What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his own soul?
Luke 12: 16-21
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 w ill 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.”’
“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?’
“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Have you ever heard of William “Bud” Post? If not, his story is one to remember. In 1988 Mr. Post won $16.2 million in a lottery – and while most of us would think that from that time on he had it made – exactly the opposite happened. Even though he tried to keep his friends and family happy, within a few years one of his brothers tried to hire a “hit man” to kill him because he hoped to inherit some of the money. Other family members convinced him to invest in their business ideas – which all failed. His ex-girlfriend sued him for some of the winnings. And Mr. Post himself eventually did time in jail for firing a gun at a bill collector. Eventually he accrued so much debt that he filed bankruptcy and ended up living on his Social Security checks.
Now this is a rather dramatic example – and most of us would say, “Wow, I’m glad I’m not that foolish!” Most of us assume that we would handle $16.2 million better than did Mr. Post! But Jesus encourages us think a little more deeply before we assume we would be any different. In this parable of the “rich fool” Jesus basically describes what most of us would simply call the “American Dream.” If you have a good crop, if you earn more than you need – simply build a “bigger barn” and store up all the treasure you can! What’s wrong with that?
If you read Jesus’ words carefully, he doesn’t say there is anything wrong with harvesting a good crop – or with building bigger barns. The danger is in doing so without considering the condition of your soul.
As we talked about yesterday, money is powerful and can rival God himself for the affection and devotion of our hearts. And when money becomes “god” – not only do our priorities become inverted – but we can also lose our souls in the process.
I read where Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and one of the wealthiest men in the world, once said that he doesn’t attend church on Sunday morning because he doesn’t find worship to be a “cost effective use of his time.” While it is true that if he engaged fully in the worship of God for an hour, he would not be able to use that time for the creation of another computer product – it is also true that, if there is a God who not only created everything but who will someday judge the living and the dead, then money is not the main point of this life and Bill Gates couldn’t be more wrong.
Someday, the Bible says, we will all stand before an almighty and holy God to give an account for our lives. On that day it won’t mean very much to say to the one who created all things by speaking the universe into existence, “Well, I sold a lot of computers!” or, “I had a million dollars in the bank!” or “I had 10 years of crops stored up in my barns!”
On that day the only thing that will matter is whether or not we have entrusted our hearts, minds and souls to the one who gave himself for us. Ask God to help you grow rich toward him.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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