Luke 12:18-19

King James Version

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.

For Meditation

There is nothing wrong with riches. God is the giver of the ability to make wealth (Deut. 8:18). So, there was nothing wrong with the man whose grounds yielded an abundance of harvest in the story Jesus told about the Rich Fool (Lk 12:13-21).

It was a blessing from the Lord for his hard labor and diligent work. He did not fold his hands when the rains poured and the planting season dawned. He went out and used what the Lord had provided, and at the right time, the reward came—in abundance and overflowing his barns. Jesus did not tell the story to condemn the man for his work.

He did not tell the story to condemn the man for rejoicing because of the harvest. Every farmer will rejoice at such a good yield and enjoy the fruit of their labor. Neither did the Lord speak against the man for increasing his barns. Every astute farmer or businessperson will increase their warehouse when their produce or goods increase. What the man thought and what he said revealed his greed-filled heart, and that was the point of condemnation by the Lord (17-19).

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 (19).

Where was God in all of this? Who gave the rains and the richness of the soil? What was His due?

The man was so full of himself that he did not consider the Giver of his ability to work. He did not understand stewardship. Neither did he care to help others as a gesture of kindness. Where was his eternal perspective?

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 (Lk. 12:20)?

How soon he had forgotten that everything he had came from the Lord and that God had blessed him to bless others, too—the instrument of His blessing.

As Jesus concluded:

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

Do you remember our friend, the rich man who had everything to feast on with friends and family but did not care about Lazarus, the poor man at his gate (Lk. 16:19-21)? That may be his story and what led him to Hades after his death (23). He was rich in earthly things but destitute in the things of God (25).

May it not be your story, too.