Luke 12:16-21 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: (17) And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? (18) 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. (19) 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. (20) 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? (21) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
As a Christian, worldliness may be our biggest obstacle.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
As a Christian, worldliness is a temptation that it seems so harmless. Often times with worldliness, there is not an inherent sinfulness about it. It only becomes a problem with the extent that a particular thing is sought or used. A good example is that of food. We need food. Our bodies require food to survive. Even the Bible recognizes that fact. However, too much of a good thing can be sinful....the sin of gluttony. Worldliness is really nothing more than loving this world to a level that we leave God in a position of second place... or worse.
The love of this world is the problem with the man in Jesus’ story today. The story tells of a rich man. The problem with this man is NOT that he is rich, but that he loves being rich and that his love of his money is an obstacle that gets in the way of everything else in his life. The Bible never condemn having money or stuff. It is the LOVE of money that gets folks in trouble.
1 Timothy 6:10 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.
Paul is condemning the “Love of Money”...NOT BEING rich. In fact, during this same context with Timothy, he speaks about those that are materialistically rich in this life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; (18) That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; (19) Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
Paul’s command for those that are rich is not to sell all they have and give it to the poor, but rather, beware that they do not trust in those riches and that they use their wealth to be rich in good works.
So as Jesus is telling this story, he is not condemning the rich man for being rich. He is condemning him for being too caught up in his own stuff. The man is so focused on himself and his own desires, that he considers NOTHING else. He is so caught up with worldliness that he wants to tear down all of his barns and build bigger barns so he can hoard all of his stuff. Now let’s look at Jesus’ conclusion in the last verse.
Luke 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
When we focus so much on this world so that our primary focus is to keep or attain riches, we cannot be rich towards God. Many people think about, dream about, seek and aspire to this world’s treasures. The problem is that this world’s treasures are only temporary by nature.
Matthew 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (21) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
All physical things in this life will deteriorate, expire, be used up, or otherwise fail...so how valuable is it really? Why would we spend this limited lifetime seeking after such temporary things. On the other hand, the treasures of God are substantial, free flowing, generous and eternal. As christians, we have access to the treasure of prayer, a relationship with a loving generous Father in Heaven, a Saviour that died for us and the hope of eternity in Heaven. To have those things is to be truly rich!
We have a choice. Do we have the drive and motive to be rich towards God or do we have the drive to be rich in this life? The fact is, we cannot be focussed on both. We cannot have the drive for both.
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Mammon is nothing more than materialism....the love and motivation for stuff in this life. Again, it is not the stuff itself, but it what we will do to get it. The ultimate question is: Do we want to be rich in this world or rich towards God?
Reflecting His SON,
Dennis Hogan
Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ
1804 Sam Stewart Dr.
Radcliff, KY 40160
Questions, comments or further explanation? Contact me at: dennis.hogan@icloud.com
If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward
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