Tobias could have had a rich, abundant life as money was no issue. Instead he chose a life sentence in prison. But his life is a great illustration of this parable.

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”  Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.  He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.  And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

It seemed like an honest question. A man is asking for his share of the inheritance. But somewhere in his question Jesus sensed that greed was a factor. So he gave him and us a disturbing parable that should unsettle us all.

A man is successful. So he builds barns and put everything in “savings.” Then he relaxes, enjoys life, maybe travels.

The modern man and woman asks,

What is wrong with this? Wasn’t Abraham rich and successful?

If you work hard, you grow your business, why not enjoy the fruits of your labor?

If you are successful, make sure you save it up. What was wrong with saving it up?

They actually are good questions. Because this parable can easily be misinterpreted.

The problem here was greed. Greed from the man who asked Jesus to arbitrate his inheritance. And greed from the man in the parable.

After the man in the parable made a lot of wealth, he saved it and did nothing. It appears he quit his job and just wanted to coast in life and live for its pleasures.

If this is all there is in life, no God, no heaven, nothing more, than it is understandable. But wealth is a responsibility and a blessing from the Lord. It is power not to indulge but power to bless.

In fact, greed could be defined as a relationship with money to where it becomes the ultimate place of safety, security, pleasure and power to serve one’s self.

The problem with the man in the parable is that it was all about satisfying his own needs. Whereas money and possessions have a greater purpose. And that is to yes, take care of our own needs, but also to lift up others in need.

It isn’t something that is government mandated. Because law cannot change the heart. Nor is it church required. Because the Scriptures say we give freely and not out of duty. But it comes instead from the generosity of the heart. To see wealth as a privilege and blessing from God. To use it in serving others.

Do you see what Jesus says here?

The man was focused only on storing up treasures here on earth. What’s the point? When you die, it is gone. It’s meaningless.

But when you live with kindness and generosity towards others, especially those in need, you store up treasure in heaven (Luke 12:33-34). It’s no coincidence that Jesus talks in the very next section about this.

“Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Savings is good. Being successful in business is good. Growing your wealth is good. But it’s our relationship to it that matters. It’s how we interact with that wealth and see it’s purpose. Is it’s purpose to give us a life of ease, comfort and safety? Or is to serve others.

Tobias Merckle in Germany received one of the largest inheritances in the country. His family was in pharmaceuticals and they became insanely wealth.

Instead of using it to serve himself, he has invested his life and money into prison reform. He has a completely different system where prisoners are given housings, responsibilities and learn trades. They are not behind bars but if someone leaves, they cannot return to the program. His success rate after people leave is not perfect because people are people, but it is notably higher than standard prison (read here).

Instead of using his massive wealth for a life of comfort and ease. He now lives with the prisoners and uses his wealth to change the world.

It would be nice just to end here. But here’s the truth. Very few people consider themselves wealthy. In fact, much of the world right now is struggling to pay the bills and keep food on the table and a roof over their head.

So does that negate what Jesus taught?

By no means.

Greed is a condition of the heart that can affect the wealthy just as much as the poor. That’s why bribes are such an issue in nations of poverty. Or in other nations the obsession with lawsuits.

Greed is something that is found in every one of us. We long to coast and be comfortable as well as have a feeling of safety and security financially. If we’re not careful, we can hold on more firmly and be less generous. Less generous not just with our money but with our time, our possessions, and more.

The truth is greed is destroying us and destroying nations. Not the greed from others, but the greed lurking in our own hearts.

But our only way of survival through the storm that is here and yet to come is generosity. It is walking in the opposite spirit. It is investing in heavenly wealth and not the wealth of this world.

If there is any parable that speaks more to our time, it would be this parable.