This morning I was reading from Luke's Gospel an interesting set of verses, that certainly caused me to think. In them Jesus provides an interesting take on what many would call a good retirement strategy. It is important to note that He is commenting on an individual's request to have Him force his brother to split the inheritance, which was not a normal thing in those days apparently. It would be a younger son, wanting in on the inheritance of the oldest son, a sure sign of greed or desire for worldly things. Anyway, here are the verses - Luke 12:15-21 NIV:
[15] "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.”
[16] And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.
[17] He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' [18] “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. [19] And I'll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” '
[20] “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?'
[21] “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
As usual Jesus starts in one direction and then appears to change the focus of His words, taking us to deeper issues. He starts by setting the foundational thought, that "life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." Notice that He says "IN" an abundance of possessions. This is a key point, for we tend to think that our life is made better by abundance, that there is some enrichment that occurs when we have more. We can tend to set goals that equate an amount of possessions with happiness, or peace or joy, and this just isn't true. Many a rich man has pursued happiness in the form of abundant possessions and many have failed to find that which truly brings happiness. In fact, one of the richest men of his day and one of the first Billionaires, Howard Hughes, is known for his quote, "Money can't buy happiness!"
Jesus, after laying this foundation, continues on and describes what appears to be a very wise retirement strategy, the storing of a rich man's abundance, so that the man could essentially retire and enjoy and easy life. It is hard to argue with this thinking in our natural minded perspective. Many would call this perfectly sound wisdom, and yet it draws God's comment of foolishness. Apparently from God's perspective, anything that does not take Him or our eternal destiny in account is foolishness. If we believe in Him and eternity, than I would say we would be wise to listen to God's perspective!
So how do we do we plan for retirement, or plan our future? I think that is exactly the question Jesus was wanting to bring to the mind of His listeners, for he follows the bit above with the following encouragement - Luke 12:22-34 NIV:
[22] "Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. [23] For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. [24] Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! [25] Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life ? [26] Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
[27] “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. [28] If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you---you of little faith! [29] And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. [30] For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. [31] But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
[32] “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. [33] Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. [34] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
In Matthew's version of this, he adds seek "first" His Kingdom, and I think that is the point Jesus is making here. We tend to think of our self first, and then later when we have enough for ourselves stored up, we think of God's Kingdom. Jesus is promising the Father's provision, and encouraging us to trust ourselves to The Father's gracious character. The Father knows what we need and Jesus says that He will provide exactly that. The Father sees our lives from outside of time and knows exactly what we need when, at our best we cannot even see 1 minute into the future without His help. We are wise to entrust ourselves to the One who sees all things and controls all things. We would be wise to concern ourselves with the furthering of His Kingdom, for that is His encouragement here. After His Resurrection Jesus spent the next 40 days (Acts 1:4) continuing to speak about God's Kingdom, so we know this is of first and foremost importance.
I love Jesus statement that the Father, "Your" Father, has been pleased to give you the Kingdom (vs. 32). I am pretty sure we just plow right on past that statement, but I want to take a moment to dig into it. The Greek word translated give is the word didomi, and the definition is relatively long, but it essentially means exactly that, to give. So the Father is pleased (is happy or joyful in doing this) to give us the kingdom. The Greek word translated kingdom is the word basileia, and it is defined as follows:
1) royal power, kingship, dominion, rule
a) not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom
b) of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah
c) of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah's kingdom
So the Father is pleased to give to us the right and authority to rule in His kingdom. This is something that would only be conferred to a King's sons and daughters, and that is exactly what we are.
Thus, essentially Jesus is encouraging us to seek first, to pay attention to that which we have been gifted, His Kingdom. We are Jesus' co-heirs, and He is calling us to step in and take up our responsibility and authority, for they go together, and having one without the other is unhealthy, at best. He is calling us to minister to the poor, to the needy, to those in need, just as He demonstrated. We will miss this opportunity if we are focused on ourselves, on our future, on our retirement. We are called to entrust our lives, our futures to the Good King, to our good Father who loves to give us gifts. He are encouraged to seek first His Kingdom, to pursue its advancement over our own savings and security.
This is clearly not worldly wisdom, but it is God's encouragement and His perspective. He cares for us and He will see to our needs! As we do so, our inheritance will grow, for it is eternal relationship with Him, enjoying His presence and blessings. As we entrust our futures and cares, our hearts become enamored with the King, for it is Him we serve, Him who shares His gifts and gives us the Kingdom authority and power, it all comes from Him! How can we not love Him! He is our eternal retirement!
Oh Lord, help us to embrace Your perspective and wisdom, and learn to serve Your Kingdom with faithfulness and joy. Amen!
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