And one of the company said unto him,
Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he
said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto
them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in
the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto
them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he
thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns,
and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I
will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take
thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this
night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be,
which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is
not rich toward God. Luke 12:13-21 KJV
“Life does not
consist mainly, or even largely, of facts or happenings. It consist mainly of
the storm of thoughts that is forever flowing through one's head.” ― Mark Twain
And He said to them, Guard yourselves
and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the
greedy longing to have more); for a man's life does not consist in and is not
derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above
his needs. Luke 12:15 AMP
Man's
life is not made up of the things he possesses. If that's all it is, then we're
poor indeed!
What
does man's life consist of? We're looking for life in all the wrong places and
life is found only in Jesus Christ!
He that hath the Son hath life; and he
that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
1 John 5:12 KJV
It's
more than meat and the body more than dressing up...or down! It's having the
Son!
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6 KJV
The thief cometh not, but for to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly. John
10:10 KJV
"He [Jesus]
came to bring men to God, not to bring property to men." Leon Morris
It's
so deceptively simple to fall into the ways and lifestyle of the world. We give
ourselves all the right sounding reasons why we should! The man was right but
he was also so very wrong! We spend so much time and effort acquiring and
accumulating in this world, with diminishing returns in the next world!
The
man recognized the physical need but failed to realize the spiritual need!
Many
talk about living as though there's no tomorrow but so many more live as though
there's no eternity!
Are
we also intently caught up with satisfaction of our physical needs at any cost,
while we lose perspective of our spiritual need?
We
can plan for the distant future but do we know the immediate future? We can lay
up for retirement and old age but have we laid up treasure in heaven?
This
man was so caught up in the “here and
now,” that he ignored and neglected the hereafter.
We
can become so wrapped up in our life or pleasure seeking and enjoyment that we
are prepared to totally ignore the things of God and that way lies tragedy!
Note
that Jesus did not condemn the man's riches, but rather contrasts it with his
poverty towards God.
But godliness with contentment is
great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can
carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But
they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish
and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love
of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have
erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1
Timothy 6:6-10 KJV
Can
you picture right now in your mind's eyes the structure you are building up in
heaven? How does it compare with your possession on earth. Has it been left in
a state of neglect and disrepair? We may take pride in keeping a clean, tidy,
well decorated home down here, but is it weed overgrown and crumbling up there?
Setting
out to be rich as our primary goal is a poor ambition. If however our primary
goal is to seek the face of The Lord, then all others are but secondary goals,
and remains subjected and modifiable by our primary goal. There is danger when
a secondary goal insidiously worms its way into the primary position. The
resultant sidetrack is dangerous in its effects and results.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21 KJV
Wherever
our treasure is, that's where we find our heart! Does our treasure makes us
ashamed of the Lord?
And when he had called the people unto
him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will
save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and
the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in
exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my
words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of
man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Mark 8:34-38 KJV
When
we put aside our testimony for the sake of pleasure, leisure and treasure before
our friends and family, we have proven ourselves to be ashamed of the Lord!
Mistakes
we do not want to make!
Someone
said this man made three mistakes.
1. He mistook
himself for God
2. He mistook his
body for his soul
3. He mistook
time for eternity
His
perspectives were all off center and resulted in great tragedy. He was not
prepared!
He
is what we would call a successful failure!
He
was
1. Obedient yet
Disobedient v 16
a.
He was obedient to the natural laws. He
paid attention to the natural laws of agriculture, investment and management!
b.
He was disobedient to the Law of God There was no sense of spiritual values, no
thanks to God and for there was no acknowledgement of God's help!
2. Generous yet
Selfish v 18,19,21
a.
He was generous in his plans for building, in his ideas of expansion and
storage, and his thoughts of himself
b.
Yet he was also selfish, for there is no mention of helping others, no thoughts
of sharing, just his covetousness and greed!
3. Wise yet Foolish vv.17-20
a. He was wise in his work and planning where
material matters were prominent.
b. He was foolish in leaving God out of his life Pr 21:1 and in
trying to dictate his own future
Remember...man
proposes but God disposes!
4. Rich yet Poor
a. He was rich in that he had substance and
wealth, and could afford to enlarge and expand for he had a great harvest.
b. Yet he was immensely poor for there is no
poverty greater than spiritual poverty. He
failed to make spiritual investments and so his spiritual harvest was eternal
bankruptcy.
By
the worlds standards he was a success story. By heaven's standard he was a
failure! He was simply a successful failure!
It's
time we take stock of our lives and see what our present relationship to the Lord!
It's
time we pay attendance to the things of God and turn our feet back to the
Father house!
It's
time we begin to believe the Word of the Lord when He said But seek
ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall
be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 KJV
And he said unto his disciples,
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat;
neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the
body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap;
which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are
ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his
stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why
take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not,
they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in
the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe
you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of
the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these
things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be
added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves
bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no
thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights
burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will
return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto
him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall
find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them
to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come
in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are
those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what
hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his
house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man
cometh at an hour when ye think not. Luke 12:22-40 KJV
