Luke 12:16-21“’…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 toward God.’”

Jesus told this story in answer to a question about dividing an inheritance. He warned those listening to guard against greed because quality of life does not depend on abundance of possessions.

Principle: Materialism is joyless, unsatisfying, and futile in the end.

Super-rich Paul Getty, of Getty Oil, went through five marriages and families who never saw him and generally disrespected him. He spent his 840,000 lifetime hours either at work or thinking about it. His memorial service was attended only by employees of his 65-room estate who were paid to be there.

Jesus was not opposed to planning. He was not opposed to the wealthy. Many of His associates were rich. He recognized the dangers of wealth and saw the slippery slope of getting rich. From His eternal viewpoint, life is short then you die.

Discussion:

1. At what period of your life would you say, “I wish I would have spent more time at work”?

2. If there is such a time, what would you have gained by spending more time at work? What did it cost you?

3. Have you experienced futility or dissatisfaction in continuous gathering and upgrading?

4. Presently is there something you could do to simplify, donate, and distribute assets with reasonable safety to you and your family? If this seems reasonable after prayer and thinking about it, who should you talk to about it?