Build Bigger Barns... Or Not

This month, we’re exploring the question: Was Jesus a minimalist? Specifically, we’re looking at his teachings on possessions, and today we dive into Luke 12:13-31:

“Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Man, who made me the judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’ And he told them a parable, saying, ‘The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said this, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night, your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

In this scene, a man asks Jesus for help in settling a family dispute over his inheritance. While we aren’t given all the details, it was common for the elder son to receive a larger portion due to the extra responsibilities expected of him. Jesus discerns that the man’s real issue isn’t fairness, but a covetous desire for his brother’s possessions.

Jesus responds by addressing the crowd. He shares a parable of a wealthy man living with an abundance of crops. And this man is faced with a problem. He has so much stuff that he doesn’t have enough storage space. The man devises a plan- to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. It sounds like a plausible solution. In fact, it sounds like a rather American solution.

The self-storage industry is thriving, with over 47,000 facilities in the U.S. alone, totaling more than 1.9 billion square feet of storage space as of 2019. Globally, the industry is worth over $48 billion. We love to keep our stuff.

Note the rich man’s continued internal dialogue. He tells himself to relax, eat, drink, and be merry as if his entire purpose in life is to enjoy the fruits of his labor. But God has a greater vision for our excess. God enlists us to help provide for the poor and the immigrants. In Leviticus 19:9-10, God instructs us:

9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.”

Instead of exploiting our property for our selfish gain and security, God instructs us to be generous with our excess. The parable continues with God’s response to the rich man’s plans: The man’s soul will be required of him that very night, and all his wealth will be left behind—without anyone to inherit it.

Jesus finishes the parable by warning that those who accumulate wealth for themselves and fail to be rich toward God will face a similar fate.

This parable has profound spiritual implications. The rich man was wealthy by the world’s standards but poor by heavenly standards. By making material possessions his treasure, he neglected to treasure God, and by extension, those around him.

This passage challenges us to reflect on the impact of our pursuit of material goods on our spiritual well-being. We must ask ourselves: “Am I treasuring my possessions and security over God? Am I grasping my assets so tightly to the neglect of others around me? Am I living for God in the present moment, pursuing generosity towards him, and embracing the fleeting nature of life here?”

Friends, this is not an easy message. Greed and fear often blind us to the reality that we can fix our eyes and hearts on our stuff. But there is freedom for our souls in living generously towards God.