Wealth is versatile. Jesus told two parables to demonstrate varying approaches toward wealth.
In Luke 12:13-21, he tells of a rich man whose annual crops were abundant. This man judged that he had no way of storing all his abundance, so he would tear down the barns he already had and build bigger ones to guard all his stuff. Then, he could relax, dine in luxury and enjoy his life for years to come.
But God declared: “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” (NIV).
Greed isn’t only amassing material blessings which we may or may not have “earned.” It can also manifest in the bold visibility of accomplishments, the recognition of peers or our favorable reputation before the community. This man could merely have added on to adequate storehouses he already possessed, but perhaps building new ones would further impress his status upon the community.
In the second parable (Luke 19:12-27, NIV), Jesus told of a nobleman who traveled to a distant country, but before leaving distributed one mina (worth about three months’ wages) to each of his servants to invest until he came back. Upon his return, he called for his servants to give an account of their investment of his money. The first reported that his mina had earned 10 more, the second that his mina had garnered five more. One servant, however, returned the original mina saying he had guarded it carefully because he was afraid. He knew his master was a hard man, one who reaped where he had not sown and took advantage where he had contributed nothing.
The master firmly chided this fearful servant, saying that if he knew of his master’s severity, he definitely should have made a good faith effort to put his mina to work so that the master could have collected it again plus interest. Then, this one mina was taken away from him and given to the servant with the 10 minas. His fear and cowardice caused him to lose even the least amount he had, let alone any gain.
As a much younger person, I thought this parable terribly unfair. After all, the servant wasn’t dishonest with the mina trying to keep it for himself and was returning it whole to the rightful owner. Why was the master so harsh with this servant?
It seems in these two parables that both the rich man and the servant held their “resources” in a tight, self-oriented grasp. The rich fool planned to stash all his grain/goods in his bigger barns so he would always have plenty to squander on himself. The servant squirreled away his lone mina, preserving it carefully as it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and if he should lose it, the master would have his head. No doubt, false belief systems or hurtful experiences endured earlier in their lives helped them to form these limiting conclusions.
But both decided on a course of action, although very different, to “save” themselves.
The way of Jesus counters both these options. Trust God and “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (NIV). Only with open hands and hearts toward God and others will we be unfettered and thus ready to receive abundantly from our truest Father all things needful for this life.
As C.S. Lewis expressed so succinctly: “Aim at heaven, and you get earth thrown in. Aim at earth, and you get neither one.”
This column may include both fiction and nonfiction, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of The SUN. Submissions can be sent to editor@pagosasun.com.
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