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Continuing our studies of Luke Chapter 12, this week we are considering verses 13-21. Please read them every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 12:16-19 (NIV)
‘And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have so much money that you don’t have any concerns about your financial future? Wouldn’t it be lovely just to be able to do whatever you wanted whenever it suited you? No financial constraints at all. Want to buy a new house? No problem. Want to buy a new car? It’s not an issue. The money is there to be used.
I remember reading an article about lottery winners who had received many million pounds in prize funds. They were all super-happy about the win and almost all of them said that “money won’t change me”. Within a very short time, most of their normal lives had been ruined. They’d all bought new houses and new cars but were being hounded by so-called friends who insisted on receiving money from them. Some had received death threats and many had serious fears about their children being kidnapped in order to get a ransom.
This led to them being completely withdrawn from all their friends and their houses turned into virtual fortresses. CCTV cameras were everywhere and bodyguards accompanied them wherever they chose to go.
Of course, there are people who are mega-rich and jet themselves all over the world apparently without a care in the world. Many, many rich people find themselves alone and consider ending their lives. Sadly, many do just that and commit suicide in a deep state of depression.
Despite the bleak picture I’ve painted here, there are a great number of people for whom money serves them well and they use their wealth properly and responsibly. In our verses today, Jesus doesn’t condemn anyone for being rich or successful. Scripture is full of analogies about success. I believe that God wants us to be successful and to use whatever money we have wisely.
So, in this parable, why was Jesus’ message so harsh? I think that fundamentally it comes down to a few things that I’ll be covering in the next few days.
Jesus clearly states that this parable is about ‘a certain rich man’. He was already rich and therefore didn’t need to keep accumulating wealth at the same rate. The issue is that he wanted more. Just like the story of Oliver Twist yesterday, this man was desperate for more. His greed was apparent and was trying to work out exactly how to satisfy something that would not be satisfied.
Lastly for today, we see the phrase ‘for many years’. This man was assuming that he would indeed have many years of his life still ahead of him. None of us have that kind of assurance. Our lives don’t have a guaranteed lifespan and every breath is only given by the grace of God.
Let us learn to be content with what we have and to grasp each moment we live in order to give praise and glory to the God who sustains all things.
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