Read carefully the words of Luke 12:13-21 below, and I will follow up with 5 pertinent Q and As.

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.” 16. And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17. and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 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.”

Heavy stuff! Sometimes it helps to digest such eternally, weighty, and significant words by asking questions of the text to guide understanding so that we can make right application in our lives. As believers, surely we want to leave this life having been rich toward God and not toward self!

1. What does it mean to be rich toward self?

From the text, to be rich toward self or “to lay up treasure for oneself” means to keep the blessings of God to oneself. To live selfishly. To believe that provisions above and beyond what is necessary for you and your family as “extras” for you and your family, instead of viewing abundance as an opportunity to give, to minister, to meet the needs of others (1 John 3:17), to promote the Gospel. Being rich toward self is to pursue comfort and security for self (ample goods laid up for many years) instead of channeling your blessings as a blessing for others. The reason I believe this text deals with abundant blessings (beyond what you need) rather than necessary blessings (daily bread) is because God’s judgment did not come with the loaded barns, but with the building of “larger ones.” Does God abundantly bless us to increase our earthly comfort or does God abundantly bless us to be blessings in His name to others? What’s the best use of abundant blessings? Laying them up for ourselves or laying them up in heaven?

2. What does it mean to be rich toward God?

It means the exact opposite. It means living this life for God, His glory, His Gospel. To use the blessings God bestows upon us, whether earthly or not, to be a channel of grace. To demonstrate the superior value of Christ and eternal life in Him by not being tied to worldly goods and fame. To live as though it is better to give, because it is better to give! To view this life and all of the abundance God gives us materially and spiritually as opportunities to magnify Him with what He has given. To truly believe that being a blessing for the sake of the Gospel really results in lasting, eternal treasure in heaven. That doesn’t always mean writing a check, but sometimes that’s exactly what it means! Is the overall pursuit of our lives a constant striving to build our lives here, or is the pursuit of our lives to live for the life to come in a way that invites and compels others to follow us?

3. Can one be both rich in earthly wealth and rich toward God?

Absolutely. But it’s not easy! Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:24, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” That’s not to say it’s impossible though, because with God all things are possible! (Matt 19:26) God has used the wealth of many believers to spread His fame and His Gospel. The rich believer must always be aware of the subtle deceptions of his wealth and the ever-present temptation to believe that this “one more thing” is a necessity. But the wealthy man who holds his wealth as a steward of God and seeks ways to share his wealth in ways that Magnify God, promote the Gospel, and DO NOT promote the man, that man is rich toward God! If God has abundantly blessed you with inheritance or business, you must daily place your wealth before God and ask Him what He would have you do with what He has given you for His name’s sake. And then, do it. Live as though if you lost every bit of your wealth tomorrow, you would not lose your faith or your joy. Because if your faith and joy are rooted in Christ and not your wealth, you wouldn’t!

4. Can one not be rich in earthly wealth and yet be rich toward God?

Absolutely. God’s blessings come in many forms, not just earthly possessions or money. The very poorest of the poor can be rich toward God by the way they live in their poverty with joy in Christ, by the way they handle material blessings when they come, not hoarding but wise and giving, and by the way they give to others in so many other ways (2 Cor 8:1-5). We can be rich toward God by the way we treat others, the way we walk with God, they way we learn contentment in Christ alone (Phil 4:11-13). Poor men who are believers can be the wealthiest people in the world, but most everyone else will not know that about poor believers until eternity. The question for those of us who live paycheck to paycheck or without a paycheck is this: do we truly believe that?

5. Finally, where is the joy in this lesson?