Luke 12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 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.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 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. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 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?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
God called this man a fool for laying up treasure for himself. The lesson is not that we should live it up now rather than stockpile so we can relax, eat, drink and be merry at retirement. The reason he's a fool is that he's rich toward himself and not rich toward God. What does it mean to be rich toward God?
The answer is found later in the chapter:
Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Is this saying I should sell everything I own and give it away today. I do not believe so. However, rather than dismissing it altogether, it's wise to assume Christ actually meant these words, and has our best interest in mind. Christ is talking about an investment here. He's saying giving to the needy is an investment - providing me with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail.
Time to check my investment portfolio to make sure I'm properly diversified:
What percentage of my income and savings are directed toward personal/family comfort, relaxing, eating, drinking and being merry?
And what percentage of my income and savings are directed toward others, particularly the poor?
