Do you ever feel like God is butting into your life? Things seems to be going so well and then all of a sudden, He lets Himself in and messes everything up. It’s not all that uncommon a feeling. In Luke 12, Jesus tells a story about a man who was interrupted by God…
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21 NKJV)
Here the man is: making a comfortable living after a year of hard work. He contacts his estate planner (himself) and sets up a comfortable retirement. All of a sudden, God barges in and takes it all away. Adding insult to injury God calls him a “fool.”
Does God not want people to be rich? No, that can’t be it. His servant Solomon was the wealthiest man who ever lived. Abraham and Lot had to split up because they had too much livestock and the meadow they lived in couldn’t support them. A rich man buried Jesus in a brand new tomb. Wealth isn’t the issue here.
The problem is self-sufficiency. This rich man didn’t need God because he could take care of himself. After all, he had been the one who planted and harvested all of these crops. (But who sent the rain?) After all, he had been the one to gather the materials to build his barns. (But who caused the trees to grow?) After all, he was rich and God looked favorable on the rich. (Right?)
God, as creator and sustainer of the universe, lays complete claim to the people He lets live on His land.
What are you withholding from God? Let’s live with open hands toward God.
With Wills 