Rich Toward God

At times we can feel very frustrated with what goes on in our lives. It could be a parent, it could be school, it could be a job, it could be someone you love, it could be lack of money, it could be pressure, it could be anything.

This system is setup to fail and sadly we are setup to fail. Adam and Eve both failures in remaining loyal to Jehovah. In turn they set us up to fail. There is no way that we can cheat death. There is no way that we ourselves can make all our problems go away. We can't. You might say that if you were rich that all your problems will go away. If you believe that then you really need to open your eyes. While it wouldn't hurt to have money, money itself changes people.

I know several rich folks in my line of work. The one thing that I think of when I see all that they have is how rich are they toward God? So it goes with the man that lays up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God - LUKE 12:21.

Jesus gave an illustration, or parable, that accurately delineated this human tendency. It is found at Luke 12:16-21. The illustration that Jesus gave is a familiar one which I think I mentioned here before. We note that Jesus introduced the story simply by saying: “The land of a certain rich man produced well.”

Jesus did not say that the man acquired his riches by some devious or unlawful means. In other words, he was not portrayed as a bad man. In fact, from what Jesus said, it is reasonable to think that the man portrayed in the parable had worked hard. At least it can be understood that he was a man who planned and saved for the future, perhaps with the welfare of his family in mind. Thus, from a secular point of view, he can be taken to represent a hardworking man who took his obligations seriously.

In any case, Jesus did call the individual in the parable a rich man, meaning someone who already had in his possession an abundance of material goods. However, as Jesus described it, the rich man had a problem. His land produced much more than he expected, above and beyond what he needed or could care for. What should he have done?

Many of Jehovah’s servants today face situations very much like that of the rich man. True Christians strive to be honest, diligent, and conscientious workers. Whether they are employed or they have their own business, they often do well, even excel in what they do. When promotions or new opportunities come along, they are confronted with a decision. Should they move up or expand?

Likewise, many Witness youths do well in school. As a result, they may be offered awards or scholarships for advanced education at prestigious institutions. Should they simply go along and accept what is offered?

Coming back to Jesus’ illustration, what did the rich man do when his land produced so well that he had nowhere to store his harvest? He decided to tear down the storehouses that he had and build bigger ones to store all the excess grain and good things. That plan apparently gave him such a sense of security and satisfaction that he thought to himself: “I will say to my soul: ‘Soul, you have many good things laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, enjoy yourself.’”—Luke 12:19.

As Jesus presented it, however, the rich man’s plan provided only a false sense of security. Practical as it might have seemed, it left out one vital element—God’s will. The man was only thinking about himself, how he would be able to take his ease and eat, drink, and enjoy himself. He thought that because of having “many good things,” he would also have “many years.” But too bad for him, things did not work out that way. Just as Jesus said earlier, “even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.” That very night, everything the man had worked for came to an abrupt end, for God said to him: “Unreasonable one, this night they are demanding your soul from you. Who, then, is to have the things you stored up?”

Here, we come to the central point of Jesus’ illustration. God called the man unreasonable. It observes that in this parable, God is represented as using the word to expose “the meaninglessness of the future plans of the rich.” The word refers, not to one who lacks intelligence, but to “one who refuses to acknowledge dependence on God.” Jesus’ description of the rich man brings to mind what he later said to the Christians in the first-century congregation in Laodicea, Asia Minor: “You say: ‘I am rich and have acquired riches and do not need anything at all,’ but you do not know you are miserable and pitiable and poor and blind and naked.”

We do well to take the lesson to heart. Could we be like the man in the parable—work very hard to make sure that we would have “many good things” yet fail to do what is necessary to gain the prospect of having “many years”? The Bible says: “Valuable things will be of no benefit on the day of fury,” and “the one trusting in his riches—he himself will fall.” Therefore, Jesus added this final admonition to the parable: “So it goes with the man that lays up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”—Luke 12:21.

When Jesus said “so it goes,” he was pointing out that what happened to the rich man in the illustration will also happen to those who build their life—their hope and their security—solely on material possessions. The fault is not so much in ‘laying up treasure for oneself’ as it is in failing to be “rich toward God.” The disciple James sounded a similar warning when he wrote: “Come, now, you who say: ‘Today or tomorrow we will journey to this city and will spend a year there, and we will engage in business and make profits,’ whereas you do not know what your life will be tomorrow.”

No matter how rich a person may be or how many possessions he may have, all will prove to be futile unless he is rich toward God. What, then, does it mean to be rich toward God? In Jesus’ illustration, the man planned and worked hard only to enrich himself, and he was called unreasonable.

To be rich toward God, therefore, we must endeavor to work hard and have a full share in the activities that are truly valuable and worthwhile in God’s eyes. Among these is what Jesus commanded: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations.” Using our time, energy, and talents, not for self-advancement, but in the Kingdom-preaching and disciple-making work can be likened to making an investment.

So when the world seems it's beating down on you. Think of all the blessings you will have in the future by being rich toward God!!