These illustrations are based on Luke 12:13-21
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Sermon Opener - Building Barns, Postponing Life - Luke 12:13-21
Comedian Jack Benny, from TV’s Golden age, had a skit which illustrated how we place money ahead of everything. He is walking down the street when suddenly he is approached by an armed robber, "Your money or your life!" There is a long pause. Jack does nothing. The robber impatiently queried, "Well?" Jack replied, “Don't rush me, I'm thinking it over.”
This morning I would like us to think a few moments about our money and our life. Let’s see what Jesus has to say about these two subjects.
The background for our story is an incident that occurred in Galilee as Jesus was teaching to a large crowd. A young man called out from the crowd and said: Rabbi, tell my brother to divide the inheritance of our father.” Now, Jewish law clearly prescribed that at the death of a father, the elder son received 2/3 of the inheritance, and the young son received 1/3. This is obviously a younger son who is complaining about the inherent unfairness of it all. Nothing will divide brothers and sisters more than dividing up an estate. So it was then, and so it is now. Jesus refused to get involved in a petty family squabble.
Jesus was concerned, however, with the larger implications of preoccupation with the things of this world. He said: Beware of greed, for life does not consist of things possessed. The sum total of a person’s life is more than their financial portfolio.
He then illustrated this point by telling a story. There was once a man who had an unbroken run of prosperity. In today’s language, he had successfully played the commodities market. So prosperous did he become that his barns could not hold all of his crops. His solution was to tear down these barns and build bigger and better barns. Then, with his financial security in hand, he could sit back and truly enjoy life. His philosophy was: eat, drink, and be merry.
Truth be told, when we hear this story we find ourselves rather envious of this man. A financially successful man—we see him as savvy and wise. Yet, Jesus concluded the story by saying that this man was a fool.
The issue before us this morning is then: what did this man do wrong? To answer that question we must understand that this is not a parable about money. It is a parable about values and what is important in life. With that in mind, let me suggest four things that this man did that made him a fool.
1. He Had Full Barns, but an Empty Heart.
2. He Overestimated Himself.
3. He Forgot about the Real Business of Life.
4. He Forgot about Time.
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The World Is Not Enough - Luke 12:13-21
We are all familiar with the television show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Well USA Today recently said the answer is: "Everybody." In an article entitled, "Everyone wants a shot at being a millionaire," I found out that we are a country drowning in millionaires.[1] The estimate is there are now close to 15 million Americans with assets of $1 million or more[2]; while just ten years ago there were fewer than half that number. Billionaires are multiplying even faster. In 1983 Forbes counted 13 American billionaires; today there are 607.[3] Never before in the history of this country has so much money been made so quickly by so many people.
Well, on the one hand it may not be wrong to want to be a millionaire, but it can be very dangerous. You know it is amazing how many things have warning labels today. I have read warning labels that have alerted me to defective car seats, inhaling fumes at a gas station, opening hot radiators, drinking diet soft drinks, smoking cigarettes, and wearing seatbelts. When is the last time you saw a warning label on a $10 bill? a stock certificate? a bank deposit slip? imprinted on a credit card?
Well, sometimes I think there should be. Because there really is a danger to money and material possessions. Now I know people don't like to hear preaching about money, and if I preached as much in the Bible as there is about money, I would probably preach on it at least every other Sunday. As you know I am preaching through the parables right now, but you may not realize that out of the Lord's 38 parables, 16 of them dealt with man's relationship to money and material things.
We're going to study a parable today about a man that God calls a fool. My Dad used to say, "A fool and his money soon part." This is a parable about a man who was a fool not because he would part with his money, but because he would not part with his money. This man was a fool not because he had money, but because money had him. This man eventually died with the cancer of covetousness. We learn from this man why truly "the world is not enough." There are some tremendously valuable lessons that we can learn from the man in this parable that will help us rightly relate to money, and make sure that money is rightly related to us.
I. Be Sensitive To What You Want
II. Be Satisfied With What You Have
III. Be Serious About Where You Are Going
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Three Kinds of Givers
There are three kinds of givers: the flint, the sponge, and the honeycomb. Which kind are you? To get anything from the flint, you must hammer it. Yet, all you get are chips and sparks. The flint gives nothing away if it can help it, and even then only with a great display. To get anything from the sponge, you must squeeze it. It readily yields to pressure and the more it is pressed, the more it gives. Still, one has to squeeze it. To get anything from the honeycomb, however, one must only take what freely flows from it. It gives its sweetness generously, dripping on all without pressure, without begging or badgering. The honeycomb is a renewable resource. Unlike the flint or the sponge, the honeycomb is connected to life; it is the product of the ongoing work and creative energy of bees. If you share like a honeycomb giver your life will be continually replenished and grow as you give.
When we share we freely give and we acknowledge that all we have is on loan and others have as much right to the things of God’s creation as we do.
Keith Wagner, But, I Need It!
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Forfeiting Freedom
I was intrigued to read recently of a family that put up a hummingbird feeder with four feeding stations (similar to one that hangs outside our kitchen window). Almost immediately it became popular with the hummingbirds that lived in the area. Two, three, or even four birds would feed at one time. The feeder would be refilled at least once a day.
Suddenly the usage decreased to almost nothing. The feeder needed filling only about once a week. The reason for the decreased usage soon became apparent. A male bird had taken over the feeder as his property. He was now the only hummingbird who used it. He would feed and then sit in a nearby tree, rising to attack any bird that approached his feeder. Guard duty occupied his every waking hour. He was an effective guard. The only time another bird got to use the feeder was when the self-appointed owner was momentarily gone to chase away an intruder.
That hummingbird was teaching a valuable lesson. By choosing to assume ownership of the feeder, he forfeited his freedom. He was no longer free to come and go as he wished. He was tied to the work of guarding his feeder, his STUFF. He was possessed by his possession
David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com
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Making the Situation Worse
When I was a kid, I was often ravaged by poison ivy. The key to poison ivy, once you have it, is not to scratch. Restraining yourself is hard, for your skin itches and you want relief. But scratching only makes poison ivy worse.
Avarice works the same way. We get infected, and we want to scratch, although we know we shouldn't do so. Possessing more and more promises relief, but only makes the situation worse. We keep scratching, but it's no solution.
Jesus issues a warning, a warning inspired by a squabble over inheritance, but one that all of us need to hear. He says: "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
Clarence Jordan's translation of this verse brings out its original earthiness. Here's what Jesus says according to Jordan: "You all be careful and stay on your guard against all kinds of greediness. For a person's life is not for the piling up of possessions."
In these few words, Jesus rejects much of what keeps our society humming. He warns us against greed, avarice, the desire to possess more than we need, more than we can use, more than we want.
Charles Hoffacker, Avarice: The Disease and Its Cure
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The Dollars Are in the Way
Henry Ford once asked an associate about his life goals. The man replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later Ford gave the man a pair of glasses made out of two silver dollars. He told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. "Nothing," the man said. "The dollars are in the way." Ford told him that he wanted to teach him a lesson: If his only goal was dollars, he would miss a host of greater opportunities. He should invest himself in serving others, not simply in making money.
That's a great secret of life that far too few people discover. Money is important. No question about that. But money is only a means by which we reach higher goals. Service to others. Obedience to God. God comes to the rich man and says, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" The answer was clear. The rich man had put his trust in things. Now he was leaving these things behind.
King Duncan, www.Sermons.com, Collected Sermons
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Rich in Things, Poor in Soul
This is how I see our situation today: We’re killing ourselves on junk food – we watch mindless drivel on TV with vulgar displays of sexuality and horrific scenes of violence; we listen to endless chatter on the radio with never-ending conflict and criticism; we chase after every conceivable form of entertainment and pleasure; all the while, coming up empty and, ironically, craving for more.
We’re like children in a video arcade – no matter how many quarters or tokens you give them, when the last game’s over, they always ask for “just one more.” There’s no end to it. In the words of Harry Emerson Fosdick, we’re “rich in things and poor in soul.”
What’s the answer? The answer is that we need to get back to the basics and re-establish our priorities. In a word, we need to put God first. We need to follow the Great Commandment, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt. 22:37-39) It’s as simple as that: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt. 6:33)
Philip W. McLarty, The Parable of the Rich Fool
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How Wealthy Are We?
From the standpoint of material wealth, we Americans have difficulty realizing how rich we are. Robert Heilbroner, who has written dozens of books on the subject of the economy, suggest that we go through a little mental exercise that will help us count our blessings. Imagine doing the following, and you will see how daily life is for more than a billion people in the world.
1. Take out all the furniture in your home except for one table and a couple of chairs. Use blanket and pads for beds.
2. Take away all of your clothing except for your oldest dress or suit, shirt or blouse. Leave only one pair of shoes.
3. Empty the pantry and the refrigerator except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions, and a dish of dried beans.
4. Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, and remove all the electrical wiring in your house.
5. Take away the house itself and move the family into the tool shed.
6. Place your "house" in a shantytown.
7. Cancel all subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and book clubs. This is no great loss because now none of you can read anyway.
8. Leave only one radio for the whole shantytown.
9. Move the nearest hospital or clinic ten miles away and put a midwife in charge instead of a doctor.
10. Throw away your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, and insurance policies. Leave the family a cash hoard of ten dollars.
11. Give the head of the family a few acres to cultivate on which he can raise a few hundred dollars of cash crops, of which one third will go to the landlord and one tenth to the money lenders.
12. Lop off twenty-five or more years in life expectancy.
By comparison how rich we are! And with our wealth comes responsibility. We should use it wisely, not be wasteful, and help others.
The list comes from economist Robert Heilbroner
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Money Is Like Sea Water
Someone asked John D. Rockefeller (of all people) "How much wealth does it take to satisfy a person?" He replied, "Just a little bit more." The Romans had a proverb: "Money is like sea water; the more you drink, the thirstier you become."
Carveth Mitchell, The Sign in the Subway, CSS Publishing Company
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Covetousness
Covetousness, or the desire to have more than one has (not necessarily through envy of somebody else) not only leads to strife but also expresses a fundamentally wrong philosophy of life, according to which possessions are all that really matter.
I.H. Marshall, New Bible Commentary, Revised (1970): Luke, p. 908
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The Rich Man’s Reward
There is an old story about a very wealthy man who died and went to heaven. An angel guided him on a tour of the celestial city. He came to a magnificent home. "Who lives there?" asked the wealthy man. "Oh," the angel answered, "on earth he was your gardener." The rich man got excited. If this was the way gardeners live, just think of the kind of mansion in which he would spend eternity. They came to an even more magnificent abode. "Whose is this?" asked the rich man almost overwhelmed. The angel answered, "She spent her life as a missionary." The rich man was really getting excited now. Finally they came to a tiny shack with no window and only a piece of cloth for a door. It was the most modest home the rich man had ever seen. "This is your home," said the angel. The wealthy man was flabbergasted. "I don’t understand. The other homes were so beautiful. Why is my home so tiny?" The angel smiled sadly, "I’m sorry," he said, "We did all we could with what you sent us to work with."
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ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS NOT IN OUR EMAIL
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Sermon Opener – The Real Real Estate – Luke 12:13-21
I officiated at a funeral recently of a man who died of a heart attack two weeks after he declared bankruptcy. With his beautiful wife, five kids, and many grandchildren circling the grave, this is how I began the eulogy:
One of the wealthiest men in the world died on [....] His name was . . . . He made his wealth in real estate. The real real estate of life.
You say: how cruel can you be? In front of his grieving family you are calling a man “wealthy” who died right after declaring bankruptcy.
I say: how crude can you be? You are calling a “wealthy” person someone who made their fortune from the real estate of land and property and not the real real estate of life.
In our Scripture lesson this morning, Jesus gives us a different understanding of wealth than the one we’re used to. In fact, according to Jesus, the wealthiest person in the world is someone you’ve never heard of — someone who made their wealth in something other than land.
Not that there isn’t wealth to be made from real estate.
Forget that one word “Plastics.” Here’s the word that created some of the biggest fortunes of the past 50 years: “Autopia.”
“Autopia” is a word invented by Rayner Banham to describe the car culture that started in California in the wake of the Interstate Highway System and spread to the rest of the US, and from the US to the world. “Autopia” is what gave us suburbia, malls and the whole panorama of cartocracy, or even better, autocracy. In an auto-cracy or autocratic culture, Car Is King and Real Estate is King Maker.
Thanks to autopia and autocracy, the need for inexpensive family housing after the Second World War pushed new developments beyond the boundaries of existing cities and towns. Cornfields and pasture lands were bulldozed into pre-planned, pre-fabricated suburbs. And what was good for the growing “baby boom” families was good for small farmers as well. Hardscrabble farmlands were suddenly gold mines, as developers greedily subdivided grassy meadows into grids of cheap houses. Old family farms became one-time windfalls, the land itself being the final cash crop for a generation of farmers who could make more money off the interest from the sale of their farms to suburban developers than from selling the products of their labor.
Owning real estate has always seemed like the “golden ticket” — whether it was “forty acres and a mule” or forty acres and a bulldozer. Stock values can evaporate overnight. Paper money is only worth what the government backing decides is its value. But real estate is, well, REAL. You can see it. You can hold it in your hand. You can walk on it. You can build on it. Real estate is never worth nothing. Even with “underwater” mortgages – that’s when the house isn’t worth as much as the money owed on it--the property still has value. That’s why the bank will eagerly take it back.
But for the people whose names are on the bottom line of an “underwater” mortgage, what seemed like their best, most reliable investment, is suddenly worth nothing to them.
Nevertheless the message of today’s gospel lesson is clear. Real estate is the BEST investment you can make. But the “real estate” Jesus is talking about isn’t measured by the acre. The real estate of Jesus’ parable isn’t buildable with water rights. The real estate Jesus implores us to invest in is the real estate of life -- real relationships that bind us together and help work together to usher us into the presence of God…
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Six Small Seashells
Many years ago, missionary Bob Roberts was a guest speaker in a church. In this service he was sharing his burden for hungry children in the Philippines. Afterwards a young boy, about seven years old, came up to him and said, “Jesus spoke to me tonight while you were telling us about the hungry children . . . When you said that for a quarter a day you could feed a child and give him a vitamin, I thought, I’ve got to help. But I didn’t know how I could. That’s when Jesus spoke to me.” The lad extended his hand and said, “This is my shell collection. I believe Jesus wants me to give these shells to help the children.” With those words, he placed the shells in Roberts’ hand. Roberts accepted the shells, but he wondered how they could help hungry children.
A few weeks later, Roberts spoke to another congregation. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the seashells and told about that boy and his desire to feed hungry children. At the end of the service, a man approached Roberts and said, “I would like to purchase those shells for $100!”
Bob Roberts added this comment, “My freckle-faced friend may never know that his sacrificial offering provided 400 meals for Filipino children. He may not have understood how the Lord would use this small gift to feed the hungry, but he knew God wanted him to give what he had…”
God came to the rich man who had to build bigger barns to hold his goods and said, “You fool!” He was foolish, wasn’t he? We all need to learn to live more simply, we need to evaluate our level of giving, and we need to understand that the extent of our giving is the most accurate gauge we have of the authenticity of our faith. Jesus said it best, of course, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
King Duncan, adapting Bob Roberts, “Six Small Seashells,” Mountain Movers, April 1996
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A Just and Simple Lifestyle
A resolution came out years ago from the Lausanne conference of evangelicals which all of us would be wise to heed. The resolution went like this: “We humbly commit ourselves to develop a just and simple lifestyle, and to support one another in it.”
A just and simple lifestyle . . . Most of us have too much stuff, and like the rich landowner in Jesus’ parable, we have to build bigger houses and bigger garages just to hold our stuff. Some of us even have so much that we rent mini-warehouses to hold it all. Does it make us happy? No. We’ve simply become addicted to acquiring.
Randy Alcorn in his book The Treasure Principle describes our problem like this: “It’s a matter of basic physics. The greater the mass, the greater the hold that mass exerts. The more things we own--the greater their total mass--the more they grip us, setting us in orbit around them. Finally, like a black hole, they suck us in . . . Every item we buy is one more thing to think about, talk about, clean, repair, rearrange, fret over, and replace when it goes bad.” God is calling many of us to a simpler way of living. That’s where we should begin. Many of us already have too much stuff.
King Duncan, www.Sermons.com
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Strolling through the Barn
What a scrooge! I wonder if Dickens had the man in this story in mind when he was making up the character of Ebenezer. Don’t you see the man in this story counting his coins alone, by candlelight, in the middle of the night, clad in his nightshirt and cap? Don’t you see him strolling through his barns over and over again, "Just to see," all his wealth piled up?
In that brief story, Jesus painted a striking caricature of someone whose whole life was tied up in bonds and livestock and all the rest of his barn yard possessions. That brief story was Jesus’ rather curious reply to the two men who came to him with a domestic squabble over the family inheritance.
Edmund L. Hoener, Jr., Barnyard Lucre
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Greed
Greed is the logical result of the belief that there is no life after death. We grab what we can while we can however we can and then hold on to it hard.
Sir Fred Catherwood, Evangelicals Now
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If thou art rich, thou art poor, for like an ass whose back with ingots bows, thou bearest thy heavy riches but a journey, and death unloads thee.
William Shakespeare.
Definition: Ingot - A lump of metal, esp. of gold, silver or steel, cast in convenient form (usually oblong) for transport and storage.
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I Planted the Seeds
In the movie Shenandoah, James Stewart plays a Virginia farmer during the Civil War years. He begins every meal with the same prayer: “Lord, I planted the seeds, I plowed the ground, I gathered in the harvest. If I hadn’t of put the food on the table it wouldn’t be here. But we thank you anyway.” We had all better understand the role of grace and mystery in life or we too might fall pray to the sin of thinking too highly of ourselves.
Staff, www.eSermons.com
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Your Life Is on Loan
The man was just twenty-nine years old. It was in the newspaper some time ago. He was married, and had three kids. All three kids were under five years of age. He is an attorney in Illinois. One day he woke up with a headache. As the day went on, it got more painful. Then he had difficulty seeing. Then he had difficulty walking. He went to the doctor. The doctor said, "You have a brain tumor that will require special surgery right away. If you survive the surgery, then there could be a critical time of recovery for about a year. If you survive that, then each year after that you can be more assured of a full recovery." He made it through the surgery. He made it through that first year. Then he had this interview. A reporter asked him, "Have you learned anything through this?" He said, "Your life is on loan."
That is the message of this parable. The obvious point of the parable, the one that everybody seems to get, is that we can't take our possessions with us. We are going to leave our possessions behind. "The things you have prepared, whose will they be?" But that is not the main point of the parable. The main point of the parable is that your life is on loan, too. "Fool! This night your soul is required of you."
Mark Trotter, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com
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Pigs Get Slaughtered
Stock market guru Jim Cramer, host of television’s Mad Money, says, “Bulls make money.” Then he adds, “Bears make money.” Then the punch line, “Pigs get slaughtered.” “Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered.” He is saying, “Beware of being greedy when you are investing in the stock market. You may overreach and lose everything.”
Jesus said somewhat the same thing. He told a 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 will 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.”
Jesus didn’t say it as indelicately as Jim Cramer did, but the message is the same. Greed can be your undoing. “Pigs get slaughtered.”
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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The Ring-tailed Monkey
Men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it's simple. They've been catching this agile little animal with ease for years. The method the Zulus use is based on knowledge of the animal. Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the seeds inside. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw it. This he cannot do. His fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours. But he can't get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and nab him.
This bibliographic reference is uncertain: Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p.150ff
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Earthen Vessels
“We hold a treasure
not made of gold;
In earthen vessels
wealth untold.
One treasure only,
the Lord the Christ
In earthen vessels.”
Early morning chant especially loved by Jesuits
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God in Our Gratitude
A teacher was talking to a class of little boys about the presence of God in daily life. He asked them if God is everywhere, and they correctly answered, "Yes." In an effort to get the matter closer to their own personal living, he named actual situations. Is God in the church? Yes. Is God in the home? Yes. On the street? Yes. Is God in the city prison? Silence. That one had them stopped. Finally one boy came up with as good an answer as I've heard. "Yes, God is there, but those fellows don't know it."
That was this man's trouble, wasn't it? God was in his life, but he didn't know it. God was in his fruits, God was in his fields, God was in his goods. God was everywhere except in his gratitude.
Carveth Mitchell, The Sign in the Subway, CSS Publishing Company
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Your Life Is Required of You in the Hymns
Many of the hymns of Christianity stir in us a regard to the urgency of our eternal salvation. "Delay not, delay not, O sinner draw near ... delay not, delay not, the hour is at hand." The Advent hymns breathe the urgency too: "Prepare the royal highway; the King of kings is near! Let every hill and valley a level road appear!"
Or how about the old Gospel hymn: Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing, passing for you and for me. There are spiritual urgencies concerning our salvation that we need to tend to!
Harry Emerson Fosdick stated the urgency long ago in a verse of his hymn, "God Of Grace And God Of Glory." He writes: Rich in things and poor in soul: Grant us wisdom, grant us courage lest we miss your kingdom's goal; lest we miss your kingdom's goal.
Richard W. Patt, All Stirred Up, CSS Publishing Company
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The Pastor Will Know the Answer
Sometimes it is surprising what people will ask a pastor. Most pastors field their fair share of biblical and theological questions. Often people will call with a follow-up query to a topic that cropped up in a sermon. Those are the kinds of pastoral inquiries one would expect. Once in a while, though, pastors get asked for advice on matters about which they don't know a whole lot more than the next person. Sometimes these are logistical questions related to a wedding: "Pastor, how do you think the bridesmaids should come down the aisle?" At still other times pastors get thrown into the middle of disputes, being asked to throw the weight of their ordained status behind one party in the squabble.
As most pastors would probably confess, when such unusual requests get made, you feel ill-equipped to say or do anything. This happened to Jesus in Luke 12.
Scott Hoezee, God’s Riches
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Building a Barn
Nobody in this country knows how to do anything anymore. There was a time when average Americans could get together and, in one afternoon, build an entire barn. Yes! A barn! Can you imagine average Americans doing that today? Not a chance! They'd spend weeks debating the membership and organizational structure of the Barn Architect Selection Committee, whose members would then get into a lengthy squabble over the design of the logo to appear on their letterhead. Ultimately this issue would become a bitter and drawn-out dispute, be taken to court, and the people involved would start complaining of depression and anxiety, and psychologists would announce that these people were victims of a new disease called Barn Committee Logo Dispute Distress Syndrome, or BCLDDS, which would become the subject of one-hour shows by Oprah and Sally Jessy Raphael, after which millions of Americans would realize that they, too, were suffering from BCLDDS, and they'd form support groups with hotline numbers and 12-step programs.
That's what we modern Americans do. Anything but actually BUILD THE [DARN] BARN.
Dave Barry, Dave Barry Does Japan, London: Pan Books, 1995, pp. 53-55. Adapted. "Darn" was not Dave Barry's original choice of verbiage.
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How Much Land Does A Man Need?
Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown. Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost. As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy's story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need? (Adapted from Bits & Pieces, November, 1991.)
In the end, Tolstoy suggests, all a man really owns is a 6 by 3 piece of earth, so we are better off putting our confidence elsewhere. Jesus, like Tolstoy, is warning us that we had better not put our trust in the promise of materialism; if we do we will be sadly disappointed.
Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com
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Storing What We Do Not Need
Jesus did not condemn the man for eating, drinking and being merry, nor even for being rich. Rather the man was called foolish for building bigger barns. The point of the story is that the entrepreneur was planning to store more of his wealth than he needed to eat, drink and be merry. Look again at the words of the story. The man says, "What shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops?" Not true! He has barns. His problem is that his harvest has been so great that his present storage facilities will not hold all of the grain. So he decides, "I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain. Then and only then will I have ample goods to eat, drink and be merry." Again, not true! He already has ample goods. He does not have to live in the moment. He has barns for his future. They may not be as big as he would like, but he has plenty to eat, drink and be merry. The man already has enough wealth to enjoy Shalom. He has a sense of well-being and security because God has generously blessed his land with fruitfulness. Fortune has smiled on him and he has been able to accumulate a sizeable portion of this world's goods.
The point of the story is not that there is something wrong with amassing some wealth, but that he was intending to store it all by building bigger barns and storing it. He was called "foolish" because he did not recognize that his wealth had brought him happiness and that it could do the same for others if only it were not locked up in those bigger barns. His sin was not that he had become wealthy, but that he wanted to hoard all his wealth. His sin was not that he ate, drank and was merry, but that he was withholding the means for others to do the same. He had become a bottleneck in the flow of Shalom blessings to others.
The story, so understood, is not a teaching condemning the foolishness of gathering wealth. It is rather a parable which condemns the refusal to share the wealth we do not need. It warns about the shortsightedness of failing to be a good custodian of the abundance that God entrusts to us.
W. Robert McClelland, Fire In The Hole, CSS Publishing Company
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What Is Coming?
This rich farmer, who thinks that he need not fear bad harvests for many a year (v. 19), is a fool (v. 20), that is, according to the biblical meaning of the term, a man who in practice denies the existence of God (Ps. 14.1). He does not take God into account, and fails to see the sword of Damocles, the threat of death, hanging over his head. Here it is necessary to avoid a too obvious conclusion. We are not to think that Jesus intended to impress upon his audience the ancient maxim, 'Death comes suddenly upon man'. Rather do all the appeals and parables of warning taken together show that Jesus is not thinking of the inevitable death of the individual as the impending danger, but of the approaching eschatological catastrophe, and the coming Judgment. Thus here too in Luke 12:16-20 we have an eschatological parable.
Jesus expected his hearers to apply its conclusion to their own situation: we are just as foolish as the rich fool under the threat of death is we heap up property and possessions when the Deluge is threatening.
What is coming? The jackal, who feeds on corpses, will attack the Son of Man as he attacked the Baptist (Luke 13:32). That will be the prelude. Then will come the great hour of temptation, the final assault of the Evil One, destruction of the Temple, and unspeakable calamity (Luke 23.29), and thereafter the judgment of God.
Joachim Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, New York: Scriber's, 1972, p. 165-166.
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William Barclay on the Rich Fool
The problem with the Rich Fool is he never saw beyond himself. There is no parable like this one which is so full of the words, I, me, my and mine. From verse 16 to 19, four verses, so much is revealed in the frequency of the personal pronouns. Listen to how many times they are used: I, I, my, I, I, I, my, my, I, my. A schoolboy was once asked what parts of speech my and mine are. He answered, "Aggressive pronouns." The rich fool was aggressively self-centered. It was said of a self-centered young lady, "Edith lived in a little world, bounded on the north, south, east and west by Edith." The famous criticism was made of a self-centered person, "There is too much ego in his cosmos." When this man had a superfluity of goods the one thing that never entered his head was to give any away. His whole attitude was the very reverse of Christianity. Instead of denying himself he aggressively affirmed himself: instead of finding his happiness in giving he tried to conserve it by keeping.
John Wesley's rule of life was to save all he could and give all he could. When he was at Oxford he had an income of 30 pounds a year. He lived on 28 pounds and gave 2 pounds away. When his income increased to 60 pounds, 90 pounds, 120 pounds a year, he still lived on 28 pounds and gave the balance away. The Accountant-General for Household Plate demanded a return from him. His reply was, "I have two silver tea spoons at London and two at Bristol. This is all the plate which I have at present; and I shall not buy any more, while so many around me want bread."
The Romans had a proverb which said that money was like sea-water; the more a man drank the thirstier he became. And so long as a man's attitude is that of the rich fool his desire will always be to get more-and that is the reverse of the Christian way.
William Barclay, Luke, Philadelphia: Westminster, 1975, p. 164. Adapted
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The Sin of the Barn Builder
Notice that the man in the story is already rich before the abundant crop comes in. Notice also that he already had barn enough to store the crop. But here's the problem. The harvest was so good he couldn't store it all. What to do? he asks himself. Should I give it way or sell it at the market? Neither. I will build bigger barns and keep it for myself. He is not thankful for the riches that he already has. He wants more to insure his security. He doesn't want to live for the day; he wants to live today trying to ensure the pleasures of tomorrow. We call this greed. To clutch our wealth as if it is an end in itself is the sin of the Barn Builder.
Jesus is asking the younger brother at what level will you have enough? You want to much. Be happy with what you are getting. Beware of greed.
Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com
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Christians in the Midst of Affluence
Bishop William Willimon was chaplain for many years at Duke University. He is a well-known writer and speaker. He says wise things in a witty way.
Once Willimon and his wife had a group of students over to their home after a chapel service. They had a picnic, then some of the students lingered to play basketball or to talk. Willimon sat on the patio with one student who said, “Dr. Willimon, thanks for having us over to your home. This is the first time I’ve ever been in a faculty home.”
“That’s a disgrace,” Willimon said. “I think that we faculty ought to have students in our homes as often as possible.”
“Well, few faculty think that way,” said the student. “And you have a beautiful home,” he said. Then the student added these words: “Let me ask you, do you feel at all guilty being a Christian and living in such a nice house?”
Willimon responded, “Now I’m remembering why it was not such a great idea to invite you people over to my house.”
“Such,” says William Willimon, “are the challenges of attempting to be Christian in the midst of affluence.”
King Duncan, www.Sermons.com, adapted from Sojourners, March-April 2002
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Parable of the Wagon and the Ball
"What are you doing with my wagon?" cried Charles.
"I am just playing with it," said Jim. "You weren't using it."
"Well, give it here," said Charles, "it's mine."
"Then you cannot play with my basketball," said Jim.
Shortly after Charles had taken his wagon away from the younger brother, it was again sitting idle. The problem of sharing things is a real one not only in families, but in communities and nations.
Each generation tends to believe that all that has been achieved and inherited is creditable to the nation or person that is in possession. This indeed, is a basic falsehood and leads to much selfishness and the continuance of many miseries.
The socialistic concept that everything belongs to the state and capitalistic concept that all belongs to the owner, both fail to recognize that God is the Giver of life and all that is in life.
To bring happiness and peace, we must learn to give and learn to share. We do not need to lose what we have, but rather gain by teaching others to also create the same things.
Charles could not share with his brother Jimmy, and Jimmy was provoked to the same selfishness regarding his basketball.
The world could be a rich and abundant place to live, if the skills, the knowledge, and the possession of things were shared, rather than withheld by human selfishness. The same amount of money expended to defend private property being used for sharing would eliminate many quarrels and much unhappiness.
Read St. Luke 12:15, 16, 17, "And Jesus spake a parable saying, "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. 'And he thought within himself, 'What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?' 'And he said, 'This will I do; I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.' "
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Preparing for the Wrong Thing
According to Jewish Religious Laws the eldest son of a family was entitled to inherit twice the share as the younger brother (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). In all probability the person who approached Jesus in our text was a younger brother who wanted more than his legal share of an inheritance. Jesus replied to the subject at hand by citing the parable of the "Rich Young Fool." The bottom line of the parable is that the rich fool had prepared for the wrong thing. He had taken his goods into account, but had made up no provision for his own soul.
A dear couple in another city, exceptionally active in the church I was serving at the time, constructed a storm cellar in their backyard. Over a period of several months both of them had shoveled dirt, poured concrete, laid blocks, and literally built the cellar themselves. Soon after it was completed, they invited me out to see what they had accomplished. Understandably proud, they pointed out the neat, solid blockwork of the exterior and called attention to the more than adequate drain-offs. Inside, every provision was made in the event of an extended stay. It was an exceptional storm cellar in all respects, and in every sense of the word, they were more than prepared for a storm. However, in a few short weeks, both of them were killed by a speeding motorist as they attempted to turn from the highway into their driveway. Despite meticulous preparations, the fact remains that they had prepared for the wrong thing. But you say, "It is impossible to prepare for the unexpected!" Yes, that is precisely one of the points Jesus was attempting to underscore in our scriptures.
A young businessman, workaholic, full of hustle and drive, spends twelve hours each day at the office. His wife asks him to come home early to eat the evening meal with the family, but no, he must chase the distant horizon. While other children’s fathers take them to the park, his children find solace in video games. When the wife says he ought to spend more time with the children, he replies that he has given them everything they will ever need. When she complains about his hours, he reminds her of the diamonds she has on her fingers. He had prepared for their every need, right down to the insurance. One day he is summoned to the hospital to be by the bedside of his oldest daughter who has overdosed on drugs. Two days later, he has a heart attack and is told by the doctor that he must change his lifestyle drastically. He has not prepared for any of that.
Jesus asked the rich fool, "And the things you have prepared for, whose will they be?" Are we prepared to deal with that question?
Larry Powell, Glimpses through the Dark Glass
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It's Only Money
One of the great struggles in our lives is the one that we have with materialism. Often our childhood affects the way we see money and possessions. In my own life, the fact that I had parents who were both products of the Great Depression shaped the way in which money is viewed. My parents always lived as if they would be poor again. As a result, it has sometimes been difficult to see money as a tool and not the end result.
In my first congregation, we were discussing a maintenance project that was going to cost a large sum of money. Everyone was just a little nervous about the project because of the cost. Then one of our members, Larry Brown, said something that I have always remembered. Larry said, "It is only money." He was right. It was not our lives or our health that we were discussing, but only money. It was a liberating word to us all. That comment helped me to understand a lot better the idea that money is simply a tool that we are to possess and not to own.
Abraham Lincoln was once walking down the street with two boys. Each of the boys was crying and was terribly upset. Someone shouted over to Abe and asked what was wrong with those two boys. He said, "The same thing that is wrong with the rest of the world. I have one walnut and each boy wants it." The sooner we learn that the things that we have are a gift from God to use and not to own, the better off we will be.
John R. Steward, Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
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HUMOR
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Love of Money
An old Jack Benny skit illustrates how money can become more important to us than anything else. Jack was walking along, when suddenly an armed robber approached him and ordered, "Your money or your life!" There was a long pause, and Jack did nothing. The robber impatiently queried, "Well?" Jack replied, "Don't rush me, I'm thinking about it."
(Incidentally, in real life, Jack Benny was known as a very generous man.)
Michael P. Green, Illustrations For Biblical Preaching, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993, p. 250.
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John D. Rockefeller's three simple rules for anyone who wants to become rich: 1. Go to work early. 2. Stay at work late. 3. Find oil.
Source Unknown
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The difference between playing the stock market and the horses is that one of the horses must win.
Joey Adams
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Greed Doesn’t Make Sense
I came across this poem this week, in my study of this passage…
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my new PC to keep.
I pray my stocks are on the rise,
and that my analyst is wise.
That all the wine I sip is white,
and that my hot tub's watertight.
That tennis games won't get too tough,
that all my sushi's fresh enough.
I pray my cordless phone still works,
that my career won't lose its perks.
And my microwave won't radiate,
or my condo won't depreciate.
I pray my health club doesn't close,
and that my money market grows.
If I go broke before I wake,
I pray my "Beemer" they won't take. (Steve Farrar)
We all like to be comfortable, happy and well-cared-for. But what can easily happen is that as we try to provide for and attain the good life, the line between needs and wants gets very blurry. And if we're not careful we can get consumed with providing for our wants, not just our needs.
Tom Rietveld, Greed Just Doesn’t Make Sense
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Where There Is a Will…
A 6th grade teacher posed the following problem to her arithmetic classes:
"A wealthy man dies and leaves ten million dollars. One-fifth is to go to his wife, one-fifth is to go to his son, one-sixth to his butler, and the rest to charity. Now, what does each get?"
After a very long silence in the classroom, little Joey raised his hand.
The teacher called on Joey for his answer.
With complete sincerity in his voice, Joey answered, "A lawyer!"
He's probably right. Where there is a will, there is often a lawsuit.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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A Fool and His Money
A fool and his money. Are soon parted, right? Someone has rewritten it to suggest that "A fool and his money are some party!" OK. Some of us are old enough to remember Adlai Stevenson, Governor of Illinois, UN Ambassador, two-time Democratic candidate for President, and rare wit. Stevenson once said, "There was a time when a fool and his money were soon parted, but now it happens to everybody." Amen? Amen!
David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com