And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 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 will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain 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?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)

The text from yesterday’s devotion on leaving fallen wheat for gleaners from Deuteronomy, and others like it, is exactly the backdrop that Jesus had in mind when he spoke this parable.

In it, a common problem occurs: a rich man is blessed with an abundant harvest, far in excess of what he needs. The same happened to many of us through this COVID season as our bank accounts and portfolios went surprisingly and significantly up. So, the rich man asks the obvious question: “What shall I do?”

And he decides to do what many of us have done: he does some home renovations. “I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones,” he says, “and then I’ll say to myself, ‘Self, you have plenty of grain laid up for many years, Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’” Again, we do the same. We think to ourselves, if I can’t store my surplus cash in a cruise or foreign vacation right now, I guess I’ll have to store it in my home renovation instead so that I have a fine place built for many years to come. The point in any case, is to arrive, and take life easy.

The sharp words from Jesus indicate his thoughts on the matter, though: “Fool! This very night your life is demanded from you,” he says, “Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

Ouch. So is Jesus against wealth, vacations, and home renos? Not per se. In this parable Jesus emphasises the words “I,” my,” and “self.” The rich man is all alone and quite content that way: he never discusses with nor thinks of anyone else: not God, and not his neighbours either. It’s a conversation with just me, myself, and I. His wealth has isolated him from community.

But according to the law—wealth is communal. Firstly, land is not owned. It is an inheritance given by God in trust—but the land can be lost due to mismanagement—the land can “spit you out.” So wealth is merely a trusteeship, and therefore has firstly to do with the God who has granted the trust.

Secondly, land is held in trust for the sake of the community, not just for the person whose name happens to be on the deed. If you’ve been given a trust, you had better make sure that payments continue to flow to the proper recipients. In this case: those without homes, land, or money. The Biblical conviction is that the bellies of the poor is best place to store your surplus grain.

This is about more than generosity and giving. It is a question of lifestyle. Will you curtail your lifestyle for the sake of your neighbour in a tent? Would you forgo a trip or a bigger house, skip a night out or refrain from toys and entertainment for them? If not: then in what sense do you love your neighbour as you love yourself?

The wisdom of the world says that we should act like the rich barn builder. Jesus says that’s foolish, and offers a wisdom in response that looks foolish to the rest of the world. The Christian goal is not about building assets to a nice retirement full of travel and leisure or even keeping up with the Jones’. No, you must keep a lifestyle that is humble enough to be able to truly love God first, and your neighbour as yourself. Never does Jesus draw a line to say what that lifestyle is, but if your wealth is a barrier to either of those things, then it may be time to distribute the trust.