Wealth creation is normally targeting long term returns. But what actually is long term investment. Let’s explore this in Luke 12: about a rich man

Let’s turn the bible to  – Luke 12:16-21

The text is a parable:

What is a parable? A parable is a story with an heavenly meaning

A parable is a succinct made up story designed to illustrate a lesson through comparison. Parables have human charactersWhen you hear the story, you can relate it to your own life. A parable conveys a message of truthIn this passage

In these bible verses,

A man from the crowd told Jesus what to do. He got a surprise. He asked Jesus to tell his brother to share his (his brother portion) of inheritance with him

On face value, it looked like this man was a victim of a selfish brother that did not want to share. 

Jesus tells a story: A rich farmer’s harvest was very plentiful. He had succeeded with a harvest that would last not just one season but for several years. He had more than enough. His storage could even handle the capacity of his harvest.

He made plans to build bigger storage to store the harvest. Take it easy for some years enjoying the proceeds of his harvest. The very night he was planning, God called him a fool as his soul would be required of him and whose will be the so-called great harvest to enjoy.

So is he (a person) who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Jesus gave an object lesson using a parable to show us the lack of control humans have over the wealth that they gather on earth and points them to an eternal wealth that is towards God.

The man in the parable was called a fool, because he laid up treasure for himself alone and not towards God.

Now to the man who asked Jesus to ask his brother to share his inheritance. 

The question Jesus asked him shows the crux of the matter was not in the sharing of the inheritance but 

1. Honour. This man did not honour his father’s last will and testament. If the dead father divided his earthly possession in whatever way he felt. It was his prerogative since the property was his.
2. This man  converted his brother’s inheritance not content or grateful with what he had received.
3. He equated the valve of his life or the worth of his life to the amount of possession he had
4. The man was not rich towards God

Jesus’s story draws us to different types of investment and wealth accumulation. He focuses our attention on how we are gathering riches. Wealth gathered only for the purpose of earthy sustenance, priority and posterity is short term when compared with the long term of eternity.Ones soul

Jesus drew our attention to become rich towards God. The next question which  no one asked is how do you become rich towards God? Looking at what this rich man did not do answers the question.

• He did not show gratitude or acknowledge God in his good harvest.
• When he had plenty, he thought only of himself. To indulge and gratify his appetites, without any thought of doing good to others.
• He pursued that which is for the body and for limited time only, more than that for the soul and eternity.

To be rich towards God is to invest in the worth of one’s soul, to place importance on eternity. To look beyond one’s self alone and cater for the needs of the poor in the capacity one has. The man who asked Jesus the question might have thought he had little but he could still be of help to another. And Jesus tells this parable, the rich man here has a lot and he still did not think of others or bless God.

Being rich towards God is not a measure of the quantity of money or resources one has, it is sharing with the poor out of whatever resources that one has.

Jesus’ parable teaches us that we don’t have to wait to become rich before we are generous but rather generosity is a state of mind. It is firstly attributing what one has to God’s provision and sharing with others who don’t have.

How are you investing for eternity?