Honor the Giver and not the Gift
There was a ruler who built additional barns to store his abundance (Luke 12). He tore down his old barns and built new barns. God had been good to him and multiplied his substance. The Lord had blessed his harvest. The Lord supplied the rain. The Lord supplied the sunshine. The Lord even provided the hands to harvest the increase.
The ruler did not acknowledge where the blessings came from and behaved in a manner that celebrated his own intelligence and strength. He may have been the poster child for a familiar sneaker commercial, “He just did it!” If we fail to recognize the Lord in the very fabric of our lives, we diminish the work of the one who gives the blessings and begin to give importance to the gifts. It is important to maintain a thankful heart and to remember the one who brings the increase.
The ruler decides to pull down his old barns and build greater barns. He decides to build larger barns to store all his goods. The ruler enters a phase of self-praise and importance. There was no thankfulness to God for the increase. He decides to store his increase. He did not offer anything to the needy in the community. Without extensive speculation, there were surely poor in the community.
As the ruler prepared to take it easy in life and eat, drink and enjoy life, there was still no recognition of God, the one who gives the increase. Without a relationship with God, the ruler, looking at the things that he had, missed the message of spiritual preparedness. He had put so much energy into living in a temporary setting, he failed to prepare for an eternal dwelling.
It is important to remember the words of Matthew 6:19-21 ESV: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Although no regard was given to God or a relationship with God, God is in charge. He rules and is the one who can hold calamity at bay. He is the great “I am” who can make even death behave.
The lesson for all of us is that the gifts and material wealth of this life are fine in their place. In fact, do not let anyone ever make you feel that a Christian’s place is to live in poverty. David declared in Psalm 24 that the earth is the Lord’s and as an heir you are not relegated to poverty. However, it is a cautionary reminder that earthly riches do not compare with the true riches found in a close and personal relationship with God.
St. James AME Church is located at 360 Dorothy St, in Charleston and worship service is held on the first and third Sundays of each month at 11 a.m. You may also join us on Zoom - pastorv.com
