Rich People Problems

Luke 12:16-21

God called the man in Luke 12 a Fool. What would God say about you? Would he say you are a fool? Fools never change... so what was true about the fool in Luke 12 is still true today. Like ...A Fool is always seeking pleasure yet he never finds happiness...A Fool is always seeking satisfaction, yet he never finds peace...A Fool loves to lie in the lap of luxury yet he never finds true riches...A Fool can build a Million dollar house yet never have a home.

The Fool we find in Luke 12 is an old story about modern man:
....Fools believe Possessions are more important than people. This man might have said, “I’d give anything to have a bigger barn. He gave his life to having more, and in the end died with nothing that really mattered.
....Fools are marked by greed more than generosity. “I will store my crops and my goods.” He was simply stingy. My dad would say, "He was tighter than the bark on a tree."
....Fools think being ready to live is more important than being prepared to die. He never lived like he was dieing and in the end he died like he had been living. He died a lonely man.

The rich man in Luke 12 is remembered as a man who never had enough. He planned for time and not eternity. He thought his earthly goods were his own. He died unprepared to meet God.

When we read passages about “rich” people we automatically assume we are not one of them. After all most of us are broke or so in debt we’ll never get out. But we are rich. According to Shawn Wood in the Wasabi Gospel, “If your income is more than $35,000 per year, you are richer than 95% of the people on the planet.” ...We don’t feel rich because we are so in debt...and because we think rich people are those who are arrogant, stingy, wasteful and extravagant. Well, we are those people – and we are rich.

We have, what Andy Stanley calls, “rich people problems.” Problems like a broken dishwasher...when most of the world doesn’t have a dish. Problems like needing a new liner for the pool...when most of the world doesn’t have a pool. Problems like a central unit that needs repaired...when much of the world doesn’t even know what a central unit is. Problems like running out of bread and milk...when much of the world has never had the privilege of running out of bread and milk. Problems like needing a new pair of shoes... when much of the world has never had a pair of shoes. Problems like a broken remote for the TV...or needing new tires for the car...or having to wait too long at the drive-thru to get your not-so-happy-meal. Problems like deciding if you’re going to give a dime of every dollar you make to the church...when much of the world doesn’t have a dollar. ......We’re rich. Get used to the idea. And the problems we have are rich people problems. MM