“Your money or your life?”

Linda Pollock August 10, 2019 0 0

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Luke 12: 16-21 (NRSVA)

16 Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” 18 Then he said, “I 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 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” 20 But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

The man asking Jesus for help (who we saw in verses 13-15 yesterday) reflects the culture he lived in. Jewish inheritance laws were stacked in favour of the oldest son, and the other siblings could easily be neglected and left to eke out a very basic living. The opinion of someone like Jesus would have held considerable sway but Jesus refuses to be arbitrator choosing instead to tell a parable about greed and an impoverished soul.

There is nothing wrong fundamentally about earning a good living. What is wrong is when we believe that our money belongs exclusively to us. Let’s get real, the money belongs to God first. 

The farmer who enjoyed a bumper harvest had no thought for the beloved children of God around him who had no harvest at all, no consideration for the beloved children of God who lived ‘hand to mouth,’ those beloved children of God who had to beg for alms. He had so many options to share his wealth, but he chose not to. God calls him a fool for that is what he is. 

If we think for one minute that the money we lodge in the bank is our money, to do with what we wish, then we too are fools! More than being foolish, it reflects our fear of having little and therefore our lack of trust in God. Sorry to be blunt, but it’s the truth! Instead of growing our bank books we need to be growing in the abundance of God. 

Prayer:

Holy God, help me to grow filthy rich in the affluence of Your grace, to use this wealth for Your Kingdom and to give all that I have with reckless abandonment, and all for Your Love’s sake. Amen.