And [Jesus] 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 12:16-21
“If we try to hoard money or spend it on ourselves, that should set off alarm bells that our relationship with God is out of balance or worse, nonexistent. The rich fool with his bulging barns and bumper crop wondered where he could store all his good things to preserve them all for himself. It apparently never crossed his mind that he had plenty of storage in the mouths of the needy. Those who are decisive and resourceful in trying to find ways to use God’s bounty to help others, as the rich fool was decisive and resourceful in finding ways to feather his own luxuriant nest, are those who are righteous in God’s eyes and who live out God’s righteousness.”
David E. Garland in 2 Corinthians: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (Volume 29) (The New American Commentary) 412.
Today in Manila is one of my favorite days of the year. It’s not a holiday. It’s the day of the annual GTP Global Gathering where the board, staff, and regional facilitators convene.
These are people whose faith and stewardship is the opposite of nonexistent. The deploy themselves and the resources in their stewardship with radical obedience and generosity.
Ponder the word picture that the resources in your stewardship could be stored in the mouths of the needy. This marks a decisive and resourceful use of them.
Ask yourself this question. Am I decisive and resourceful to deploy myself and resources toward others? Or do I foolishly aim to deploy resources to make my life more luxurious?