Braggarts and Bores
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Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 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.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 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. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Braggarts and Bores
Braggarts and Bores
Have you ever been at a party or an event and listened to someone tell you about all their “stuff”? Wine collection, baseball card collection, car, music collection, house, jewelry, sports or movie memorabilia, whatever it might be. They brag about their possessions.
Possession: “something owned, occupied, or controlled”
That’s one of Webster’s definitions.
I’ve been thinking a lot about possessions lately as I’m getting ready to move. Most of us have gone through the moving purge at sometime in our life. You look at all the possessions, all the stuff you’ve gathered over the years and you begin to wonder - Do I really need this?
Our possessions - our stuff - can begin to possess us!
Possession: “domination by something”
That’s another one of Webster’s definitions.
So our possessions can be things we own, or things that own us. Think about that.
In our passage this morning Jesus tells a parable about a man who’s land produced plentifully, he had “stuff” in abundance. And he didn’t have anywhere to store it all. So he determined “I will tear down my barns and build larger ones...”
Or, I will move to a larger house, perhaps with a larger garage.
25% of people with 2-car garages don’t park in them at all and 1/3 can only park one car largely due to clutter - according to a U.S. Dept. of Energy study.
According to the Huffington Post, there are more self-storage units in America than McDonald’s restaurants and Starbuck’s combined!
The article quotes, “There is 21 feet of self-storage space available for every American household.” that was as of 2015. I can only imagine it’s gotten to be more.
65% of Americans who rent a self-storage unit have a garage.
The minimalist movement is catching on. The tiny home rage continues to go. People are purging their homes of a lot of stuff.
We store our stuff…but are we any happier?
v. 19
And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’
In other countries their connection to their possessions is very different. While on a mission trip to Mexico we were forewarned against certain compliments.
A female friend complimented a necklace worn by one of our Mexican hosts. Without hesitation, the host removed her necklace and gave it to my friend. It would have been an offense to not receive the gift but her intention was never to take it. The rest of the week she struggled with how to return it. At the end of the week she presented it back as a gift, saying, “I love the way it looks on you.” Much to her relief our host received it with much thanks.
What about your possessions? Do they own you or do you own them? It’s foolish for us to just store things up.
v. 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?’
When you’re gone, whose will your “stuff” be? Will it just be stored up? Hoarded? Or will it be put to good use?
There is of course a difference between the farmer whose crop was such an abundance and many of our possessions. We tend to have possessions that remind us of an event, a trip, or a memory that we hold dear. The lesson is the same.
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Are we holding on to our “stuff” storing up treasure here on earth or are our hearts set on God?
In 1979 the Seattle Super Sonics would win the National Championship. The players included, Wally Walker, Jack Sikma, Dennis Johnson (DJ), John Johnson (JJ), Lonnie Shelton, Fred Brown, Paul Silas, Gus Williams, and of course coached by the incomparable Lenny Wilkins.
On one particular night at the Kingdome my friend Alan and I were there and they gave out a basketball as a promotion to the fans. We both were there early and managed to get all of these players to sign the ball, including Lenny Wilkins after chasing him down in the parking lot.
This basketball sat in a closet for years. It moved with me three times before I finally asked, “Why?” The basketball really meant nothing to me - the memory though is priceless. I gave the ball to the Goodwill. My sports friends freak - but it was a win, win, win! I got rid of something that just was taking up space, the Goodwill got something to sell, and someone either got a ball to play with or a fan found a great piece of sports memorabilia. Regardless, everyone wins!
There is much in the book of proverbs about what we value:
There is gold and abundance of costly stones, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor.
Think about that one, you can keep it all your life, but eventually someone is going to have to get rid of it and it will likely go to those in need. We can give to the poor now!
A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched.
God calls us to be a generous people. It is clear that God has more than provided for our needs. How, can we be generous to those that are in need around us? It’s not about getting as much as we can, it’s not the person that gains the most toys.
Braggarts and Bores
Braggarts and Bores