Last updated on October 23, 2024
Today’s passage is from Luke 12:13-34.
One day, while Jesus was hammering the Pharisees about their hypocrisy, two brothers showed up. One of the brothers was waiting on the other to give him his share of the inheritance. For whatever reason, that brother had refused to do it, so the first brother decided to ask Jesus to make him divide the inheritance.
Jesus’ response was great…”Man, who appointed me as a judge or an arbiter between you?”
That’s all he said to the man, but then he turned to the crowd and said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Mark 12:15).
I remember hearing Tim Keller talk about this passage. He says you don’t have to tell a person to watch out with adultery. If you’re committing adultery you know it. But greed is different. It’s tricky. It’s possible to be greedy and to be unaware of it. And unaware of its consequences.
Before going any farther, let me mention that when Jesus wanted a truth to really sink in, he told a story. And that’s what he does here.
There was a rich man who had an abundant harvest. This was obviously great news, but he didn’t have a place to store the abundance of crops. So he decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones.
Pause here…this sounds to me like a wise steward, something that Jesus at other times commends. The man acknowledges that his crops have produced a harvest greater than expected. He doesn’t want them to go bad, so he’s going to invest his money into building bigger barns. Again, it sounds good.
But then the man said, “Then I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”
God’s response to the man’s attitude: “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”
I think this is a very specific situation, but I think this man falls prey to something that is very common. He believes that because of this abundance, he no longer needs God. And I believe that it is this attitude that turns him from a wise steward to a fool.
So Jesus begins to talk to them about how they can trust God to give them what they need. He says,
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn (contrasted with the foolish rich man); yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:22-26).
He goes on to say,
“And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well” (Luke 12:29-31).
One of the things I’ve learned in these fifty years of living is that money is complex. It can be a tool that you use or a god that uses you. You can learn how to master money, or you can be mastered by money. And as is seen in this story, it’s more a matter of the heart than it is of certain decisions. The decisions come from our attitudes.
It’s wise to save money. It’s wise to invest so that you can take advantage of God’s gifts. But it turns to foolishness very quickly when we believe the lie that we’ve produced it all and no longer need God.
Here’s a great song that comes from this passage.