Be Rich

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with  me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful  harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.” (Luke 12:13-21)

“Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die” is a familiar saying, and Luke used it. This saying is based on verses from the biblical books of Ecclesiastes and Isaiah. Paul used this quote from Isaiah 22:13 in 1 Corinthians 15:32 where he wrote: “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.”  Isaiah also left out the “merry.”

Tomorrow we will die?  None of us would be merry if we knew we would perish tomorrow.  We would freak out if suddenly God said to us: “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” 

Perhaps it’s somewhat comforting to know God’s warning, described by Luke, is aimed at the rich and greedy who only think of themselves and what they possess; that is, they are ruled by the need to possess and not to love and share.  Greedily storing up treasure makes them poor, not rich in spirit, so says Jesus.  

Jesus is believed to have said: “Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”  We must ask ourselves “What matters to God that makes us rich?”  There are many answers all related to love.  Some are compassion, kindness, generosity, tolerance, integrity, honor, and truthfulness.

Tomorrow we will live, not die.  Each and every day let us eat, drink, and be merry and act like we are truly alive and rich in the eyes of God.

Deacon David Pierce