For those following the three-year lectionary, this past Sunday’s Holy Gospel featured our Lord’s Parable of the Rich Fool, who boasted and took his ease in his many crops, his big barns, and his savvy plans for what he thought would be “many years” to come (St. Luke 12:16-21). Of course, his life came to a sudden and unexpected end, and he took none of those things with him. So it is, our Lord warns, for those who lay up treasures on earth and are not rich toward God.
To be sure, this is not an isolated warning, as our Lord and His Apostles offer the same wisdom in various other passages, as well. For example, on Ash Wednesday each year we hear Him say: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (St. Matthew 6:19-21). He likewise admonishes in His Bread of Life Sermon: “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the Food that endures to eternal Life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (St. John 6:27). And St. Paul addresses these concerns more than once in his First Epistle to St. Timothy, contrasting the great blessing of “godliness with contentment” vis-à-vis the sinful haughtiness and misplaced hopes of those who rely on the riches of this world (1 Tim. 6:6-10, 17-19). Earthly wealth perishes and cannot preserve us, but “godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the Life to come” (1 Tim. 4:8).
The point is not to despise the good gifts of God in this present age, for all things are from His gracious and generous hand, “and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the Word of God and prayer” (1 Tim. 4:4). And those who are wealthy in this body and life are catechized “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Tim. 6:18-19). We trust not in riches, but in the Lord; and as He loves us, so do we love the neighbor He lays at our gates (St. Luke 16:19-21).
In speaking of wealth and riches, I suppose it may be easy for many of us to suppose that these warnings and admonishments are intended more for others than for us. From what I gather, most people – and probably most Lutherans – do not regard themselves as “rich” or “wealthy,” though such categories are admittedly relative and a matter of perspective. Be that as it may, everything we have is from the Lord, who daily and richly provides all that we need for this body and life; and whatever He bestows beyond those basic needs of “daily bread,” He intends us to receive and use in faith and love, to the glory of His holy Name, and for the benefit of our neighbors.
It is also the case, as I know too well from myself, that “wealth and riches” come in many forms, all of which are subject to the same encouragements and cautions as are silver and gold. That is to say, whereas we may not be rolling in stockpiles of money or in great barns of grain, neither should we strive for, “store up for ourselves,” or put our trust in any other sort of worldly wealth, whether it be family and friends, academic, artistic, or athletic achievements, personal piety, or positions of leadership and service. Name your own poison, as you examine your own heart and mind before God. All such things are His good gifts; they are not to be despised or demonized, but received with gratitude and put to use in faith and love according to His Word. But as He alone is the Author and Giver of Life, the generous Provider of all that we have by divine grace, we dare not trust in princes or possessions, nor idolize or worship any of these earthly treasures.
As we are convicted by such Words of wisdom and warning from our Lord, above all let us prize the wealth and treasure of His Gospel, whereby He daily and richly forgives our sins, strengthens our faith, and sustains us by His Spirit in the righteousness and life of His Resurrection. That is the true coin of His realm, the true Bread from Heaven, which endures unto the Life everlasting.