Rich Toward God

MEMORY VERSE: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” —Matthew 6:33

LUKE 12:13-21

JESUS did not grant the request of the man who asked him to intercede with his brother and persuade him to divide the family inheritance with him. In the first place, Jesus was not in this sort of business, and besides, he perceived that the one making the request was covetous, and said to those listening, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”—vs. 15

Then follows the parable of the man whose ground yielded so abundantly that he did not have sufficient storage space for the produce. So the man decided, as the parable states, that “I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.” (vs. 18) He mused that then he would be able to say to himself, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”—vs. 19

The man of this parable was evidently a professed servant of the Lord, but he reached his decision without taking into consideration the Lord’s will in the matter. It was a decision based upon his own desire for security, comfort, and happiness. He did not consider that the Lord, in his goodness, had provided the extra produce, and that therefore he should seek his will in how it should be used.

Naturally the Lord was not pleased with this man’s decision and attitude, and said to him. “Thou fool, this night thy soul [life] shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hest provided?” (vs. 20) Jesus’ observation in the parable is, “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”—vs. 21

While covetousness is dealt with in the opening verses of our lesson, this parable is directed more particularly against the sin of using too much of one’s worldly goods for the security and comfort of self, rather than devoting more to the Lord and putting one’s trust in him so far as earthly needs are concerned. This thought is pointed up by the context in which the parable appears.

Immediately following the parable we find Jesus saying, “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.” (vss. 22,23) In other words, Jesus is saying that his followers should not take selfish thought for their lives as did the man of the parable.

As long as we are in the flesh some thought has to be taken for the legitimate needs of the flesh, but we are not to concentrate all our energies on laying up treasures on earth. As our memory verse admonishes, we are to seek first the kingdom of God, with the assurance that the Lord is abundantly able to take care of our earthly needs as, in his way, we co-operate with him to this end.

The kingdom of God will be made up of rulers and subjects. The faithful footstep followers of the Master are promised a share with Jesus in the rulership phase of that kingdom, and it is this that Jesus refers to when he admonishes us to seek first the kingdom of God.

MATTHEW 6:19-21

This admonition to lay up treasures in heaven, rather than on the earth, is very much in harmony with the remainder of the lesson. In Jesus’ dialog with the rich young ruler we are given a good insight into how to lay up treasures in heaven. (Matt. 19:16-21) This young man asked Jesus what he could do to inherit eternal life. Although eternal earthly life has been provided through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus for the human race in general, it was not the due time at Jesus’ first advent for this life to be available to the people.

But Jesus talked with the man nevertheless, and finally said to him that if he would sell all that he had and give to the poor, and become one of his faithful followers, he would have treasure in heaven. Much is involved in this statement of giving all that one has to the poor, but the general lesson is clear, being the fact that by sacrificing earthly riches and advantages in the service of Christ one lays up treasure in heaven. It is as simple as that!

QUESTIONS

What is the sin of covetousness?

In what sense should we give no thought for the things of this life?

How do we lay up treasure in heaven?

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