Jesus Christ has just been speaking so seriously about being on trial for our faith - being arrested for what we believe - and it is then we have to rely upon the Holy Spirit to give us the right words - and someone in the crowd calls out. In the middle of this important teaching session - a man interrupts Jesus. Not a word he has heard coming from the mouth of Jesus has affected him. How sad - how tragic when that happens. We should never go away from a time of Worship - we should never leave a time of preaching and teaching from the Word of God - without allowing the Word of God to touch our lives in some way. It may be challenging - reassuring comforting - warning and guiding - encouraging - but it is always wise to allow the Word of God to work away in us - within us - in some way - to some measure - to some degree. If two hazards along the Christian way are Hypocrisy and Fear, then the third one could be called GREED. This interrupter is pre-occupied with property and possessions. There was a family row over a will. It has been said that where there’s a will, there’s relatives! This man wants Jesus to intervene in a family dispute, and Jesus says - “Why do you come to Me?” This man does not want fairness - or even justice - he wants MONEY. Jesus saw that he was so greedy and jealous that his brother was getting more money that he was. He is so materialistic, and Jesus virtually says, “I am more concerned about you than your brother. What you are telling Me tells Me about your heart.” Jesus uses this incident to teach people about a rich farmer who has a massive harvest and we can call this section in Luke Chapter 12, “The tragedy of the poor rich man.” ?€?Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. A man’s worth does not lie in what he possesses, or in what he owns. A man’s bank balance does not make that man valuable.?€ The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. What an insight in that one sentence! The man was rich, but it was not the man who produced the wealth. It was the ground. His path fell among these favourable pastures, and in his wealth he receives even more riches. Those of us in the rich Western world need to hear this. We need to listen to Jesus. Riches can only be handled wisely by certain people. This man thought, ?€?What can I do? I have no room left for all my goods.?€ He is so restless. He has been so successful in one way - in one area. He was the sort of farmer who might have been pointed out to younger farmers as an example to follow. In the eyes of Jesus Christ, he was no example for anyone to follow. This is what I will do. Look at all the “I’s” and “my’s”. I will do this with my possessions. He was so methodical, but so greedy. He is so tied to all this. He has no love for God. All he can think about is his possessions - his investments - his goods - and how he can grow richer - materially speaking. Jesus could teach the business world this lesson. What a warning. He is so selfish and so absorbed with himself. There is not a single thought about others. Now the world would regard this man as a picture of success and prosperity, but in the eyes of Jesus it is SIN. This poor rich man thought he was going to live for ever. Such wishful thinking deludes man. He is planning as though he has many more years to live. What is the point of preparing to make an important decision at the eleventh hour if you only live until half-past-ten? This poor rich man is concentrating on the wrong world. He is not interested in fitting into God’s plans. I remember a man saying to me, “I am only in all this for the profit motive - purely for the profit motive.” Well, at least he was honest, but he was quite shocked when I replied, and I am only in the ministry for the prophet motive! And, he didn’t understand it when I explained that I spelled prophet with ph rather than f. “You have plenty of things laid up for many years - take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” You hear people say that - O come on - eat and drink and be merry - it says so in the Bible - and some add - for to-morrow we die. The words are taken out of context totally. Normally, to-morrow we do not die. We live with the consequences of eating and drinking today. There is a price to pay for the eating and drinking to undisciplined excess. O western world - when will you ever hear what Jesus said? GOD says to this poor rich man, “You fool!” Now, not very often do we read of God calling a person a fool. We can regard a fool as someone who is not very bright mentally. God thinks of a man who is not very bright MORALLY. This materially successful and prosperous poor rich man is quite bright mentally, but not very bright MORALLY. Our country - our nation - our western world - has not been very bright morally over these past 20 or 30 years - particularly in this important area of food - with mountains of food, and dreadful decisions made deliberately to cut back on food production. What does God sometimes do in such a situation? God says to this poor rich man. This very night your life will be demanded of you. To-night, you will be worth nothing. Who then will get your goods? There is no use praying that that would not happen. There are some areas where prayer is invalid - irrelevant. When we are summoned by God, we have no choice. We have no option, and when He summons us, we have to leave it all. I remember someone asking - Do you know how much so-and-so left? Yes - everything. This poor rich man thought he had many years left. He did not even have 24 hours. Our security does not depend upon wealth, but upon Jesus Christ, and whenever Jesus spoke about wealth, He always spoke in words of warning. There is nothing wrong in being rich. That can be a sign of God blessing you and rewarding you in this life, but financial riches have to be handled very carefully. Materially, this man was rich. Spiritually, he was desperately poor. Sandy Shaw Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled “Word from Scotland” on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column. His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness. Sandy Shaw Tags: financial, Practical, Selfishness, Spiritual Related PostsPost a comment
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