“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” These are the words of Jesus in response to a request that he intervene in a family squabble regarding the dividing of an inheritance. (Lk. 12:15).
Jesus then reinforces his warning with a story of a rich man who experienced an abundant harvest and due to insufficient storage space decided to “tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I will say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.’” (Lk. 12:18-19).
The “rich man” of Jesus’ parable was concerned with no one’s life and opinion except his own. His only point of reference was himself and his crops, his barns, his pleasure, his supposedly unlimited future. As the center of his own universe, he gave no thought to any ethical responsibility toward others or accountability to God. He had little concern for anything but himself and his possessions. He was blind to all that happened around him and blind to the needs of others.
It is because of this blindness that Jesus’ words are relevant to both the man who came requesting Jesus’ intervention and to us claiming to be Jesus’ followers. “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?”
Jesus is not condemning possessions, nor prudent preparation for the future. Many other scriptures would such efforts. Rather, Jesus is condemning the spirit of covetousness which concludes that meaning in life and joy in life are the result of having things.
Covetousness is more than just wanting something. It is the deep-seated belief that accumulating things is the way to life and happiness. But Jesus teaches that a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. And other teachings of Jesus tell us that neither does it consist in an abundance of accomplishments, applause, or self-indulgence.
Jesus addresses the rich farmer who decided to build bigger barns “You fool.” Why? Because he lived life, made decisions, as if there were no God.
To conclude that there is no God leaves one to their own resources and blinds the person to any recognition of their blessing’s source or responsibility to share with others. In both Psalms 14:1 and 53:1, the psalmist writes, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds (ways) are vile; there is no one who does good.”
The hurts and needs of others are shut out of the fool’s mind and heart because they compete for what the fool desires for him/herself. Such people lay-up treasures for themselves, rather than becoming rich toward God, and the consequences are very grim.
Remember the story recorded in Matthew 19:16-22. “Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’ ……. ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”
The bigger barns for accumulating earthly things/treasures being built by so many who call themselves Christian reveals a serious failure of understanding Jesus’ call to lay up heavenly treasures. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21).
The ultimate truth is that all we are and have ultimately belongs to God, and as stewards, we need to give God a daily accounting of the use of our time, gifts, and energy.
To become “rich toward God” followers of Jesus, we must learn to think of ourselves as laborers in our master’s fields, rather than as private landowners answerable to no one. The harvest belongs to Christ, not to us, and he calls us to use the resources given us to help in caring for others, and in this way glorify Him in this world. May God help us to do so!
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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – September 1, 2023
Ray M. Geigley
Healing Rays of Righteousness 
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