Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.” ... Just then God showed up and said, “Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?” That’s what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God (Luke 12: 15, 20, 21 MSG).

What did you say when you were little and a grown-up asked what you’d like to be when you grew up? A fireman, teacher, or doctor are always common answers. Two of my children used to say they’d like to be a rodeo clown and a dinosaur hunter, but as teenagers they most often say one thing: they want to be *rich.*

I thought the same thing when I was their age. The idea of living in a mansion or driving a shiny new car or having lots of money and stuff seemed like the ideal goals. It definitely seemed to my teenage self like the most secure way to plan for the future!

What does it mean, exactly, to be “rich?” Is it merely to have in one’s possession large amounts of money and stuff, or to have a big house and drive a fancy car?

I didn’t grow up with a lot, but my family always had what we needed. Mom always credits trusting God to provide and to make the dollars stretch, especially those last few years we were all still living at home. God stretched those dollars by way of help from “farmers” who filled their barns with God instead of Self.

The community I grew up in -- ironically made up of actual farmers! - -- wasn’t what you’d consider affluent, but there were *rich* among us. People who weren’t swimming in cash but were generous with what they had. People who made sure we had rides to and from church when our mom had to work, who made sure our youth camp fees were covered every summer, and who chose us for yard work and babysitting jobs to allow us to earn a little spending money. Folks for whom it would have been more secure to put that money, time, and energy into their own barns but chose to share it with us instead.

Those kinds of people are the truly *rich* among us! 

Instead of being open-handed with his surplus, the farmer in the parable decided he needed bigger, newer barns to hold everything he had. It turned out his barnful of stuff couldn’t save him, nor could he take it with him.

Thank you, God, for every way that you’ve blessed us, and for the reminder that “life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot” (v12). Help us to see ways we can let go of the lie that accumulating stuff brings security and bless those around us today. Amen.