16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
After a closer reading of today's selection, I believe these verses have been misunderstood, misinterpreted and mispreached over the years. So often this section is used to warn against the accumulation of wealth. I do not believe that is the correct message Jesus wanted us to glean.
The overarching message is how do we use our wealth and what is our relationship with God. The farmer had a windfall harvest. Who provided that harvest? God caused the crops to grow and be plentiful. So the message is not totally about the accumulation of wealth. If a Christian invests in a start-up company that hits it big and a tripling of stock value ensues, the increase in wealth is not held against that Christian.
Once again, Christ is calling people to look at their hearts. Is the accumulation of wealth so one can "take life easy; eat, drink and be merry"? Or is it so we can further God's kingdom here on earth? Do we say "I am going to" or is "what does God want" the question we ask ourselves?
A billionaire can have a life that is "rich toward God" as can a welfare recipient. A welfare recipient can be greedy as can a billionaire. Today's verses are a statement about attitudes, not accumulation. Middle class is not a sign of spirituality nor is being a 1-percenter or is taking a vow of poverty. Do we recognize all we have is a gift from God? Indeed it belongs to God. Are we willing to allow God to direct our plans and the use of our resources? Are we "rich toward God"?
After a closer reading of today's selection, I believe these verses have been misunderstood, misinterpreted and mispreached over the years. So often this section is used to warn against the accumulation of wealth. I do not believe that is the correct message Jesus wanted us to glean.
The overarching message is how do we use our wealth and what is our relationship with God. The farmer had a windfall harvest. Who provided that harvest? God caused the crops to grow and be plentiful. So the message is not totally about the accumulation of wealth. If a Christian invests in a start-up company that hits it big and a tripling of stock value ensues, the increase in wealth is not held against that Christian.
Once again, Christ is calling people to look at their hearts. Is the accumulation of wealth so one can "take life easy; eat, drink and be merry"? Or is it so we can further God's kingdom here on earth? Do we say "I am going to" or is "what does God want" the question we ask ourselves?
A billionaire can have a life that is "rich toward God" as can a welfare recipient. A welfare recipient can be greedy as can a billionaire. Today's verses are a statement about attitudes, not accumulation. Middle class is not a sign of spirituality nor is being a 1-percenter or is taking a vow of poverty. Do we recognize all we have is a gift from God? Indeed it belongs to God. Are we willing to allow God to direct our plans and the use of our resources? Are we "rich toward God"?
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