Jump Start # 1265

Luke 12:19 “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”

The parable of the farmer who tore down his barns to build larger barns is where our verse comes from today. This parable is the Lord’s response to someone who interrupted Him, with demands to get involved with a family squabble over inheritances. This man thought that Jesus would side with him. He was hoping that Jesus would tell his brother to be more fair and give him more inheritance. Jesus didn’t do that. Instead, Jesus rebuked this man. He told him that his heart was greedy. Then comes the parable. The farmer in the parable is this greedy brother who wants more money from the inheritance. In Biblical times, the eldest son got one half of the estate. The other sons had to split the other half. Birth order meant everything. I could understand this man’s complaint. I’m the second of three sons. Not fair. That’s just the way it was.

The parable of the rich farmer illustrates a person who was greedy. Multiple times the farmer refers to himself and he never mentions God. The story begins with, “The land of a certain man was prosperous.” There are many good things about this farmer. He wasn’t lazy. He worked the fields. He knew what he was doing. He planned and was very prosperous, but of all people, the farmer especially understands His partnership with the Lord. It’s God who makes soil fertile. It’s God who controls the rains and sunshine. A cool, wet spring can be disastrous to farmers. Then there are droughts, insects, hot spells. There are so many things, especially back then, that were out of the farmer’s hands. He relied upon the Lord so much. For this one particular season, it was prosperous. It was a great year. It was so good, that the farmer was getting out of farming. He was going to retire. Our verse tells us that he planned to “take your ease.” That’s not in the vocabulary of most farmers that I know. They are busy all the time. Taking ease means retirement. He’s getting out of the farming business. That is how productive the season was.

Often, in this parable, there is too much emphasis placed upon the “tearing down of my barns and building larger ones.” That is seen as a negative. Had the farmer only kept the barns he had, we think, maybe he would have lived. That’s not it. We all have torn down barns and built larger ones. Most of us started out in small apartments, or little houses. For us, it was a preacher’s house that was provided by the church. Nothing fancy about it. Since that time, we’ve moved up in size of homes. We do that with cars. We do that with the amount of clothes we own. The larger over the smaller isn’t the issue. This can be used as a guilt complex for brethren who have wealth. Some feel like they must apologize to others. They are often made to feel guilty. Shame on us for doing that. Some of God’s greatest people had material wealth. Consider Job. Consider Abraham.

The issue here is not barns but heart. This man was not rich toward God. That’s what Jesus tells us. He was not thankful. He did not honor God with his wealth. He had no plans to help others, give to the temple, or do anything other than horde it for himself. He was greedy. He was living without God. He thought he was doing fine without God.

Our verse today reminds us that this rich farmer didn’t know what time it was.

• He thought it was time to take his ease. It wasn’t.
• He thought he had many years to come. He didn’t.
• He thought he owned the future. He was wrong.

The passage ends with this horrific statement, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you.” This parable doesn’t have a happy ending. It isn’t the stuff that makes good bedtime stories. The farmer’s dreams become a terrible nightmare in which he cannot escape. That night. That very night, he died. He didn’t have time to change. He didn’t have time to get his affairs in order. He didn’t have time to settle up his estate. He died that night. He died unprepared. He died not knowing God.

Our verse has a very unique statement in it. The rich farmer speaks to himself and says, “Soul…” He was talking to his soul. We don’t do that. He should have been talking to God. Had he done that, he may have adjusted his plans, been more thankful and thoughtful. Instead, he talked to himself. What he said sounded good to himself. He simply did not know what time it was.

This lesson about greed becomes a lesson about time as well. Do we know what time it is? At the start of a new year, we make all kinds of plans, goals. We map out vacations. We think about trips, holidays, weddings and all the events that will happen in the year. Those events are based upon one major factor, that we are still around. Those larger barns didn’t get built, because the rich farmer wasn’t around to build them. He didn’t know what time it was.

Our thoughts, our plans, our goals, must include God. “God willing,” as James reminds us to say, isn’t just a cute, “Get out of jail free” card that keeps us alive. It’s a thought, similar to ending our prayers, “in Jesus’ name.” God willing, means if God allows. What if He doesn’t? Have you considered that?

A few thoughts now: If your life ends this year:

• Can your family survive? Have you taken care of things so that they can continue on. This is practical and financial thinking. Wills, papers in order, life insurance and telling people where they can be found if you are not around to tell them. If you have things hidden and no one knows, then guess what happens if your soul is required this night? No one knows.

• How will your family do spiritually without you? Have you thought about that? Have you had talks, discussions and devotions about what is real and what the Lord expects from all of us? It is sad to see after a funeral, the family slowly slipping away and out of sight. Their faith was tied to a parent who no longer is here. Build that faith in your family. Turn the TV off, and talk about things.

• In this parable the Lord asks the rich farmer, “Now who will own what you have prepared?” What’s going to happen to your barns Mr. Farmer? What’s going to happen to that bumper crop you have, Mr. Farmer? And, for us, who will own what we have collected? Have you thought about that? You ought to.

• Most importantly, how are you and the Lord? Have you been putting things off that you need to take care of? Have you been slack about some things? Have you hidden sins that you ought to repent of? Have you not forgiven someone that you should? If your soul was required of you THIS night, what would the Lord think about you?

This farmer thought he was rich. He was really poor. He died and none of the crops, the barns, farming tools went with him. What he took was a selfish, greedy soul that was ungrateful to God and thought he was in control of the future. How wrong he was. Some of the wealthiest people in the world are the poorest people in regards to God. The Lord’s words, “lay up for selves treasures in Heaven,” is very fitting here.

All of this makes us look at ourselves. That’s the way parables work. We see ourselves right in the midst. In this parable there was just the farmer and God. No one else. You and God…what do you see?

The farmer never knew what time it was. Do you?

Roger