Being Rich toward God

In Luke the 12th chapter we read the story of a man who comes to Jesus with a civil matter a complaint in regards to his quarrel with his earthly brother in regards to their inheritance being divided between them two.

In this short but very serious meeting our Lord spoke in a parable to this man.

In this way He spoke…“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry. ‘But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Gospel of Luke 12:16-21

Here in this passage the Lord is graciously speaking in regards to eternal perspective of God on the material world, and its emptiness in regards to eternal and earthly security. First and foremost Jesus having heard the man’s dispute with his own brother, He rebukes him saying I am not even going to involve myself in this civilian matters. Why? Because to the Lord eternity is what counts. Even though our relationships to the temporal world will decide our status in respect to heaven, but these should not be our or His concern. Jesus told this man that there is more to life than these temporal issues of life.

Jesus confirms to this man that His mission was so much greater than to concern Himself with the menial thing of this earth. He then to addresses this parable in which this certain rich man is seeking for more in his life to secure himself on earth. He said his wealth began to grow in this that his crops begin to give more produce and his present barns were not enough to carry all his new wealth. He began to see to it that a new barn should be built, so that his wealth would be stored there.

But Jesus said while doing all this the rich man began to think ahead that in the future this new found wealth would bring him security and joy. In another words he was saying this would be my future means of retirement and safekeeping, yet the parable says soon his life was cut short in that the Lord asked for his soul.

Jesus also said that the Lord called this man “A Fool”. Why is this you think?

Is Jesus against riches? Did He spoke this parable to make a mocking at this man’s request for Him to become a mediator between him and his brother or was there a reason beyond what the natural eye could see? Is working and saving money wrong? Or is God against prosperity and wealth? Here are many questions that you might have by reading or hearing this unique parable. But I personally feel we must dig deeper into what Jesus our Lord was trying to speak to this man. First of all Jesus said in this parable the man was planning for a retirement security and that he was a man of long term vision. He was able to do what he was planning in his mind. He must have been a man of great physical and financial ability. He was a in our language of this day a very good business man. A person with a vision and a plan, but why did God saw that he was nothing, but a fool?

What was so wrong in his way of thinking?

Does not the world command such men, calling them wise? Then why did the Lord call him nothing but a fool?

Now let us examine the entire story one step at a time.

Jesus said He was rich, but not towards God for this was never an issue for the man. Meaning both the man who came to him and the man in the parable they were not men of great faith, they were people whose minds were on this earth and its comforts and pleasures. They also both saw their security in uncertain riches. They both thought money or material possessions can buy them comfort and longevity. The man in the parable was a rich man, but according to the riches of this passing life. They thought as long as they are well taken cared in this short passing life all is well. They saw themselves as permanent residents and citizens of this earth, therefore their eyes were never taken off of this life’s pleasures. These men were thinking nothing in respect to their day of death. They saw this earthly life all that there was to be. They were mockers who did not rust God.

These men are like Esau who was only worried for a morsel of food and His firstborn right was not an issue for Him. These men in their actions spoke about life as being this one only and that trusting God and taking the narrow road of trust in God on daily basis in faith was not an issue for them at all. Though they might have possessed earthly wisdom in gaining wealth, but in the eyes of heaven they were both blind. They both saw heaven as an unreal fascination of men, for which they had no care. In their earthly mindedness they both saw earthly wealth as means of trust and not just a simple source of living a life of pilgrimage. They did not see themselves as people who could trust God for all their needs during the entire course of their life on earth. They were self-reliant people who probably mocked God in their lack of trust. In this they resembled the children of Israel in the desert in so many ways.

Both the man who came to Jesus and the man in the parable that Jesus spoke about were men of the flesh. They lived as all carnal men do. They had no idea about being rich toward God; their idea of being rich was only on this side of heaven in trusting themselves and their accomplishments. The man who came to Jesus trusted the inheritance that was in his brother’s possession to save him from all evil, but not even thinking about the true owner of all the wealth of this world. His prospective upon life and God was very much tinted through Adamic transgression. The rich man in the parable was not only very similar to him, but was even wicked. He had in mind to live in comfort where he did not even know if he was going to be alive to enjoy his wealth. They both were poor and naked towards God just like the Church of Laodicea in the book of Revelations.

While they thought they were rich the Lord saw them very poor in the understanding of who God was. Their trust was the arm of the flesh. These have become complacent people for whom the Lord or trusting Him for all things does not matter. Their trust is built on what they have. People like these would sleep at night thinking about their money and that how they could invest it in a different IRA or in another retirement plan. Their trust is what their wealth could one day do for them and not God. They come to Jesus like this man, but their reason in coming to Him is for their own selfish desires of this carnal state of life. They are not rich towards God in completely relying on Him for all things. They have gone the way of Esau who preferred earthly riches in comparison to his own first born rights.

These men are the people who gather around God’s flock for gain and earthly prosperity and in themselves carry the sin of proud in not trusting God for everything.

I believe Jesus in this parable spoke also about being blind spiritually and not giving heed to the fact that life on this side of heaven is to be trusted in God. They plan their own estate and unfortunately calling it the living trust. Yet Jesus said to man in this parable that God said I will require your soul tonight since you have laid up treasures for yourself and are not rich towards God. Meaning that not only your riches must not be your trust, but that on God you must trust, however you made your riches your treasure and not God himself, in who must be our full reliance. Bing rich towards God is to trust Him for all sustenance. He must be our strength of all kinds of salvations. Being rich towards God I believe meant to also invest in His eternal kingdom with our money and reap a reward in the age to come. This could also mean trust Him with our riches by doing what the woman with the alabaster jar did in pouring it upon the Lord’s head, believing that her reward was great in heaven.

Ofcource these men could have been unaware or outright covetous idolater’s men who were never satisfied with what they had. This is why in verses 22 to 34 Jesus continues to speak about God’s provision for His own people.

This is why Jesus said the following in verse 15 of Luke chapter 12 “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses”.

Wow did you hear this brethren? Then those who interpret John 10:10 as material blessing had it wrong again. Jesus says “Man’s Life” Meaning His eternal part of Himself has nothing to do with His earthly possessions, since our Life is Jesus. In other scriptures Jesus says if you do not have the Holy Spirit in you do not have “The Life of God in You”.

This is why we need to grow rich toward God and occupy till He comes back for us.