Dealing with a Surplus
Dealing with a Surplus
The Parable of the Rich Fool is a biblical story about a man fortunate enough to have abundant wealth from his harvest. However, instead of sharing some of God’s gifts with others, he hoarded them for another day. Jesus admonished this ignorant naiveté as greed.
The Parable of the Rich Fool
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 12: 13–21, NIV)
The Dalai Lama also expresses his confusion with man because man strives to earn more money while sacrificing his health, never really enjoying life.
“The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered “Man! Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived”.
― Dalai Lama
How do we know when we have enough? We strongly desire to accumulate too much because we do not know what the future will bring or have experienced being without in our lifetime. Matthew, an apostle of Jesus, conveys more advice from Jesus in Matthew 6: 25–34.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Mathew 6: 25–34, NIV)
The Bible also tells us to provide for our family in Proverbs 13:22 and 1 Timothy 5:8.
A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children,
but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous (Proverbs 13:22, NIV).
Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8, NIV).
How do we reconcile providing for our basic needs and desires, providing for our family, and having a surplus? Let’s look at a Biblical perspective of money and change the questions. First, who owns everything? If God owns everything, then we are just stewards of His property. Our concerns now involve managing God’s resources in a manner pleasing to Him. Second, how much is enough? Can we find a place in God’s provisions where we are entirely content with no desire for more? Naturally, we must first recognize our psychological desires for materialism, social status, and envy to do this. The secular world widely adopts these powerful feelings. However, Jesus said:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Mathew 6:33, NIV).
Having an eternal perspective, a Biblical worldview, allows us to be content with what we have. Third, are you a generous giver? Being a generous giver breaks the bonds of money and enables other opportunities to flow to us. Fourth, is the next steward chosen and prepared? We must pass on this wisdom to our successors once we learn and practice God’s money plan. These four lessons are essential to communicate with our loved ones.
1. God owns it all; therefore, I steward God’s resources.
2. An eternal perspective allows me to be content with what I have.
3. Giving generously will enable us to break the power of money.
4. We must pass on God’s money plan to our family.
These fundamental transferable concepts need to be passed from one generation to another. It is our responsibility to first discover and accept these transferable concepts as the genuine desires of God. Then we can teach them to our heirs.
As Christians, our foundational stewardship is derived from acknowledging that “God owns it all.” If God owns all things, including our money, we are subordinated to a stewardship-responsible position. Additionally, we must recognize that God has unrestricted rights to His possessions. God allows us to manage His assets, provided we serve His best interest, as the Bible directs. Stewardship affects all areas of our lives, not just money. God also expects us to be good stewards in dealing with other people, property, and resources. Good stewards use their time, talents, money, and relationships to benefit others (Blue & Henegar, 2016).
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all (1 Chronicles 29:11–12, NIV).
Having a surplus of wealth is a gift from God. How you use this gift depends on your eternal perspective. Understanding that we are just God’s stewards and responsible for using His assets wisely is the beginning of wisdom. Remember, we will be held accountable to God one day for how we steward His gifts.
Your faithful steward
References
Blue, R., & Henegar, J. M. (2016). Biblical Financial Planning: A biblical worldview of personal finance. Pearson Education.
Holy Bible, NIV. (2013). Zondervan.