This is a difficult passage of the Bible to preach on. It is not hard because it is unclear. It is hard because it is too clear, and because it describes us too closely. In verse 13, a man cries out, "Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." If you had the opportunity to see Jesus Christ in the flesh and ask him anything, what would it be? This man uses his opportunity to talk about getting money from his brother.

Jesus’ parable exposes the man’s heart. Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. What is greed? Greed is putting your focus, time and effort on money and things at a level where it does not belong. Colossians 3:5 calls it idolatry. Jesus’ warning is a reminder that we will fall prey to this type of idolatry without realizing it.

Jesus tells a story of a man who was very successful. He had a bumper crop. He could store it up and retire. It is time for the good life. There is no mention or expression (like a tithe or offering) of thankfulness to God. There is no thought of using some of this abundance for ministry or to further the kingdom of God. Does this not sound like a prevalent definition of the American dream, to make enough money and draw on it for the rest of our lives so we can do whatever we want? Aren’t we all affected by this attitude?

When we think about those who are too focused on money and possessions, we often point to someone else. It is more comfortable to look up the line and proclaim that someone else has a problem with greed and focusing excessively on money. For example, when we look at those who have 8 automobiles, the fact that we have 3 seems normal. We look at those with more stuff—realizing that they are excessive—in order to convince ourselves that we need all the stuff we have. And we justify our lack of giving to the Lord because we need to maintain all our stuff.

When the prophet Malachi reminded the people to give a full tithe to the Lord, they had simple dwellings and some lived on dirt floors in tents. How is it that those who have nothing can give so much? Are their hearts are less possessed by things because they have less things? This is a hard text for us.

Jesus says that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possession, yet we stockpile possessions anyway. We need a store—Bigger Barns R Us—to help us take care of all the stuff. All these things tie up our lives more and more and distract us from things that are eternal.

Meditate on this parable and see how much this foolish man describes you. If your heart is open, you may be in for a surprise. I was. Nothing will reveal your heart as much as where you put your money. Jesus said, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. I don’t want to be anything like this fool. And neither do you.

When we give to the Lord, be become rich in the things of God because we become part of what God is doing. When we give to feed the hungry, we are partners with God who uses us to do it. When we support the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, we extend the work of the Kingdom of God. When we give to the Lord, we express our gratitude to the Lord. At the same time we say "no" to the pull of things that would take center stage in our hearts. We do need to give.

I want to close by looking at the one resource that this rich man foolishly squandered—his life. We don’t know how long we will live. Our life is a resource that comes directly from God every moment of every day. How we use the time God has given us on earth is the ultimate in stewardship. The idea of getting a big enough barnful and retiring to spend our wealth and life on our own selfishness is the heart of the problem with the man in the parable. It is the heart of the money problems in our society which pulls at us all the time.

What we do with our lives has less to do with how much money we have and more with how many days we have. When I was on vacation, I read about some Christian men who looked at their lives and asked, "what do I need to accomplish for Christ, for my family, for my community before the light of my eyes fades in death?" After all, their money would wind up in someone else’s hands when they were gone. They wanted to be about what God had called them to do and finish it before God called them home. And no, they were not ministers of the gospel.

Are you doing what God is calling you to do? Have you been distracted by too much focus on things and money? Make sure God has your life and your heart. Only those rich toward God are truly wealthy.