August 3, 2025
William G. Carter
Someone
in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family
inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a
judge or arbitrator over you?" And he said to them, "Take care! Be on
your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the
abundance of possessions."
Then
he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And
he thought to himself, "What should I do, for I have no place to store my
crops?' Then he said, "I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build
larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say
to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat,
drink, be merry.' But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your
life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will
they be?'
So
it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward
God."
For this stop on the road of discipleship, Jesus tells a bracing little story about a man who didn’t have enough storage space. Can anybody here relate to that?
Last time this text showed up was three years ago. It was a transition time in our household. The kids were all officially gone. After taking a breath and changing all the locks, we surveyed all our storage space. The conclusion was clear: we have too much stuff. When I preached on the parable then, I offered a personal report on all the extras.
We have leftover building supplies that we’ve told ourselves we might need someday. Jazz CD’s that nobody is buying. Half-empty cans of paint from rooms that we’ve repainted. A dresser with a broken leg. Two wedding gifts from nineteen years ago, still in their boxes. And abandoned possessions from four adult children who left behind the things they did not want.
The good news is most of that has been cleared out. Maybe you know about a wonderful Facebook page called “Buy Nothing Clarks Summit.” Just in the past six months, we have given away a portable putting green, an unused crab trap, a dart board, and cell phone holder for the car. There are still a lot of extra canning jars, although I was reminded that we are currently canning pickles. And if you’re interested, there’s about a hundred square feet of used laminate flooring for the taking (see me at coffee hour).
The bad news is that if you have closets in your kids’ former bedrooms, you can fill them with craft supplies, unsold jazz CDs, and all that extra clothing that no longer fits or will ever come back in style.
All of this is my entry point to engage that little parable Jesus tells about the man who had too much stuff. He was wealthy. His wealth increased. He was a farmer and had a fertile season. His barns were too small to hold all that he had, so he decided to pull them down and create more storage space.
Take note of what he does not do. He does not create a community food bank. He does not give away the excess zucchini. (Side note to my favorite zucchini farmer: I locked my car doors. But thanks for thinking of me.)
The man in Jesus’ story is not thinking of anybody else. That is one of the curiosities of this parable. Did you notice that? He thinks by himself, talks to himself, convinces himself. He is isolated, self-contained. That’s all we know about his character, and it’s enough. He talks to himself.
This happens in other parables in the Gospel of Luke.
- The prodigal son
talks to himself and says, “How many of my father’s servants have more
food than me!” (15:17)
- The merchant who
has been fired from his job says to himself, “I’m going to devise a plan
to land in a better position.” (16:3)
- A corrupt judge
says to himself, “I don’t care about that widow, but she’s wearing me
out.” (18:4)
- The pharisee says to himself, “Thank God I’m not like that terrible tax collector over there.” (18:11)
Do you hear a common theme? If you are a character in the Gospel of Luke and you’re talking to yourself, you are in a whole lot of trouble. Just like the man who has so much stuff that he builds another storage unit. He says to himself, “Look how much I have! I can keep living in comfort for an exceptionally long time.” Then God speaks up and calls him a fool.
In that social context, it was clear. Jesus was a peasant in Palestine. He lived and worked among peasants. In his day, there weren’t many people who had a lot of things. No doubt most of them shook their heads when they heard, “Once upon a time there was a man who was so rich, he had to build more barns to store what he had.” To subsistence peasants, that was ridiculous. Who has that much stuff? Doesn’t he know life is short?
Now, I am in no position to pick on anybody, not when I struggle with an abundance of possessions. It is not a blessing to have too much; it is a continuing challenge. Every so often, I watch one of those cable shows about tiny houses. Know about those? 225 square feet, everything you need, live simply. “Look, honey,” I said, “isn’t that great?” She replied, “Not interested, not yet. But I would come and visit.”
And the core issue remains: how much do we need? When is enough enough? This is a matter of deep spiritual significance. Some may think it is a neutral matter, that we are free to grab as much as we want. But it’s not neutral at all.
The Gospel of Luke does not believe it’s neutral. I’m guessing that by the time he wrote down his book, Luke’s congregation had its share of nice things. There’s no other explanation why he includes so many stories about the trappings and temptations of wealth. Jesus taught about money and possessions more than he did about prayer.
So, today we have the rich farmer who talks only to himself. The tragedy of this tale is that the farmer assumes he will have it “forever.” That he will hang onto it to keep him comfortable – him alone, all by himself. There’s no mention of his family, or any neighbors. No regard for all those farm workers who picked his crops and stashed them the brand-new barns. No, it’s all about him. Only him. He is independent, self-contained, isolated, completely alone. No wonder he’s talking only to himself.
The inference is that he is selfish. Or greedy. Or we might call it as the New Testament calls it: idolatry, literally the worship of something that is not worthy of worship. The contrast is sharp. Either we worship what we have, or we worship God. Jesus says we can’t have it both ways. We cannot worship God and wealth (Luke 16:13). It is one or the other.
And there’s this story of a farmer with too much food. As Luke introduces the episode, someone asks Jesus to step into a family squabble about an inheritance. Attorneys and funeral directors will tell you this still happens. Momma dies and the kids can’t wait to get their hands on the investment accounts. Like that multi-millionaire in my first church. He died, just like every other mere mortal. His kids told me to keep the funeral as short as possible. They wanted to hear the reading of the will.
Jesus wisely steps out of that fray. He is neither judge nor arbitrator. Rather he tells the truth: life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions. More stuff does not make us happy. Read what the psychologists are now telling us. Affluence can destroy families. Wealth does not make us rich.
At the root of the trouble is something Jesus calls “pleonexia.” It’s a Greek word often translated as “covetousness” or “greed.” A better translation may be “hunger.” As in, I’m hungry for some new clothes, or a slicker car, or a bigger pile of cash, or seven new Vera Bradley purses. Now, would one purse ever do? I’m only asking because I don’t know.
What I do know is hunger is the opposite of contentment, just as greed is the antithesis of gratitude. In a time of accumulation, it’s so easy to be distracted. The evidence is in the parable. A wealthy farmer has a wonderful year. So wonderful that he forgets where the harvest came from. Sure, he planted the seed, but who provided the sunshine? Who sent the rain? Who established the abundant growing season? Not him.
The tragedy is that this farmer has disconnected the product from the process. He has become a functional atheist, believing it’s only about him. So, he talks to himself, schemes only for himself. Guess what: God is still waiting for him. The message is clear. Take care! Be on guard.
Meanwhile, three years after the last time I looked at this parable, my basement is getting cleaner, but I still have more dress shirts than I will ever wear. What shall I do? Shall I empty the closet so I can fill it up again? Or should I pass them along to somebody else who needs them far more than me? If you tell me what you’re going to do, together we might make a plan.
There’s something playful about lightening the load and giving away what we have. I get great enjoyment from giving something to somebody else. Anybody else feel that way? Abundant life does not consist of filling a barn with stuff I don’t need. Abundant life consists of freedom. Freedom from the burdens of accumulation. Freedom from the hunger to grab more. Freedom to share. Freedom to give. Freedom to offer what I have to build relationships with those around me.
So that’s what I’m working on today. Maybe you will work on some of it too. It’s going to take some continuing work because it’s part of our discipleship, and discipleship never lets up. We empty out the clutter to make more room for God. We unload the stuff we can never take to heaven so we can invest what remains in God’s heaven here on earth.
It’s a big task, and Luke will take it up again next
week. See you then.
(c) William G. Carter. All rights reserved.