Downsize the Stuff in Your Barns

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.”

Simple story

Starts with 2 brothers having a dispute over an inheritance

Story of success. Bumper crop

He had a good problem

He has the ability to retire comfortably (not worried about running out of money). Maintain his lifestyle

No indication that this was old money. He got if off the backs of the poor. He swindled it from a business partner. Lied, cheated and deceived. etc. All the things some folk assume when they see a rich person

. Yet Jesus called him a fool

5 Important Things The Rich Man Forgot

1. He Forgot God

In the entire passage, the rich man uses the words I, my, or mine 12 times but NOT ONCE does he mention God.

He forgot that everything that happens to us, happens with God's permission!

Making plans without reference to God is foolish indeed, especially plans on how to use his blessings.

James 4:13–15 ESV

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Remember - GOD IS THE SOURCE OF ALL BLESSINGS

2. He Forgot Others

He did not consider how this blessing could be a benefit to others

He had more than enough for himself

Only solution he thought of was to build bigger barns to house and maintain his stuff

Ephesians 4:28 ESV

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

HOW CAN YOU BE A BLESSING TO SOMEONE ELSE

3. He Forgot That Man Is More Than Just Matter

Life is not just about having stuff. Life is not just about keeping our stuff or buying more stuff or having the newest stuff, the coolest stuff, the most different stuff, the most exclusive stuff. That's not what life is about,

Amazon Prime is a fun and dangerous place.

It is so easy for our life to just become a series of clicks.

I want this, I want that. I want to look at that. I want to see that. I want to know this. Click, click, click, click.

But life is about loving, and knowing, and serving God.

Luke 12:15 ESV

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.”

YA NEED TO DOWNSIZE THE STUFF IN YOUR BARNS!

The rich fool forgot that the purpose of wealth is not to insulate yourself from other people.

give you the freedom to become involved in other people's lives for good.

Dave Ramsey

If you don't have to spend all that time scratching in the dirt to earn your living, and you've got a lot more free time, you've just been given a gift. You've been given the gift of time that you can invest in other people,

4. He Forgot the Source of True Joy

1 Timothy 6:10 ESV

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Had the rich man lived

Maintain the barns

Security system from thieves

Constant begging from long lost relatives

If you want to see families destroyed - throw some $ in the mix

Philippians 4:11 ESV

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

5. He Forgot About Death

Hebrews 9:27 ESV

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Death affects one in every one person

We should always live our lives in a such a way that we never forget that one day we're going to die.

And more importantly we're going to be judged.

We're always worried about the idea of how will God judge me. Did I lie, or cheat, or sexual immorality, whatever. We think of the moral things. But a lot of times we don't think how will He judge us in the use of our gifts, in the use of the good things He's given us. Has He given you good health? Has He given you stamina? Has He given you an opportunity to get an education? Has your life been one where you were born in a free country and you had access to everything because you were born in a rich and free country? What did you do with that blessing?

Villages attached example

Conclusion

Let's remember God and all that we have, whatever that may be.

Let's remember others, and how we can use our resources to help others.

Let's remember true living cannot be accomplished without reference to faith in God and involvement with other human beings.

Let's remember peace and joy are spiritual things and they can only be obtained through spiritual activities. They're not commodities that can be traded or purchased on the stock market.