We worry about, long for, and admire the wrong things.  That’s essentially the message from Jesus in this passage.  What we think are important, what we think would make life much better, what take up so much of our time and energy, what fill our thoughts and cause anxiety are things that God tells us aren’t worth it.  He has these things under control and He knows our needs; we have MUCH bigger fish to fry and MUCH larger treasures to mine. 

Jesus speaks to His disciples – and to us – from the vantage point of eternity and admonishes us to enlarge our scope.  More than a master commanding His servants the tone of His words seems to be more along the lines of, “If only you knew!  If only you could see how I see!”  He watches us wasting time on pursuits that have no eternal value all while missing the simple truth that GOD HAS US.  And if God has us, then time and worry spent on things that God has already taken care of make no sense at all.  What we are to do instead is to seek what’s important in His kingdom.  We’re to trust completely, give generously, and live eternally.

13-21
Jesus continues teaching the multitudes.  A man in the crowd shouts out a request.  He asks Jesus to tell the man’s brother to divide his family’s inheritance with him.  This seems like a very odd scene to our western, 21^st Century eyes, but rabbis oftentimes act as judges in Israeli society, so it’s not out of bounds to ask Jesus to arbitrate.  Jesus’ response is not at all what the man hopes, however (and the man will likely regret asking the question since Jesus essentially rebukes him publicly for the next 24 verses).  Jesus says to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbiter over you?”  He takes Himself out of the family inheritance business.  What He does instead is to use the man’s question to make a point about how NOT to live.

He first makes a summary statement.  He says, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”  Before we go on, read the second half of that statement again (the part after the semicolon).  Not even when you have a LOT of stuff is your life about stuff.  Hard to imagine that there’s a verse more fitting for Americans than that one.

To illustrate His summary statement, He tells a parable about a rich man who has a prosperous harvest.  The harvest is so prosperous the man has no room for it all.  So he decides to tear down his old barns and build new, larger ones.  Once he decides on his plan, he becomes very pleased with himself and says to himself (to his soul), “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come (this was a heck of a harvest); take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”  What the man doesn’t know, however, is that he’s going to die that very night.  God says to him, “You fool!  This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?”

Some things to notice about the parable.  First, the man was already rich even before the large harvest (Jesus describes him as a rich man).  Second, the harvest was apparently enormous – enough to where the man essentially never had to work again (or at least not for many years).  Third, there’s no reason to think the man did anything wrong in how he attained his windfall.  He worked hard and was blessed with an enormous harvest (something we would typically applaud).  Being rich and experiencing a windfall aren’t sinful; hoping in nothing else is what’s wrong.  Fourth, he wasn’t thankful.  God’s role in the large harvest didn’t enter his thoughts at all.

Jesus ends the parable with the moral to the story.  “So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”  This was the man’s mistake.  He was rich from an earthly standpoint but poor from an eternal one.  He only cared about this life and thought nothing about the next (it’s interesting that he talked to his soul while essentially sentencing it to eternal destruction).  His trust was wholly in his riches instead of God and so he essentially replaced God with his financial security.  He worshiped the blessings of his Creator rather than his Creator.

Note what this parable does NOT teach.  It’s not a lesson on why we shouldn’t save or work hard or even prosper.  The point isn’t that all earthly riches are bad or that we shouldn’t prepare for tomorrow.  The point is what He said at the start and the end; our life doesn’t consist of possessions (even when we have a lot) and we’re foolish if we’re rich on earth but not rich toward God.

What does it mean to be rich toward God?  It means using our wealth to pursue what’s important in God’s kingdom.  When we do that, it not only stores up treasure in the next life, it allows for less anxiety in this one.  That’s what Jesus expounds on in the next section.

22-32
Jesus uses the moral of the parable to admonish us against worrying about our material needs.  Because we are to be rich toward God and because our life does not consist of our possessions, we must not be anxious about material needs.  Don’t worry about your life.  Don’t worry about what you’re going to eat or what you’re going to wear.  Life (which God gives us) is more than food and the body (which God created) is more than clothing.  God wants our focus to be larger than the pursuit of material needs and possessions.

If we’re worried about what we’re going to eat, look at the ravens (not as a food source, look at them as an example).  They don’t sow or reap and they don’t have barns (unlike the rich man in the parable).  And yet God feeds them.  If God feeds the birds, won’t He make sure His children are fed?

If we’re worried about clothing, consider the lilies (vs 27).  They don’t work, they’re alive today and gone tomorrow, and yet God clothes them in more glory than even Solomon – the richest and most glorious king in world history.  If that’s the case, won’t He do even more for us? 

We show a lack of faith when we worry about our basic needs as if we don’t have a heavenly Father who knows we need them.  If He feeds the birds and clothes the grass – and He’s not their Father – how small must our faith be when we worry He won’t do the same for us, His children? 

And besides, how much control do we have over anything anyway?  Can any of us add a single hour to our lifespan?  We may think we can extend our lives through medical care or fitness or diet – but nothing changes the days God has numbered for us.  It’s the same with our material needs and possessions.  We may think we control how much we earn and save but our prosperity ultimately depends on God.  He’s the author of circumstances – job loss, market volatility, weather events, even death – that disrupt our plans.  That means our material well-being is really up to God.  And if it’s up to God, why do we worry about it?

Note that Jesus doesn’t tell us to depend on God; He tells us to ACKNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTAND our dependence on God.  We aren’t in control, God is.  And that’s true whether we realize it or not.  When we fully realize it, we’ll be free of anxiety about material needs that God controls.  If we don’t realize it or if we’re too arrogant to believe it, we’ll continue to be plagued by worry over circumstances that we think we control.  So the choice is ours.  Acknowledge God’s sovereignty and enjoy freedom or hold on to a sense of control and battle anxiety.

So don’t be anxious about what we’ll eat or drink because that’s how the world thinks.  That’s how those who aren’t rich toward God think.  He’s our Father and Creator; He knows our needs and loves us enough to provide for them.

Aside: so is it really that simple that God will supply our needs?  Can we really take this passage at face value and trust that He has us, and we truly don’t need to worry that we’ll have food and clothing and shelter?  Looking at other verses informs our understanding of what Jesus says.  In Psalm 37:25, David says that he’s never seen the righteous forsaken nor his children begging bread.  In Hebrews 13:5, the author tells us to be content and keep our character free from the love of money and to explain why he quotes Deuteronomy 31 where God says to Israel, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”  Both verses back up what Jesus says here.  That said, it does pay to remember some other truths.  First, this promise doesn’t preclude God from allowing us to undergo persecution for righteousness’ sake (which may include deprivation).  Second, we must be careful not to look at this promise through western eyes.  Our idea of needs and God’s could be very different.  Paul says in I Timothy 6:8 that if we have food and covering we should be content.  That said, however, this is still an amazing promise and yes, we can take it at face value.  God knows our needs and won’t allow us to go without.

What we’re to do instead of worrying is seek God’s kingdom.  That’s where our focus should be.  Let God worry about our physical needs on this earth; we must focus on what’s valuable in His kingdom which is not of this earth.

What does it mean to seek His kingdom?  See life as a means of glorifying Him and not an end unto itself.  Desire to know God more than anything else.  See people and circumstances through the lens of eternity.  And live as citizens of heaven with our time and resources focused there, not citizens of this world with our time and resources focused here. 

Jesus says something very interesting in verse 32 to follow up on His command to seek His kingdom.  He tells us not to be afraid (while calling us His little flock) because God has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. What does this mean?  When we seek God and desire to know Him and experience Him and live according to the values of His kingdom instead of this world, we FIND Him and ENJOY Him and – to the extent possible in this world – begin to experience the privileges of kingdom living.  We have the power of His Spirit (as mentioned in vss 6, 7, 11) to enable us to fully experience God.  And when we seek the kingdom of God, we can’t seek the kingdom of this world or the kingdom of me.

33-34
The attitude we need to have toward possessions and money is summarized in these two verses.  Everything we have is to be held loosely and made available for God’s use.  And one of the ways to be rich in eternity is to give money to those in need.  Money used to love others is treasure stored up in heaven.  And ultimately, where our treasure is our heart will be.  If we’re like the man in the parable, and all we can focus on is our prosperity here, then our heart is here.  If we want to be rich in heaven, we’ll see our prosperity here as a means to an end and use it to further God’s kingdom and to love others and store up treasure in heaven.  If we do that, our hearts’ focus will follow.

It’s interesting how Jesus puts it, isn’t it?  “…make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys.”  The message is that all earthly wealth is perilous wealth.  We know that to be true, don’t we?  We may not necessarily worry about moths or thieves, but the market can tank; banks can fail; inflation can eat away at our savings; real estate can lose its value.  Every aspect of worldly wealth comes with risk.  That’s not true with treasure in heaven.  Treasure in heaven is secure – no risk at all.  Both truths, therefore – risky wealth on earth, secure wealth in heaven – should inform our handling of earthly wealth.  The best way to counter the riskiness of earthly wealth and invest in secure heavenly wealth is to give earthly wealth away.

Giving really seems to be the key.  If we want to both store up treasure in heaven and ensure that our heart is not invested in earthly riches – we must give cheerfully and abundantly.  We can’t be greedy and give; we can’t be hoarders and give; we can’t be selfish and give; we can’t be focused on this world and give (or at least not give abundantly).  Ultimately, we can’t have our trust in worldly riches (like the rich man in the parable) and give.  If our priority is wealth-sharing rather than wealth-building, and if our trust is in our heavenly Father who provides, our heart will be with the right treasure.

Thoughts
We worry about the wrong stuff, don’t we?  Jesus wants SO much more for us and what He ultimately promises is freedom.  Freedom from worry and longing and envy and regret.  Think about that.  Jesus says that if our focus is on His kingdom and our treasure is in the right place, then our heart will be in the right place too and our soul will be free from the financial concerns of this world. 

We are not in control.  God is.  And GOD HAS US.  Those truths give us a radically different perspective on wealth from how the world views it.  We’re freed from anxiety and freed to live generously with an eternal bent and a drive to store up treasure where treasure is secure.  The perilous nature of earthly wealth is no longer our concern.  God will supply our needs; we’ll focus on living a life worthy of His kingdom.  We’ll trust completely.  Give generously.  And live eternally.