Luke 16:-20
Luke 12:16-20
And he told them this parable. “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’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And then 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?’
Jesus is obviously critical of this rich man’s priorities. Is he criticizing wealth or the fact that he is planning ahead? Does he want us to simply live for today with no thought for tomorrow? Does he want us to leave everything up to God?
These questions are important to understand the scripture. We may gain some insight into these questions later in the gospel of in Luke. In Luke 14:28-32, Jesus says, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, will he send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace?”
Here it seems Jesus is saying it is foolish not to plan ahead and carefully weigh options. The builder is ridiculed if he starts a project that he cannot finish or has not planned for sufficiently. Similarly the king is not wise if he does not consider the likely outcome of his actions and the consequence of his decisions. It seems here that Jesus is saying we should plan ahead and make provision for our future.
To me it appears the message is that a balance is required. Do not be so caught up in your own plans, that you lose sight of the fact that God may have other plans for you. Prayerfully seek God’s guidance. You should not hoard your resources-time, money, & talents to which you have been granted access, but be mindfully aware of the other needs around you. With that balance it is fine to make reasonable provision for your future plans. It should be expected that you plan ahead. Your plans need to be worthy, but you should not fall in love with your plans, since God may have different plans for you. God’s plans will always supersede yours and you should be open to change.
William Barkley has one of my favorite quotes on this balance. “Work like the entire outcome depends on your efforts alone; pray like the entire outcome depends on God’s grace alone.”
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