Laying up treasures.

The parable that Jesus gives in Luke 12 is most awesome in that it DIRECTLY confronts the wisdom of the world and a destructive heresy adopted by the church.  The parable is of a rich man who was able to amass a considerable amount of wealth. The parable addresses what the man does with the wealth:

Luke 12:16
16 And He told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man was very productive.

Nothing wrong here is there?  In fact it was God who had blessed the land of the man so that it could bring forth a great harvest.

Luke 12:17-18
17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops? 18 Then he said, This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

These verses completely describes the wisdom of this world and the church has adopted these concepts as 'wisdom'.  In response to an abundance of wealth the man initiated a retirement plan.  Note that he was NOT a profligate, but one who introduced a REASONED response that ANY PERSON WOULD CONSIDER RESPONSIBLE.  He was preparing for the future.  Well isn't that what we are supposed to do?  Isn't this wisdom?  Aren't we suppose to save and invest for when we are not able to work?

Luke 12:19
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.

According to our wisdom, and yes this IS the wisdom that has been adopted by much of the church,  the state of the man in verse nineteen is EXACTLY the goal we aspire too.  This is NOTHING MORE THAN A REASONABLE RETIREMENT PLAN.  In fact this is what passes as sensible.  This is what makes God's statement all the more troubling:

Luke 12:20
20 But God said to him, You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?

God calls this man a fool!  He calls a man that is doing what is called wisdom a fool.  But WHY?:

Luke 12:21
21 So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Jesus CONDEMNS the actions of this man because the man was not being what he calls 'rich toward God'. All the efforts of this man was summed up by Jesus as wanting.  He had a plan that he acted on, he was not a profligate, he save responsibly ; all things that we accept as wisdom.  God calls FOOLISH!!!  What is more flabbergasting is that in this verse Jesus says that storing up treasures is not the same thing as being rich toward God.   Now what follows in the very next verse is what God calls wisdom:

Luke 12:22-23

22 And He said to His disciples, For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

THIS IS INSANE TO OUR UNDERSTANDING!  Jesus just castigated a SOLID RESPONSIBLE case of financial planning  calling it FOOLISH and he counters with the above verses. Jesus tells us NOT to worry about our lives. So EVERYTHING that this man did by responsibly securing for his future was what Jesus would determine WORRY.  I tremble as I contemplate these words because this is saying that our ideas on how we should order our financial steps are an affront to God.  In fact what Jesus is advocating here is a carefree lifestyle where we do not do the things that are determined as good sense and we adopt this lifestyle that he calls 'rich towards God' and does not involve storing up and saving for the future. What about my children's college tuition?  Shouldn't I store up for this?  Or what about retirement? What about my future?  Jesus does not console us in our insecurities but goes on to talk about ravens and lilies and concludes by saying:

Luke 12:28
28 But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!

God calls a life where NOTHING is secure and NOTHING is paid for in advance and NOTHING is responsibly prepared a life of faith.  So how are we SUPPOSED to acquire all the things we need:

Luke 12:29-31
29 And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

He tells us to NOT be responsible as the world understands in fact he calls that worrying.  He tells us to cast that all aside and seek his kingdom and somehow all the other things will be added to us.  WOW, now isn't that a kick in the head!!!!  That requires FAITH.  Now I see why Jesus asks the question:

When the Son of man comes will he find faith on the earth?

Can you live like this?  Can you live irresponsibly?  I invite you to walk on the side of faith because after all:

Whatever is NOT of faith is sin. Roman 14:23

Jesus continues:

Luke 12:32
32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

The reason he says to you not to be afraid is because the life that he just described would cause you to fear because one would only have faith in a God that he could not see in order to live a life of promise.  But now comes the hard part.  How does one acquire a life that is rich toward God:

Luke 12:33

33 Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.