THE GROUND OF THE RICH MAN

Luke 12:16-21

And He spake a parable unto them saying, “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself saying, ‘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.’ And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said unto him, ‘Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?’ So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” KJV

And He told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 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 my surplus grain.’ And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain 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 whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich towards God.” NIV

Our reading today is very appropriate given the turbulent times in which we live. The financial crisis has had a devastating effect on millions of people with many having lost their jobs, struggling to pay their bills and to make ends meet. Businesses which were once cherished household names that had been supplying goods and services for hundreds of years, have closed their doors for the last time with distressing consequences.

What is equally shocking during this time of financial calamity, is that there are thousands who are getting rich whilst others are suffering terrible hardships. Company Executives are awarding themselves huge salary increases and bonuses together with share incentives beyond imagination. Is it any wonder then that the ordinary man in the street is angry? The top story on the news the other night was of a man who had been chauffeur driven to view the finishing touches being carried out on his luxury yacht. The reporter asked the question that was on everyone’s minds: How much did this cost? To which the reply was: £110 million! A little digging was done by a journalist sometime later into the background of this man and discovered that he was the CEO of a company that had to be bailed out by the taxpayer two years previously to prevent it from going under.

Thankfully reality sets in when we read today’s portion of Scripture. It shows us that although there is not much the ordinary man in the street can do to stop this greed taking place, we can take comfort that God is in control of everything. Man thinks he is, but he is NOT. Man may appear to prosper for a season, but then the truth will present itself, because God says to that man: Thou fool, this night thy soul will be required of thee.

Wicked men may appear to prosper, and get away with the most horrific deeds imaginable, BUT there will come a time when God will step in and put a stop to their shenanigans. He is the ultimate judge. Just as the rich man in our parable today did not think for one minute the ground that had made him so rich would soon make him so poor. It wouldn’t take his riches from him; it would take him from his riches.

Greed and materialism are the most treacherous evils of the human heart. The word treachery is the same as sedition and treason, punishable by death in the old days, such was the seriousness of the crime. Covetousness and materialism have one of the most powerful pulls in life and God tells us it is a sin! But man, with his warped wisdom will have us believe that it is enterprising, innovative, resourceful and adventurous and that is because we are brought up believing that the measure of a man is the size of his bank balance. True to form, our rich man behaved in exactly the same way we see people behave today:

·     My Barns.

·     My Fruits.

·     My Goods.

·     My Soul.

What the rich man in our parable should have done was to share out his abundance with the poor and needy and allow judgment to be passed on him in that respect. The Scriptures tell us, however, that God is the final judge, not us. God has the final say, not us: Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.

If Jesus had to come today, who would take possession of all your goods? Wouldn’t it be far better to use them to bring glory to God now, whilst you are still alive, than to let them fall into the Devil’s hands when you are gone? This is one way to lay up treasure in Heaven and be rich toward our Heavenly Father. All we have, our possessions, our money, our time and talents belong to the Lord and we are to use them to bring Glory to Him and Him alone. If your treasure is with God, then a happy heart will be close by.