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The Bible tells us Jesus came to give us an abundant life, but we cannot receive that abundant life without living out the principles and experiences Jesus calls us to live out.  An abundant life results from more than just knowing what God expects; it results from doing what God has said.

Here’s the truth:  Money isn’t the ultimate gift, and it cannot buy the ultimate life. Luke 12:13-21 is actually called “The Parable of the Rich Fool.”  That title doesn’t suggest that Jesus is about to talk about someone that you would want to emulate.  He calls the dude a fool.  I also don’t think Jesus would have told the story if there hadn’t been a need to do so.  Someone in the crowd, verse 13, is too focused on money.  There is a preoccupation with money, a thirst for money, a demand for money that isn’t appropriate. Look at verse 13 and following:  13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out!

When do you tell someone to watch out?  When something dangerous, something harmful, something destructive could happen.  Jesus is actually warning the guy against the seductive and destructive power of money.  He goes on to say,  “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; “Be on your guard.”  Put safety measures in place.  Decide what you will do ahead of time to make sure you don’t become dangerously focused on money.  Guard against that as your main pursuit.  Don’t let the acquisition of money become the focus of your life. 

Jesus went on to say in verse 15, “Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”  Let that sink in.  Life isn’t about possessions, so that means the accumulation of possessions cannot produce abundant life.  Isn’t that interesting.  An abundance of things does not equal an abundant life. Now there is no prohibition against having nice things or spending money on experiences that are enjoyable but having money as a sole or highest priority isn’t the abundant life God wants for us.

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

Imagine that.  Material and financial success actually created a problem for this guy.  I know, you’re all thinking, “That would be a nice problem to have.”  A challenge like that could even happen BECAUSE God would bless the work of your hands.

 18 “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.  That seems reasonable, right?  Expand the business.  There’s nothing wrong with that strategy.  It is logical.  So, what is the big deal?  Let’s read on:

 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

The problem was his motivation.  He wasn’t asking, “How can I glorify God with my wealth?”  He wasn’t asking, “How can I bless other people with these growing resources?”  His motivation was selfish and lazy living. 

20 “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?’  The guy in the story was going to lose his life because he had relegated his life, equated his life with money and material possessions.  The moral of the story is that life can be lost when we are focused on the wrong things.  And Jesus summed it all up and explained the real problem in verse 21:

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”  There was no pursuit of God.  God was not the priority of this man’s life.  Self was.  If there is one thing I know for sure it is when you are rich in God, you have it all.  If you want to stockpile something, accumulate faith.  If you want to invest in something, invest in the Word of God with passion.  If you want to become wealthy in wisdom, hold God’s hand every day and seek His heart for your life.

“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 neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).”

Where is your heart?  Is your heart devoted to becoming rich in God?  You see, until our hearts are in the right place which means, until they are rightly focused on God, we will not be living the ultimate life.  We will actually be contributing to the death of peace, to the death of fulfillment, to the death of our potential.  The guy in this story obviously had skills.  He was good at creating wealth.  He was a hard worker, but there came a moment when he said, “I’m done being productive.  I am going to sit back, take it easy and just take care of myself with the riches I have accumulated.”  But what happened, according to the parable, he died that night.  He didn’t get to sit back and enjoy squat!  Because he wasn’t living for God and His purposes, everything came to an end.

Don’t squander your life by chasing wealth.  Don’t squander your life by living for self.  Find abundant life, the ultimate life, by fulfilling your God-given potential and by sharing true life, real life, eternal life-with others.

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