Luke 12:13-21
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 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.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “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. 19 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.” ‘ 20 “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?’ 21 “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
The context of Luke 12:13-34 is about Jesus’ teaching concerning our attitude toward wealth (vers. 13-15); the blessings of wealth and our future plans (vers. 16-21); two basic necessities of life (ver. 22-31) and treasure in heaven (vers.32-34). At the end of three of these sections are key verses that most Christians should be familiar with, concerning our attitudes towards material and financial wealth and living with the blessings we receive from God. a) Luke 12:15, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” b) Luke 12:31, “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” c) Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” But there is a fourth key verse that I really never gave any importance to of how it applied to my life, being rich toward God. d) Luke 12:21, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Looking at the context of Jesus’ parable (Luke 12:16-21) it is clearly about someone who is blessed beyond his initial capacity to store and properly manage the abundance of the blessing that comes from God. The reason I thought that this parable never applied to me was, by the worldly or our culture’s standards, I do not consider myself materially of financially blessed as the person in Jesus’ parable. As a result I never saw how the parable could possibly apply to me. But I was wrong. Jesus in the parable is not referring exclusively to wealthy Christians. The spiritual principle of the parable applies to anything that God gives us, whether if it is in addition or better than what we already have, or in excess to what He has already blessed us with. Are we being “rich toward God” with everything He gives us?
So with this understanding I need to look at my heart and ask some personal questions. What did I do in the past when I was blessed materially or financially buy God? What am I doing at this moment with what God has blessed me with materially or financially? The answer to these two questions will also determine, what will I do in the future when God blesses me materially and or financially.
Another determining factor is the spiritual state of my heart. How much of my life is Jesus in control of, and how much of my life do I still need to submit to Him? A good portion of scripture that describes this and exemplifies where are my priorities are is, Matthew 6:19-21. Please note verse twenty one which says it all. 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
There are also many other key verses in scripture that helps me to see my heart and understand what I see and to realize how my life lines up with God’s word concerning His material and financial blessings He has blessed me with. As far as I know I have never found a scale or a standard in the Bible that determines if I am materially and or financially poor or in the middle or wealthy, secular society does that. Yes there are verses that speak directly to Christians who are financially wealthy and or materially blessed. The apostle Paul writing to a young Timothy who was leading the church in Ephesus tells him in 1 Timothy 6:17-19, 17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. When God is the first priority in our life we will always have His perspective on how to use the “wealth”, or the material and financial blessings that God richly provides us even for our enjoyment.
What Jesus tells us in Luke 6:38 has nothing to do with how much we have or how much we do not have, but it does reveal if we are “rich toward God” or not. This verse also tells us what will be the result of what we do with what we have regardless if we are rich or poor by our culture’s standards. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
God knows if our hearts and our actions are putting Him first in every area of our lives. It is my prayer and desire that we, including myself, continue to learn how to be “rich toward God” and live it out being “generous on every occasion” with all the material and financial blessings we receive from Him.
2 Corinthians 9:10-11
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Pastor John
