Building Bigger Barns

Today, our society is shaken to its roots. It seems as if everybody is overwhelmed with talk of the recession and possible depression. The economy is the constant headline, each new day. Even the church is caught up in the fear of financial crisis. Conversations everywhere turn to where to place your money to keep it "safe", how to save your home and belongings from foreclosure and repossession. Barns. Yes, barns. Jesus spoke to us of these things, in the parable about "the barns". Jesus said, "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth".

It seems as if our lives--or the value of our lives are totally determined by the "things", in this day. I'm not exactly sure of all of the factors that brought us to this condition--and in fact, I believe the factors are many, and vary from person to person. What is important, though, is that we begin to refocus on what is truly important and place the "barns" and the "things" in perspective, and in their proper place, in our lives. It is a masterful plan of the enemy to cause us to become so embroiled in things that are temporal, that we lose focus on the eternal goal. The Kingdom of God, is our first vocation--and, if that be our focus, He promises to add the things that we need. The problem is, that we are not satisfied with the manna and the quails--whatever, God provides, we want something more. In our efforts, to obtain more and more, we lose so much.

Remember that man in the Book of Luke; he already had so much--more than he could ever use. He asked himself, what should I do? The right answer; the godly answer, is to begin to give. To whom much is given; much is required. Understand, that as you bless others, you don't lose anything. The more you open your your hands in a posture to give, the more open your hands are to receive. If, however, you have much, and you refuse to share what you have been blessed to have--you will begin to lose what you have, it will begin to slip through the slits of your tightly closed fist. It may not always be your things either, but it may be your health, your relationships, anything that you value. When we hold back our best, it causes us to lose out on the best that life has for us. I am not suggesting, however, that all loss is linked to selfishness--that requires self-examination.

Our friend's solution, in the Book of Luke was strange if nothing else. When he ran out of room for all of his fruits and goods, the only solution he could come up with was to tear down his existing barns, and build bigger barns! What's wrong with this picture?
1. fruits don't have the greatest shelf life;
2. even his goods would gather dust, and probably rot in time;
3.and, as many are finding out today, in this international financial crisis, there is no safe place for earthly goods.

The spiritual problem, for "Mr. Big Barns" is that while he was focused on gaining worldly goods and building a safe haven for those earthly acquisitions, he forgot to tend to his soul--which has eternal repercussions. He became a fool, in thinking that all life consisted of was acquisitions, mergers, board meetings, prestigious positions, having the finest, being among the elite, not only dropping names, but having his name dropped--and now after all of this, he finds out that none of it mattered.

What if your soul were required tonight--would you face God in peace? Would you be wishing you had spent more time on your soul? More time giving, than receiving and hoarding? More time loving and building up others, or seeking comfort for yourself?

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."