Rich Toward God: Choosing Treasure Over Stuff

Devotional

Day 1: Six "I"s and Five "My"s: The Language of a Shrinking Soul

The rich man’s internal monologue reveals a soul collapsing inward. His six uses of “I” and five claims of “my” expose a life orbiting self rather than God or others. This isn’t mere selfishness—it’s spiritual myopia, mistaking temporary stewardship for ultimate ownership. Jesus confronts this shrinking vision, warning that souls fed by possessions starve eternally. The parable invites us to audit our self-talk: do our private thoughts orbit God’s kingdom or personal kingdoms? True life expands outward. [50:12]

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, ‘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, be merry.’” (Luke 12:16-19, ESV)

Reflection: What recurring “I” or “my” phrases dominate your inner dialogue this week? How might redirecting one of those thoughts to “God’s” or “ours” shift your perspective?

Day 2: Bigger Barns, Emptier Hearts: When Security Crumbles

Demolishing old barns to build larger ones becomes a metaphor for misplaced trust. The man’s blueprint for security—expanding storage, not expanding generosity—proves fatal. Jesus contrasts earthly engineering with eternal architecture: what we hoard for ourselves rusts, while what we invest in God’s kingdom endures. The crunch of collapsing barns echoes in every soul that exchanges divine purpose for padded comfort. True safety isn’t found in stockpiles but in surrendered hands. [51:35]

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. (Luke 12:20-21, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been “renovating barns” lately—expanding temporal security while neglecting eternal investments? What one step toward “richness toward God” could you take today?

Day 3: Billionaires and Hospice Patients: Unexpected Teachers of Eternity

Two groups grasp life’s brevity best: those who’ve climbed materialism’s peak and found emptiness, and those facing life’s end. Their shared lesson? Stuff cannot answer soul-deep questions. The billionaire’s disillusionment and the hospice patient’s clarity form bookends around Jesus’ warning—earthly treasures promise comfort but deliver crisis. Eternal perspective comes not from accumulating more, but awakening to the “manufacturer’s specifications” of a soul made for God. [56:00]

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10, ESV)

Reflection: If today held your last sunset, what would you stop clutching? What eternal conversation might you finally prioritize?

Day 4: Garage Sales and Eternal Investments: The Art of Holding Loosely

Every possession eventually faces two futures: a garage sale or God’s service. The rich man’s goods outlived him, becoming someone else’s clutter. Jesus redirects our grip—not toward tighter ownership, but open-handed stewardship. To “hold loosely” isn’t indifference; it’s strategic freedom, investing resources where moth and rust cannot destroy. Our stuff becomes sacred when funneled through eternal priorities rather than personal agendas. [57:20]

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. (1 Timothy 6:17-18, ESV)

Reflection: What item in your home could transition from “clutter” to “kingdom tool”? How might releasing it bless others?

Day 5: Bank Statements and Bedside Prayers: Auditing Life’s True Accounts

Jesus’ three questions pierce pretense: What do you treasure? Who do you trust? How are you stewarding? Our bank statements reveal actual priorities, not aspirational ones. Bedside prayers in life’s final hours rarely beg for more stuff—they crave meaning, connection, forgiveness. The parable’s closing warning isn’t about wealth’s evil, but worship’s direction. True riches flow upward in trust, outward in generosity, and inward in surrendered joy. [01:03:30]

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21, ESV)

Reflection: If your calendar and bank statement became sermon texts, what would they preach? How might aligning them with eternity reshape next week’s choices?

Sermon Summary

Luke 12 sets Jesus in front of a man who wants him to be an attorney for an inheritance fight. Jesus refuses to shrink life down to one rotten brother, one family dispute, and one pile of stuff. His answer goes straight past the legal question and into the heart: “take care and be on your guard against all covetousness,” because life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.

Covetousness is not the same thing as normal care. Care feeds a family, pays bills, keeps a roof overhead, and handles the earthly things that have to be handled. Covetousness starts believing that the earthly thing is the whole thing. The fool has said in his heart there is no God, and when God gets pushed out of the picture, stuff becomes the only visible place to look for meaning, security, and satisfaction.

The rich man’s land produces plentifully, but his soul shrinks while his barns grow. His conversation is full of “I” and “my.” Not God, not family, not neighbors, not church, not anyone else. His concern is himself and his stuff. Bigger barns become his plan because the crop has become his confidence.

God calls that man a fool, not because he had possessions, but because the possessions had him. Stuff can bring satisfaction, and pretending otherwise is not honest. Stuff can entertain a person to death. Its satisfaction can last for a while, but it cannot give spiritual life, because the soul was made by God and for God through Jesus Christ.

The rich fool also trusts time he does not have. His plan says, “many years,” but God says, “this night.” Billionaires and people on hospice understand the same truth from opposite ends: getting everything does not fill the soul, and having little time left makes barns and retirement accounts look small. Every soul is on borrowed breath, and none of it is guaranteed tomorrow.

Being rich toward God starts with recognizing that everything belongs to God. Skills, talents, homes, money, family, and opportunities are gifts before they are achievements. Being rich toward God also uses resources for God’s work, not just money, but time, encouragement, relationships, and presence. Faith then moves security out of self and stuff and into the Savior, asking honest questions: what is treasured, who is trusted, and what is being done with what God has given?

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Key Takeaways

1. Stuff must not have the soul The parable does not make possessions the enemy. The danger begins when possessions become the place where the heart looks for life, identity, and safety. A full barn can hide an empty soul, and a full schedule of earthly care can still neglect the eternal account before God. [61:34]
2. Covetousness creates false security God places coveting in the Ten Commandments because desire can become a hidden master. The heart may never steal, murder, or openly rebel, yet it can quietly build its life around what belongs to another or what it thinks it lacks. Covetousness promises rest, but it trains the soul to trust the wrong kingdom. [53:56]
3. Time is not guaranteed The rich man speaks as if “many years” belong to him, but God answers with “this night.” The soul does not control the number of breaths left, and that reality is not fear mongering, it is real talk. Earthly planning is wise, but earthly confidence becomes foolish when it forgets death, judgment, and God. [56:57]
4. Rich toward God means stewardship Being rich toward God begins by admitting that every good thing is received before it is managed. Money, ability, relationships, home, and influence all become stewardship instead of ownership. Faith asks not only what has been gained, but how what has been given can bless God’s work and other people.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[46:57] - The Kingdom Is More Than Stuff
[47:23] - An Inheritance Dispute Comes to Jesus
[48:30] - Guard Against Covetousness
[49:39] - The Rich Man and His Bigger Barns
[50:12] - The Problem of “I” and “My”
[52:04] - Care Versus Covetousness
[53:24] - Why God Forbids Coveting
[54:26] - Mistaken Confidence in Stuff
[56:00] - Billionaires, Hospice, and Reality
[59:18] - The Soul Required by God
[60:36] - What It Means to Be Rich Toward God
[63:11] - Three Questions for the Heart

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 12:13-21
“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 a 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, "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, 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.'” [47:23]

Psalm 14:1
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.” [49:10]

Exodus 20:17
“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” [53:56]

Proverbs 1:7
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” [49:21]

Observation questions

In Luke 12, what does the man in the crowd want Jesus to do, and how does Jesus redirect the conversation away from the inheritance dispute? [48:30]
In the parable, what words keep showing up in the rich man’s self-talk, and what does that reveal about where his attention is fixed? [50:12]
What plan does the rich man make for his plentiful crop, and what sudden answer does God give to that plan? [51:35]
According to Exodus 20:17, what kinds of things are named in the command not to covet, and how broad is that command? [53:44]

Interpretation questions

Jesus says, “life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” What does that statement challenge about the way people usually measure a successful or secure life? [48:36]
The rich man is not condemned for farming well, but for laying up treasure for himself and not being rich toward God. What is the difference between wise care and covetousness? [52:18]
God calls the man a fool on the very night he expects “many years.” What does that reveal about the danger of building confidence on time, health, and future plans? [56:57]
Being rich toward God begins with recognizing that everything belongs to God. How does that change the way money, skills, relationships, and opportunities are viewed? [01:00:55]

Application questions

Earthly care is normal and necessary, but covetousness turns stuff into the whole meaning of life. Where does that temptation show up most easily right now: money, housing, career, retirement, comfort, or something else? [50:57]
A full barn can hide an empty soul. What practical signs help reveal when possessions are being enjoyed rightly versus when possessions are quietly starting to rule the heart? [01:01:48]
“This night your soul is required of you” is a reminder that time is not guaranteed. If this truth were taken seriously this week, what might need to change in priorities, conversations, or habits? [59:18]
The soul was made by God and for God through Jesus Christ. When stuff disappoints or stops delivering the joy it promised, where does the heart usually run next, and how can it be turned back toward Christ? [56:00]
Everything a person has is received before it is managed. What has God placed in hand right now that needs to be seen more clearly as stewardship rather than ownership? [01:01:03]
Resources for God’s work include more than money; they also include encouragement, time, presence, and relationships. What is one specific way those resources could be used to bless someone else in the next few days? [01:02:38]
Three honest questions press on the heart: What is treasured? Who is trusted? What is being done with what God has given? Which of those three questions feels most searching right now, and why? [01:03:12]

Sermon Clips

47s

#SoulOverStuff

“``A mistaken confidence in ourself and in our stuff. And when life is only about stuff, lastly, you will have a miserable conclusion. This man had to give an answer for his soul, and god called him a fool. He was so concerned with stuff and the everyday practice of life that he neglected his own soul. He neglected the reality that he has to give an account for his life to God, his creator. Every one of us, there's coming a day where you will have to stand before God and give an account for your life. You're gonna give an account for your sin.”

50s

#FaceMortality

“The second group of people that understand this are people that are on hospice care. So the billionaires get it, and the people who have limited time, they understand it too. Because if you're told you got two months to live, you're not worried about the crop in your barn. You're not worried about your four zero one k. You're thinking about the things that are spiritual or immediate, and the people on hospice care understand it. Now let me just be super lovingly kind. We're all on hospice care, and we all don't know how many more breasts we have. And if this past week and our church family doesn't tell us anything other than that, then we haven't learned a lesson. We're not guaranteed another day.”

35s

#RememberTheGiver

“to his people, the nation of Israel, he said, hey. When you build your homes, when you have your gardens, when you have your families, don't forget me. Don't forget the god who provided all these things for you. What this man in the parable failed to do was to recognize and to acknowledge that all the things that he had were from God. Do you notice that Jesus never says it's it's wrong to have stuff? It's not wrong to have stuff, but it's wrong to let stuff have you.”

37s

#TrueJoyInJesus

“And, I know you're sitting there thinking, well, I'll try a billion dollars for a couple months. I'll let me get back to you, pastor, on that thing. And, I know it does bring some satisfaction, but ultimately, it doesn't bring spiritual life. And that is the thing that your creator God has made you for, for a relationship with him through Jesus Christ. It's manufacturer spec specifications. You will never know true joy and happiness until you know the one who created you. And the way that you know him is through Jesus.”

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