Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” — Luke 12:15
Writers have a class of words that can often brighten their writing when used correctly. They are called onomatopoeia. These are words whose sounds reflect their meaning. For example, buzz, bubbling, hiss, jangle and crackle, all sound like their meaning. You can almost hear the hissing snake ready to strike or feel the heat from the crackling fire.
Jesus was asked to settle an inheritance dispute between two brothers and he responded by telling a parable about a certain rich man who was so pleased with his abundance that he was getting ready to tear down all of his old barns and build new ones to store all his crops. He was sure that the future harvests would be just as prolific and someday soon he could “take it easy, eat, drink and be merry.” But as Jesus introduced the story, he cautioned his followers to be on guard against accumulating an abundance of “possessions” on earth and associated that kind of life as pursuing, “all kinds of greed.” (Lk. 12:13-21).
Greed is one of those onomatopoetic words. You can hardly say it without gritting your teeth. It has a sinister and disturbing sound to it doesn’t it? Maybe because that’s what greed is—SINister and disturbing. It is also considered as one of the seven deadly sins and literally describes someone “who is eager to have more.”
I remember when I first went away to school to complete my degree and prepare for the ministry. My first part-time job was in a grain elevator in that rural area of the state. I started my new employment right at the beginning of the harvest season, which in that particular year was the largest in a decade. The grain elevators in the area all ran out of storage so they had to just dump the corn, oats, barley and wheat on the ground until they could begin shipping it out as fast as they could by box car.
The grain elevator to a farmer is like a bank. He deposits his grain and then he is able to borrow from its value, sell it all off or keep it stored and play the market to see if the prices would go up. I can still remember the conversations by the farmers that year talking about building silos on their property in which to store their future harvests, so they wouldn’t have to worry about where to store their crops and could cut out the middle man. Some of them no doubt did just that believing the boom would last forever.
It’s ironic but the next year I also recall that due to horrible weather conditions and drought the harvest was terrible and many of those same farmers had become so indebted to their new barns that they couldn’t pay off their loans. Many went broke. Their ambitious goal to, “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry” was short lived.
This is the American Dream we’ve all been brainwashed with isn’t it? It’s the pursuit of a material prosperity that includes enough money to say goodbye to work and hello to travel, bucket lists and continued good health and prosperity. But in the parable Jesus calls that kind of thinking “foolish,” while reminding us that life is short and can end in an instant—then what happens to our abundance? He said it would be much better to “sell your possessions and give to the poor . . . and build a treasure in the heavens that does not fail” (Lk. 12:33).
So my friends, we don’t need to build bigger barns. What we need is to build bigger hearts for God’s work on the earth. If God has blessed you with an abundance, you might want to consider giving most of it away while you can—because I assure you, your life cannot be prolonged one hour. God has already ordained the number of your days . . . which no man can pass (Psm. 139:16; Job 14:5).
I suggest that there are many very worthwhile ministry options that need your help and where your giving will make a big difference in a lot of lives in your community and all over the world. Why not help them today while you can?
And oh, yes. Jesus will let you know when it’s time to kick back and take it easy because he’ll take you home, “which is far better” (Phil. 1:23). — Maranatha!
Pastor Don
