v. 13-21 Someone asked Jesus to divide the inheritance between him and his brother. Jesus gave this warning "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Jesus goes on to tell a parable of a rich man who produced a good crop. He thought to himself "I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods. You (saying to himself) have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." Then God said, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" Jesus says "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
In the United States our society is geared toward having it all and having as much as possible no matter the cost. The world's value system is not in line with the bible. We are to be on guard for the lure of money. Advertisers spend millions trying to convince us that we need things that we really don't need at all. People buy things thinking that it will fill a need in their life. When they get it home it is often another matter. It is good to plan ahead, but there is a difference in that and trying to store up as much as you can get your hands on. How do you respond to the constant pressure to buy?
This rich man was wasteful. His barns were not big enough so he wanted to tear them down and build bigger ones. Sometimes when I hear the ridiculous amount of money that rich people spend on things it makes me sad. There are children in our own country that are going without a meal tonight, yet someone can spend $20,000 on a birthday party for their child. Some want to look good to their friends or neighbors. Having a huge house, new cars, designer brands, etc. Most of the time people don't really care what you have. If they do, then why would you want to impress someone like that in the first place? I have heard that many millionaires are very thrifty. Warren Buffet still lives in the same house that he has had for decades and it's not a mansion. That is a man who is smart with his money and is determined to make wise decisions and not waste it. Bill Gates walked away from his job at Microsoft to run a charity. I think many thought he was crazy to leave that job for charity work. I have read that the Gates have endowed over $21 billion to the Foundation that Bill and his wife started.
Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having things. I don't feel jealous when I see giant homes I just think I would not want to clean one. Yes, I realize that they probably have people to come in to clean them. That is just very foreign to me. We live in a very rich county in Tennessee, where singers and actors live. There are some unbelievable houses here that seem more like a museum than a home. I do not know how much these people give to charities, but it makes me think not enough. I know that seems judgmental, but I have no ill will towards the rich. I hope that if you can afford a house priced at $5,000,000 then I also hope that you are giving a LARGE sum to those less fortunate. Not just a few hundred a year at a charity event and spending thousands on clothes and shoes for that same event. I think that our society feeds off of the desires of the wealthy and forgets about the needy. There is a reason why we are to tithe.
Is the money you spend out of proportion to the amount you give back to God?
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