A Texas rancher met up with a Wisconsin dairy farmer. The two men began talking about their land and the Wisconsin dairyman told the cattleman that he operated his business on 125 acres. The Texan scoffed at such a small parcel of land. He said, "Hey that is nothing compared to what I have. On my ranch, I can get in my truck at sunrise and I won’t reach the fence line of my property until sunset." The dairy farmer sighed and said, "Yeah, I used to have a truck like that!." Perception means everything. Perception matters when it comes to wealth also. Jesus was trying to teach about the right perception we should keep when it comes to wealth.
While Jesus was teaching the crowd, one person in the crowd who wants Jesus to settle a financial dispute between siblings. Jesus, however, refuses to enter into the family squabble and instead uses the situation as an opportunity to teach about wealth. He then narrated a parable. This parable of about a rich fool. Jesus called him a fool, though he was rich. A Rich Fool is a paradox because we commonly think that rich people are smart. The old saying is, “A fool and his money are soon parted.”
Please note that this quote is not from the Bible as some may misquote it. Generally, we don’t consider rich people fools because it is assumed that it takes smartness and hard work to become rich. But Jesus reminds us that wealth is something we will have to part with one day or another. In that case, we are all fools because we will part with our money one day. The rich man was a fool because he did not have the right perception of his wealth.
According to the IRS statistics, about 2 percent of Americans hold more than 28 percent of the total wealth in the US. According to a survey of the USA Today newspaper: Of those whose assets range from $1 million to $5 million, 55% do not consider themselves wealthy. [USA Today, November 11, 1991]. We are accustomed to two or more cars, a TV and a bed in every room, A/C-Heating, running water, a complete dining room set, a computer in nearly every home, etc. We become so accustomed to having these amenities that we believe this is how life is. Our life is "normal" as we would think.
America is considered a rich nation, one of the wealthiest in the world. But 98% of Americans think that they are not rich, even though many are millionaires. People want to make and add more money to what they already have. But even with our economic and technological advances, our intellectual prowess, or cultural achievement, each of us and the human race as a whole remain insecure and less content. The parable reminds us that we will never get the formula for our lives right unless we have the right perception about being rich.
This parable does not teach that wealth or possessions were evil in and of themselves. Neither it teaches that wealthy people are evil. Jesus simply teaches that wealth and possessions offer us a great temptation to put our faith and trust in them rather than in God. That’s what was wrong with this farmer – he calculated his life without including God in the equation. One scholar (Richard Foster) describes the temptation this way, “when we lack a Divine Center our need for security [leads] us to an insane attachment to things.” Jesus said, Luke 12:15, “One’s life does not consist of the possessions he has”. The writer of Ecclesiastes says about the greedy (5:10), “Those who love money will never have enough”. Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:10 “love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith”. There are several warnings throughout Scripture. Psalm 62:10 says, “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” Proverbs 11:28 reminds us that, “Those who trust in their riches will wither, but the righteous will flourish like green leaves.” There is much more to life than having lots of stuff. Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
One general view is that wealth is totally good.
To some people, wealth is a sign of God’s blessing, and it can be. "And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, within the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you his good treasury the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow” Deuteronomy 28:10-14 (RSV)
But it is not because of wealth, they are blessed. It is the relationship with God that makes us blessed. We can enjoy the blessings of God regardless of how much money we have or not.
The second view comes from the opposite extreme. Wealth is totally Evil.
According to those who use this and other scriptures, wealth is a mere indication of our greed - lust for gain. In Matthew 19, we read about a rich young man who came to ask Jesus “What good things should I do to get eternal life” Jesus said, “Go sell all your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. "And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:23-24 (RSV). Then the disciples were puzzled and asked, “Who can then be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The Bible clearly teaches that all wealth is God’s
"The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." Psalm 24:1-2 (NIV). "To the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it." Deuteronomy 10:14 (NASB)
Wealth has a Purpose.
"The wicked covet all day long, but the righteous gives and does not hold back." Proverbs 21:26 (RSV)
Man’s wealth is given to him to be used, not hoarded. For this rich man, crops were good-Did he make them grow? Could he make it rain?. "Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth; that he may confirm his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as at this day." Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (RSV). Wealth needs to be shared. “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." Hebrews 13:16 (RSV). In the early church, the believers share their possessions. In the book of Acts, Chapter 4, we read that no one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.
"Tell those who are rich not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone, but their pride and trust should be in the living God who always richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them" I Timothy 6:17-18 (Living)
Wealth Has The Ability To Distract Us From What’s Really Important
"But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs." 1 Timothy 6:9-10 (RSV)
Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story "How Much Does A Man Need". It was about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his wealth. He wanted more of everything. One day he received an 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 made his pace faster 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 richer 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 and died. Afterward, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet wide.>>>>
The Lord Jesus once said in Matthew 16:26, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul.” "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV). Jesus later says, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:33-34
Someone has said, if you invest in this world, you leave all of them when you die, But if you invest in eternity, you will go to it when you die. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, said it best: "There is one way, and there is no other under heaven. If those who gain all they can, and save all they can, will likewise give all they can, then the more they gain, the more they will grow in grace, and the more treasure they will lay up in heaven." Wesley practiced what he preached too. All of his adult life he lived on 28 British pounds a year and gave away the rest. Over his lifetime Wesley’s salary went from 30 to 60 to go to 120 pounds, but anything over 28 pounds he gave away. At his death, the only possessions John Wesley left behind were two silver teaspoons and an overcoat.
The Greatest Wealth Is Not What’s Kept, But What We Give Away
The Great reformer Martin Luther said, "I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess." Investing in others lives will give everlasting rewards.
Recently at the fire in LA, a lot of rich and famous lost their houses and possessions. If your house is on fire and you have 10 minutes to grab what you can and run, what would you take with you? A reporter asked about this real-life situation after a CA wildfire that swallowed several homes in 10 minutes. One movie star said, “he saved his pillow, another said she saved some family pictures, one said, she saved her daughter’s violin, Karen saved her cats, Michelle saved her Bible and her purse. A person shared this story after her house was burned down. She said, a week before that she gave away a lot of her possessions to friends and family. When the fire burned everything to ashes, all that remained as hers were the ones that she gave away.
Our wealth and riches should be toward God.
And what makes us Christians different from everybody else is not building up our savings accounts, but we will build up in saving souls. And so our life consists of something more than what we can store up on earth. Jesus said: (Matt 6:19-20) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Paul writes in 2 Cor, “Our Lord Jesus, Though he was rich, yet for our sakes, he became poor so that we through his poverty might become rich (2 Cor 8:9)” Paul reminds believers to "set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 3:2).
Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite was forced to face the question about his true life and life’s value. One morning in 1888, Nobel was quite surprised to read his own obituary in a French newspaper. Obviously, it was a journalistic mistake. One of his family members had died, and a careless reporter had used a prewritten obituary of the wrong man. But as he read, Nobel was shocked and deeply disturbed to learn what the world really thought of him. He was seen simply as the dynamite king, the merchant of death, who had amassed a great fortune out of explosives. Nobel had hoped his inventions would be useful to people and to nations, yet he was viewed as one who dealt in blood and war for profit. At that moment, Alfred Nobel resolved to show the world the true purpose of his life. He revised his will so that his fortune would be dedicated to the recognition of great creative achievements – with the highest award going to those who had done the most for world peace. From then on Nobel’s image began to change. Now, more than a century later, we remember him the way he wanted to be remembered. Today, we all associate him with the Nobel Peace Prize. His perception changed when he read his own obituary.
In a management class in business school, we were all asked to write your own obituary and read that in class. It was kind of awkward in the start, but as each person started reading our views and perceptions about life and death have change. It may be a good idea to write one’s own obituary and reflect on in periodically.
Life is a loan that is compounded with interest, a line of credit that cannot be defaulted. And our life is a limited time offer. We all will die one day and leave this world. Death renders everything we have useless, valueless, and profitless. May we live a life that will bless God and the people around us. May the good Lord bless you with these words to live a life that is pleasing to Him and a blessing to this world.
"Be generous, and someday you will be rewarded. Share what you have with seven our eight others, because you never know when disaster may strike." Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 (CEV)
"Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back." Luke 6:38 (RSV)
George W. Truett, a well-known pastor in Texas, was invited to dinner at the home of a very wealthy Texas man. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area. Pointing to the oil wells covering the landscape, the Texan boasted, “Twenty-five years ago I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it’s all mine.” Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of grain, he bragged, “They’re all mine.” Then he turned east toward huge cattle herds and bragged, “They’re all mine.” Then pointing to the west at a beautiful forest, he said, “That, too, is all mine.” Then he paused, expecting Dr. Truett to compliment him on his great success. But Dr. Truett placed one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointed heavenward, toward the sky, and simply asked, “How much do you have in that direction?” Then the man hung his head and confessed. “I never thought of that.”
Once again the question is asked, “At the end of your life will you be considered a hoarder or a steward?” The bottom line, or the moral of the story is, if you do not use it you lose it
Ecclesiastes: 2:21-23 “For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.”
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