THE GROUND OF A CERTAIN RICH MAN BROUGHT FORTH PLENTIFULLY

There is hardly a more appropriate message for today’s material­istic world than ‘a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth’. It has pertinence for saint and sinner alike.

Covetousness is treated in the Bible as a most reprehensible sin. The Spirit of God goes so far as to tell us that it is idolatry, Col. 3. 5. The incessant advertising bombardment which we are subjected to in all walks of life aims to promote in us the desire for more and more of this world’s goods. The word of God’s for­mula that measures prosperity is very simple, ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain’, 1 Tim. 6. 6.

The man in the parable was already rich before his bumper harvest. Being rich was not his sin. God expected, however, that prosperity be managed for the good of His people as a whole. There was a variety of laws given which provided for the needy, cf. Exod. 23. 11; Deut. 15. 7, 8. The farmer’s increase, far from cul­tivating charitable thoughts, developed in him a sense of security and a lust for self-gratification.

The prospect of ‘much goods laid up for many years’ negated faith in the man. He was not dependent upon God, so he thought, for His favour in the next harvest. There is the danger in planning for ‘a rainy day’ that we render practical, day-by-day faith redundant.

With prosperity his thoughts turned from work to the pur­suit of self-satisfaction. Increasingly, our society is characterized by this mindset. How accurate the word of God is in predicting that in the last days men will be ‘lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God’, 2 Tim. 3. 4 JND.

Solomon lived to enjoy his acquired wealth longer than the man in the parable. However, towards the end of his days, he recorded these words, ‘I hated all my labour … because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me’, Eccles. 2. 18. May we guard against living fruitless lives, wasted in the vain pursuit of gratifying our insatiable lusts with this world’s treasure.