: \u201cMan who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?\u201d<\/em> (12:14). Knowing how possessions can grip the human heart, he applied shock treatment: \u2018Who do you think has given me this authority?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n The man had not thought about this. If he did think Jesus was a prophet who could adjudicate his affairs, he was in fact, inviting God to judge his own life. \u201cWatch out!\u201d <\/em>Jesus said. \u201cBe on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man\u2019s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions\u201d <\/em>(12:15).<\/span><\/p>\n Jesus wanted this man, as he wants all of us, to see that there is much more to life than money and possessions. He wants to free us from the domination that material things all too often have over our thinking and life. To make his point, Jesus told a searching little parable (12:16-20).<\/span><\/p>\n Jesus, the master story teller, painted the scene of a wealthy land-owner. As the parable fills out we see that the man was totally self-absorbed with his successes. He didn\u2019t give a moment\u2019s thought to the source of that success (God\u2019s kindness) or the fragility of life. He spoke of \u2018my crops,\u2019 \u2018my grain,\u2019 \u2018my barns,\u2019 \u2018myself,\u2019 \u2018my life,\u2019 and \u2018my soul\u2019 as if he was completely in control (12:17b-19). Jesus wants us to feel the arrogance of this man\u2019s self-satisfaction.<\/span><\/p>\n The man could choose how he would invest or use his wealth, but he failed to understand that his life was ultimately not his own (12:20). This is something we all have to recognize, for we all will need to give account for our lives. Indeed, as many have observed, if there were no accounting there would be no justice!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The future tenses of the verbs in Jesus\u2019 story reveal a heart of greed and self-confidence. In response to his own question, \u2018What shall I do,\u2019 the man says, \u201c\u2026I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I\u2019ll say to myself, \u2018You have plenty of good things laid up for many years\u2026<\/em> Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry\u2019<\/em> (12:18-19).<\/span><\/p>\n The words of God\u2019s verdict: \u201cYou fool\u201d<\/em> <\/strong>(12:20) are chilling!<\/strong> To be obsessed with things is stupid and myopic. None of us can speak with certainty about tomorrow let alone many years hence. Possessions are temporary and insecure and in any case, we can\u2019t take them with us. \u2018There are no pockets in a shroud\u2019. Materialism doesn\u2019t offer real security or lasting satisfaction. Jesus had turned the question of a self-centered man into a provocative moment in his life.<\/span><\/p>\n When J.D. Rockefeller died a journalist asked Rockefeller\u2019s accountant: \u2018How much did he leave?\u2019 \u2018Everything,\u2019 he was told. In contrast to laying up treasure for ourselves, Jesus tells us that we should settle for nothing less than becoming rich <\/em>in our relationship with God<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a9 John G. Mason, Reason for Hope<\/em> \u2013 40 Days of Bible Readings and Reflections \u2013 2016.\u00a0All Rights Reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n Read: Luke 12:13-21 13 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, \u201cTeacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.\u201d 14 But he said to him, \u201cFriend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?\u201d 15 And he said to them, \u201cTake care! Be on your guard against all kinds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1143,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nMONEY MATTERS<\/h2>\n
THE RICH FOOL<\/h2>\n
You may want to consider:<\/em><\/h2>\n
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\u00a0Let me encourage you to pray<\/em><\/h2>\n
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