Buried Treasure index

BURIED TREASURE: Exploring The Parables Of Jesus

by J. W. Jepson, D.Min.

Copyright © 1997 by J. W. Jepson

All rights reserved, including the right to grant the following permission and to prohibit the misuse thereof:

The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this article, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.

-------

14.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO A STARVING SOUL?

The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years: take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

--Luke 12:16-21

 

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO A STARVING SOUL?

Although Jesus talked about this man nearly two thousand years ago, in a real sense the gentleman is alive right now. As a hard working man who knows what he is doing, he tends to his business and he makes it pay.

Financially and socially he is a big success. He plans to retire early and appears to be having a good time.

Jesus described him as a successful farmer: "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully" (verse 16).

Now there is nothing wrong with that. Evidently the man gained his wealth legitimately. So far as we know he cheated nobody. No pay-offs. No shady deals. Just clean, hard work. His were honest, hard-earned dollars right out of "mother earth" that God had blessed with plenty of sunshine and rain.

Also, he was a thinking man, always planning things out well ahead. In itself that is a very good idea. But he made a very serious mistake. He thought only about his earthly life. His mind was a closed system. It had no room for eternal considerations. Such thinking can be very shrewd, but it is not reasonable. God created us in His image, moral beings with the capacity to think about eternal realities and values. When we fail to do so, we sin against God, suppress the highest qualities of our humanity, and do violence against our own intelligence.

Thoughts reveal our motives, our values, the person we know we really are.

God read the minds of the people in Noah's day and reported: "Thoughts...only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).

And what was this farmer thinking?

"What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? ...This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods" (Verses 17,18).

Now we are getting the picture. Notice how often he says "I" and "my"? "My barns, my fruits, my goods."

Notice also how often he says "I will." He is self-centered and self-willed. Not once did he thank God for sunshine, rain, strength, and favorable farming conditions. Not once did he recognize that his plenty had come ultimately from his Creator. Not once did he acknowledge his responsibility to God, or ask Him how He wanted his life and resources managed. On the contrary, his devotion to himself was total and complete!

We find him and all who are like him described in Psalm 10:4: "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts."

Selfishness ruled his thinking. No wonder the thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 15:26). And so God commands, "let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts..." (Isaiah 55:7).

Next we discover something remarkable about this devotee of material success and hedonistic pleasure. He starts talking to his soul!

At least he knew that he had a soul. This is the secular person's uncomfortable tension. To live as though one does not even have a soul forces a person to deny the core realities of one's own true humanity. It is spiritual suicide, the ultimate self-violation. Not much better off are the people who, like this man, recognize that they have a soul but understand nothing of its importance and its needs.

Listen to what he says: "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years..." (verse 19). Goods: houses, lands, stocks, bonds, food, cars, campers, boats, things.

"Look, soul," he says, "look at all the things I have accumulated for you." But down deep inside his soul is trying to get this message across to him: "Man, don't you know that I cannot live on things?"

"Many years," the man boasted. With the goals of a working lifetime within his reach, he assumed that he had a long retirement ahead, filled with self-indulgence. He forgot that for all mortals tomorrow is only an assumption.

"Take thine ease." Why did he say that to his soul? Was his soul uneasy? It should be, the way it had been neglected, and in view of what lay ahead for it!

"Eat, drink, and be merry." Is that all he had worked for all those years? Is that life's highest meaning and purpose? Is that the most there is to living? This poor rich man thought so. We pity him and all who are like him!

"But God said unto him, Thou fool..." (verse 20). He had failed to consider what God thought of him, and probably did not care. Likely he had a good reputation among men, and that was enough for him.

Let us ask his neighbors. Their answer? "He's a good neighbor. Minds his own business. Doesn't give anybody any trouble. Willing to help out when you need him."

Next, we interview the president of the Chamber Of Commerce. His response? "A real community leader. Civic-minded. Head of the local farm organization. Successful, too. All the young farmers are following his example."

And the man who runs the feed store--what is his opinion? "He's the best customer I have. Honest. Always pays his account in full and on time. Highly thought of in these parts."

All of this sounds great. Now let us go to God and find out the truth about this man.

"He is a fool," God declares.

"What? But look how rich and popular he is?"

"But look at how he is treating his soul."

"This night thy soul shall be required of thee" (verse 20). Tonight! Great plans for tomorrow's indulgences, with one foot in the grave. Only a few heartbeats left, and still the fool trifles! He has made no provision for his soul, and God is calling for it tonight. Madness!

His wrong was not that he was prosperous, but that he had left God out of his life. Prosperity is a blessing if the soul prospers (3 John 2). What is important is to be rich toward God, rich in eternal values.

This man had fed his body well, but down inside was a neglected, starved soul. His epitaph might well read, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36,37).

What do you say to a starving soul? How is that hidden hunger to be satisfied?

Feed it material possessions and passing pleasures, and you feed it sawdust. Feed it Eastern religious mysticism and subjective emotionalism, and you feed it foam.

What do you say to a starving soul? We hear the real answer from the Son of God as He speaks to the soul of modern man: "I am the bread of life: He that cometh to me shall never hunger" (John 6:35). "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst" (John 4:14).

That's it! Only Jesus Christ can satisfy the hunger and the thirst of the human soul. Nothing else can.

Commit everything to Him now. Everything. Open your heart to Him. Trust Him as your Savior. Let Him come in and fill your life with His fullness.

*****

15. What On Earth Are You Doing For Heaven's Sake?

Buried Treasure index

introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Bibliography