Bigger Barns

The last two weeks my life has eerily mirrored that wonderful cinematic classic “Groundhog Day” featuring my favorite Cubs fan Bill Murray. I get up every morning and I start getting rid of things. Some days I give things away to family and friends. Some days I take loads to the Goodwill. Either way, I wake up the next morning and my house is still full of things and I begin again. This may be a bit of exaggeration, but it isn’t too far from the truth.

My family has become very good at accumulating things and this has gotten me to thinking. First, it reminds me of how blessed I have been as I am short of nothing I need and do have an overabundance. Secondly, it brings me a bit of sadness. You start to realize how much of your life has been spent in acquiring abundance. I have been reminded recently of the parable of the rich man (below).

I have spent years now in abundance and to an extent I have built bigger barns and filled them. Joy and I started our marriage in an apartment and a cottage in Chicago both of which had about 600 square feet. We then moved to 2 different apartments with about 1000 square feet a piece. We got a good job made some money and bought a house of 2200 square feet. We did better at that job and decided to buy a house of 3300 square feet. As we bought them we filled them, as they became filled we bought more.

As I was driving through our neighborhood today, I found myself looking in every open garage. Most were so filled the cars were forced to occupy the driveways. For the most part, like us, I assumed these garage items were used rarely. Like us, our neighbors have been blessed to the level that we have the ability to buy things that give us pleasure once or twice a year. We then stuff them in a corner. I, like them, have used my abundance to buy, to store, and to enjoy.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying our life; Scripture confirms this in several places. The thing that saddens me is that I have spent a chunk of my life building bigger barns and laying up more and more good things. I have so many good things the dust is collecting dust. All this while so many have so few good things. While I have tried to be generous, I think the parable makes it clear that the point of my abundance, any abundance, is to be rich towards God. I want to be richer towards God.

The funny thing about this passage is it is followed directly by a story imploring us not to worry. We do not have to store up treasure to assure our future.

Luke 12:16-22

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Do Not Worry
22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.