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Stupid Ultimate Hero


Luke 12:13-21 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’20 “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?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

     Jesus tells us to watch out and to be on our guard against all kinds of greed. (More about greed here.) Jesus reminds us life does not consist of what you possesses. The rich man, in the story Jesus tells in Luke 12, was a farmer. I must admit that I did not grow up on a farm. However, I do know some farmers and have helped some farmers with their work and it is hard work. So the farmer in Jesus' story would have also been a hard worker. There are many that know first hard how hard farming can be. Farmers are up early often before the sun. Farmers go to bed late. Farmers are not known as lazy but known for the long hours and hard work. So the guy in the story of Luke 12 is a farmer and thus we know that he is a hard worker.
     For many this hard working farmer in Luke 12 is the ultimate hero. He was a hard worker and not timid about getting his hands dirty or putting in long hours. He worked hard and his hard work paid off by producing a bumper crop. Because his hard work produced a bumper crop he had to tear down his old barns and buld new barn. The farmer had to go out and hire more help. For many this farmer is the ultimate hero.
     This hard working farmer could have been president of the local rotary club. Perhaps he would have been asked to run for Mayor or city counsel. He would be hailed as a civic and buisness leader. He would be an example for parents to point out to their children. He would be an inspritational success story of how hard work pays off.
    God looks at this situation and calls the farmer an idiot or a person who acts without reflection. Jesus says for those that store up stuff for themselves and are not rich toward God this is what can happen to you. You will gain all kinds of stuff yet none of that stuff will gain you one more second of life. Jesus leaves us all with a choice to make. Who is our master? Is it God or is it money?

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