SKYSCRAPER BARNS

"And He said to them, Guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have more); for a man's life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above his needs." [Luke 12:15, AMP]

A couple of years ago, I posted a blog entitled Building Bigger Barns. I never expected to revisit this same passage of Scripture--or this same issue; however, things have gone from "bigger" to "skyscraper" in that time period. In spite of our failing economy, and difficult times, God's people haven't gotten the point that covetousness is wrong.

Instead of repenting for our greed then, we have become greedier. We want, we want, and we want some more and we look for ways to justify and rationalize our greed by God's holy Word! His Word clearly declares some very pointed things to us:

1. Jesus taught us to guard our hearts against covetousness. Covetousness is defined as "A strong desire after the possession of worldly things (Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:5; Heb. 13:5; 1 Tim. 6:9, 10; Matt. 6:20). It assumes sometimes the more aggravated form of avarice, which is the mark of cold-hearted worldliness." (Easton's Dictionary).

2. Jesus taught us that the needs of others must precede our desires.

3. Jesus very pointedly warned us that not caring for the "least of these" will lead to eternal damnation.

4. Our focus can't be eternity and this world--we must choose. "No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (riches, or anything in which you trust and on which you rely)."

5. The "treasure" of our hearts toward God is righteous, (and as James says, "COME NOW, you rich [people], weep aloud and lament over the miseries (the woes) that are surely coming upon you.

Your abundant wealth has rotted and is ruined, and your [many] garments have become moth-eaten.

Your gold and silver are completely rusted through, and their rust will be testimony against you and it will devour your flesh as if it were fire. You have heaped together treasure for the last days. [James 5:1-3]) And the earthly accumulation of wealth is a distraction that blocks our love for the Father. [1 John 2:15] 

6. We must become needs-based people, not desires-based, and He supplies our needs. [Matthew 6:31.] 

7. Our delight must be in God.

Skyscraper barns that are erected to house our wealth for ourselves, means that someone--actually many, are not having their needs met. When we amass riches for ourselves with Kingdom wealth we have misappropriated God's resources. The reason He puts that money in your trust is to build the Kingdom of God--not your own kingdom, on earth. We are to use our (His) substance to build treasure in Heaven. That's why Jesus urged the young ruler of Mark 10 to "go and sell all you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come [and] accompany Me [ walking the same road that I walk]." Today, many avoid teaching and preaching these verses instead isolating verses that without context say, "Positive Confession is the belief that if a believer speaks "spiritual" or "faith-filled" words then he can have what he says". By the way, that is a New Age concept (E.W. Kenyon) that has taken root in the so-called "Faith" Movement and has been propagated knowingly, by many, to unsuspecting followers. God has promised to supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus. How do you suppose God meets our needs? He uses man to meet man's needs. We are responsible for contributing God's money that He placed in our trust to support the needs of others. When we don't do it, we have misused Kingdom resources. 

Starvation exists in this world, not because there isn't enough food, but because the Church is not meeting the needs of those who are starving--and, dying daily. We want to take the Gospel to the world, but first we need to be sure that they have safe, clean water, food and clothing. [James 2:15-17, Matthew 6:31]. It is sad to see non-Christian celebrities and others caring and doing more than the Body of Christ to care for the "least of these". Watching them (celebrities and political figures) be arrested to bring attention to the plight of the Sudanese, while we gather in our churches and (generally-speaking) fail to even pray for them (the Sudanese and others suffering around the world) regularly, but pray only for ourselves, family's and friends, is disheartening. This is our job, in the earth--Jesus lived a radical life. He constantly challenged the status quo that allowed suffering to go unchecked, while some lived comfortably and lavishly. And, He lived what He taught.

Traditionally, we tend to think of one side of the covetous coin. We only think we are being covetous when it relates to a particular person's things, or gifts. Covetousness is deeper than that--it is the longing for things that you don't have and don't need. There's a lot of covetousness in our midst--I'm guilty, too. When our needs are met (and really needs are the things that we need to sustain life--what God has promised to supply) and satisfied, and we are still not content, but still just have to have that other purse. It's the thought that says, "You can never have too many pairs of shoes, or too many little black dresses (or for the men, too many gadgets, televisions, etc.)". Some of our homes are so packed with clothing and shoes--more than we can possibly wear; that is covetousness, when you are still looking for more. When the car is never big enough, luxurious enough or the house isn't, it's covetousness and a lack of contentment. For the child of God, contentment is to found in the eternal, the everlasting treasure that will never be corrupted.

The Psalmist declares, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart." [Psalm 37:4]. For so many, this has become a blank check to obtain whatever earthy, corruptible things desired. Context will dispel that myth. Context is packed within and around this verse. Within the verse we find that if we "delight" in the Lord, this means we crave Him with the depths of our being--we are insatiable, for Him. When we arrive at this insatiability for God, it is then that He writes the proverbial blank check, with confidence. He knows, then, that your desire isn't for things of the earth--but for Him, and when you "pen" that desire on the check, He pays--abundantly with Himself. God wants our hearts, and He wants us to want Him. John warned us of our carnal tendencies and the trouble that they lead to. They draw our focus away from the things of God, from God Himself, and from the matters of the heart. 1 John 2:14-18 [GNT] says this, "I write to you, my children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who has existed from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong; the word of God lives in you, and you have defeated the Evil One. Do not love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you do not love the Father. Everything that belongs to the world—what the sinful self desires, what people see and want, and everything in this world that people are so proud of—none of this comes from the Father; it all comes from the world. The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but those who do the will of God live forever. My children, the end is near! You were told that the Enemy of Christ would come; and now many enemies of Christ have already appeared, and so we know that the end is near."

It's about the spiritual, the incorruptible, the eternal and everlasting, the Great I AM, the heart, love and others. Our focus cannot be self, worldly gain, or temporal things if we want to inherit the true and lasting Kingdom. Tear down the "skyscrapers" and give those goods to those who have need--they won't last, they are corruptible. 

My mind keeps going back to Genesis 11, when the people of the earth all spoke the same language. They decided (of their own accord) to build a "skyscraper" that reached "unto heaven" to make a name for themselves. And, God confounded them and scattered them. Man always wants more--a greater name, to be exalted--even to be equal to God, bigger and better things, and he will exhaust every measure in that quest. Humility and contentment are the keys to being exalted and finding joy in God. 

It really is time to tear down much of what has been built--because it was not of God. Build on the foundation of His Word and Truth.

Grace,

Lisa