E-Vangel Newsletter
January 22, 2013
Pastorgraphs: “The Rich and the Foolish”
(During
this, the tenth year of the E-Vangel Newsletter, I will reprise a few of the early
Pastorgraphs. Today’s Pastorgraph is from the August 2, 2004 edition of The
E-Vangel, with minor edits. After 8.5 years, this message still applies
although, as we have grown and survived the recent economic hard times, many
are still praying for God to give them the chance to show they can be humble
and generous when blessed with God’s gifts.)
Background:
On Sunday, August 1, 2004, the U.S. raised the security
alert level to high for the World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund, the New York Stock Exchange and companies in the New York City area after
intelligence signals a possible al Qaeda attack.
On
this day when Wall Street and our financial industry stands on high terror
alert, we find the story of “the rich fool” (Luke 12: 13-21) all the more
difficult to understand. What did the rich man, an otherwise blameless
entrepreneur, do wrong? When this man’s crops offered an abundant harvest, why
did Jesus chastise him? Doesn’t God Himself offer us an abundant life?
The
answer is revealed in how the rich man responded to God’s blessings. Notice the
personal pronouns. “He thought to himself, 'What
shall I do? I have no place to store my
crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I will
do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger
ones, and there I will store all my grain and my
goods. And I'll say to myself, "I
have plenty of good things laid up for many years. I will take
life easy; eat, drink and be merry." That’s a lot of “me, myself, and I”
in a very few words. His focus changed from God and neighbor to himself!
So
it seems the blessing of an abundant harvest (prosperity) is not the problem;
it is how we view and what we do with the blessings that makes the difference.
One commentator said, the rich fool had “full barns and an empty heart”. Sure,
it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
person to enter the kingdom of God. That’s because whenever God sends a
blessing, He does so for a reason which involves sharing, instead of hoarding.
Wall Street is not programmed to operate like that.
The
old hymn says, “Make me a channel of blessings.” We sing it, but I wonder how
many really mean it, especially when the blessings begin to roll in.
This
story is not an indictment against capitalism, nor is it a warning that we
should not seek the abundant life. It is a lesson on what happens when anyone
takes the blessings of God to store up things for ourselves, and is not rich
toward God and our neighbors in need.
Blessings
to us all for peace, joy and well-being, Pastor Bill
From the
Quote Garden:
“When I have money, I get rid of it
quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.”
~ John Wesley ~
Christ United Methodist Ministry
Center
“Christ
in the Heart of San Diego”
3295
Meade Avenue - San Diego, CA 92116 - (619) 284-9205
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