Have you ever stopped and thought about that? At what point do we say, “OK, that’s enough, I can stop gathering up possessions.”
Do we ever say that? Or are we always thinking about a bigger house, a newer car, nicer clothes? As Christians, we are supposed to look to the Bible for our instruction concerning our stuff, but is there really any difference between the way we view wealth and possessions versus how unbelievers see them?
Exodus 20:17 “17 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
You may say: "Ok, hang on. I’m not doing any of that. I’m not coveting." Are you not? You mean to tell me, that you’ve never saw something that someone else had and thought, “man I’d like to have that.”
Maybe you do ok with the big things in life. Perhaps you don’t have a big house, new car or expensive jewelry...but just stop and think about it for a minute, what is the thing that you just can’t seem to let go of? What is it that when you see it, you just can’t seem to resist buying another one? And oddly enough, an old one never seems to leave you house. Do you have a hobby or an obsession?
Do you have a room in your home dedicated to to it? Or has it required you to rent a storage unit. Having a hobby is fine, but if it has become an obsession, maybe it’s time to reevaluate your motivation for wanting more. Here is why. Maybe you have an issue with coveting. We don’t like to use that word. We call it being a collector. That sounds better, doesn’t it?
How much have you spent on your collection of stuff? Where do you have it stored? Are we storing up treasure here on earth or are we storing up treasure in heaven? What do you spend more time working on? Which storage facility are you filling? Do you have a storage unit full of stuff that you haven’t even looked at in a long time? Have you ever considered there may be someone else could use it?
Jesus said that our life is more than just the abundance of our possessions, and yet we still keep trying to get more. Let’s look at what He said about this. It’s found in Luke chapter 12.
Luke 12:13-15 “13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Have you ever witnessed a family being torn apart over how an inheritance was divided? Clearly, this was the issue in this passage. What causes families to abandon their love for each other and actively fight against each other? Greed, jealousy and coveting what the others have gotten. This is what prompts Jesus to tell them a parable, warning them against this behavior.
Luke 12:16-21 “16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought tohimself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store mycrops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be
merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will
they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
In this parable, Jesus clearly warns us about coveting more for ourselves and focusing on what we can store up here on earth.
The guy in this story had great harvest. Now let me say this before I go any farther, there is nothing wrong with having a great harvest. If God has blessed you with an abundance of money, that’s great. It’s what you do with it, that really matters.
When this guy was blessed by God, he went down a very destructive path. The first thing he thought was: “Where can I keep all of this?” His main concern was where to store “his” blessing. He was trusting in his possessions to provide for his future.
The very next thing we learn is that he already had barns to keep it in. And now, here comes the problem. He decided to tear those barns down and build bigger ones. So he could keep it all for himself. He gave no thought to the fact that he already had barns to keep enough for himself. And then he could give the extra to his neighbors, who maybe didn’t have as good a year as he did.
God then says that he has been foolish, because tonight the man will die, and then the ones he should have given the extra to, will get it all.
Jesus wraps up the parable by defining who He is talking about. He says this is about people who think only of themselves and are not rich towards God.
What does it mean to be rich toward God? It means to be rich in generosity and good works. It’s about storing treasure in heaven.
Matthew 6:19-21 “19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Storing treasure in heaven is about storing spiritual treasure. It’s an issue of your heart. Jesus said that wherever you keep treasure, is where you will have your heart focused. Is your heart focused on gaining more stuff here on earth or on having something waiting for you when you get to heaven?
Did you know that you can convert earthly treasure into heavenly treasure? You do that by sharing it with others.
Proverbs says that when you give to the poor, you are actually lending to the Lord, and the Lord will repay you. Could it be that when you give to the poor, God adds it to your heavenly treasure stockpile? I think so.
All our good works are stored as treasure in heaven, regardless of our motivation. But there is a catch. Not all heavenly treasure is equal.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 “11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
If you are building on the foundation of Jesus, by doing things His way, with humility, preferring your brothers and sisters over your own desires...your treasure will be made of Gold, silver and precious stones. But if you are building on Jesus just so it will bring glory to you, your “treasure” will be made of wood, hay and straw.
Do you want to make sure the pastor knows, when you’ve done something to help someone else? That will absolutely get you brownie points with me...but it won’t get you anything from God.
God will bring His fire to reveal what each work is made of.
What happens to Gold, silver and precious stones in fire? They are purified and made more valuable. But what happens to wood, hay and straw in a fire? They are consumed and leave nothing.
Remember, in this life...It’s not all about you...it’s about God’s glory. It’s not about what you can get...it’s about what you can give.
The apostle Paul shows us that we should be content with what we have, whether we have a lot or very little.
Philippians 4:11-13 “11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all
things through him who strengthens me.”
In either situation, in abundance or need, we are to be strengthen by Christ. Now, you may say, “I understand how I need Christ’s strength when I am in need, but how do I need His strength when I am in abundance?”
When God has blessed us with an abundance, we need His strength to keep us from falling into the same trap as the guy from the parable. We need Jesus to keep us from putting our trust in money and possessions.
Instead of being selfish with what comes into our hands, when we are blessed financially, we should be looking for others that we can bless. This is how we can use our earthly blessing to store up treasure in heaven.
When God sees that we are generous and can be trusted with His resources to bless others, He gladly provides more. What are you going to do with all that God has blessed you? Are you gonna build bigger barns or are you going to look for someone you can bless that doesn’t have as much?
The last thing I want to look at from this parable is what Jesus said about the guy who wanted everything for himself. Jesus called him a fool, and said he was going to die that very night.
The point that Jesus was making is that no one thinks about their death when they are in the process of congratulating themselves on their success. But scripture says multiple times that our life here is just a vapor. Meaning life is short and you should be preparing for the next life, not trying to make this one as comfortable as possible.
James 4:13-14 “13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
Ecclesiastes 1:2 “2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
As you read Ecclesiastes you will see this word over and over. Vanity. But here in this book it does not mean what we think about as vanity today. We think of vanity as being conceited or prideful, but the Hebrew word translated vanity means “vapor.” So every time you read the word vanity, think vapor. Meaning, not substantial and passing quickly.
Solomon is saying everything passes quickly and does not amount to anything that really matters. All of your effort to make more money, build a better career, buy a bigger house and make a name for yourself is worthless in the end.
Psalm 102:3 “3 For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.”
The idea of our life being nothing more than a vapor or smoke has intrigued me for a while. When we first started the church, we used to meet at our house on Sunday evenings. As we entered there fall season, we would sometimes sit outside around a fire pit and I would teach as everyone sat in lawn chairs and watched the fire.
Once while I was teaching a question hit me that I couldn’t shake. What happened to the wood? We started with a large pile of wood in the fire pit, and now an hour later, there is only a few ashes left. Where did the wood go? The amount of ashes does not nearly add us to the mass of the wood that used to be in the fire pit. Where did it go?
I mentioned the question in passing and after I was done teaching, Kathy came up to me and said she wondered the same thing and so she looked it up. Here is what happens to the wood.
Wood is made of fiber, water and minerals which are metal. When wood is burned, the heat produces a chemical reaction, which in turn produces ash, which are the minerals left over, gases and water vapor. The gases and water vapor are smoke. In a fire pit you are left with the minerals...and the rest went up in smoke...literally.
The wood just ascended up within the smoke. Just like our life here on earth. This is what happens to us. When we die, our spirit ascends to be with God.
Psalm 39:4-5 “4 “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! 5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!”
What are you doing with the short life God has given you on this earth? Are you spending your time collecting more stuff for yourself? Are you building bigger barns for all that you can acquire? Or are you laying up treasure in heaven by being rich toward God with generosity and good works? Is your heavenly treasure made of wood? Will it go up in smoke?
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