(Maybe to the average “Joe”, what I just said not only sounds like gibberish but gibberish with a side order of “crazy” mixed in!)
The parable of the rich fool says that a certain rich man received a plentiful yield on his field. (Please note that what made the man a fool wasn’t his wealth, but what he planned and why he planned it.) The point of the parable isn’t the rich man or his barns, or his wealth, it is that he was thinking about himself and how he was setting up his future. His plan was to build bigger barns to hold all his grain in order to retire. I don’t think that God is opposed to retirement, but I am sure He is opposed to thinking that we should supply our own needs and retire.
The passage “God will liberally supply-- fill to the full-- your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19) is not a hope declaration, it’s a faith declaration. Not only that, it’s a declaration of God’s will. God wants to supply our needs. He doesn’t want to share the stage with anyone, not even you. Even though the Word says that God is a jealous God, this way or method of supplying our needs is more in line with helping us live without fear. When we live thinking about building up our bank account, our 401K or something similar, we are talking about doing something with our own strength. And whatever we do on our own is bound to earthly terms and therefore corrupt and doomed to eventually decay and crumble.
This isn’t God’s will for us. He has nothing against money, things or property, but He has a big problem with covetousness and fear. The rich man wanted to place his faith in his goods and not in God. What was in the rich man’s heart was a desire to gather his goods and grain in one place for himself and his own happiness. In other words, he was setting himself up to be the sole supplier of his future and happiness. He was going to put himself in the “god” position of his life. He wouldn’t have to depend on anyone or anything. (i.e. “So is he who lays up treasure for himself.” Luke 12:21)
In Luke 18:22, Jesus (in response to a question on how to obtain eternal life) tells a rich young ruler to sell all that he has, give it to the poor and follow Him. Jesus didn’t want this man to be poor or to suffer without, but He was telling this man a way to protect his investment that sounds foreign and strange to us. Jesus even said “so you will have treasure in Heaven.” The way to wealth, for this young man, was to invest, watch his money grow, reap a harvest or a return and repeat. In response to his question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life”, Jesus was offering the man a business opportunity. By giving to the poor, the rich man would have put his money in the best bank in all of creation.
Matthew 6:19-20 tells us of the type of bank: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”(KJV) Jesus is talking about “laying up” in other words “storing up”, like the rich fool who wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger barns to store up/lay up his goods for the future. Jesus is saying that we should put our money & goods in a heavenly bank account.
I’m not proposing that we not use banks. Jesus talked about using banks in his parables and even the rich fool (before he started talking foolishly) had barns. I’m talking about the storehouses where we keep our treasure.
Think about this. We all have checking accounts, but our treasure isn’t really in the checking account, right? We may have a 401K, but it isn’t our treasure. Our treasure may be a special account, land holdings, or precious metals, or jewels, etc. that we hold on to because it represents our greatest holdings and the core of our monetary wealth. The Word is telling us that this method of thinking is a natural way and not a supernatural one. By selling it and giving it away, the person is depositing money in a heavenly bank account that no one can touch.
The natural man thinks that this method is ludicrous and means that the person who takes the supernatural path has no more wealth. But the supernatural man realizes that Proverbs 19:17 says, “…He who gives to the poor, lends to the Lord. And He will pay back what he has given.” He also knows that “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
The supernatural way gives the user a five-way return:
1. The money cannot be stolen or destroyed.
2.There is a 100-fold increase (Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:28, Luke 18:30)
3.The wealth is available no matter where you are (it’s not bound by international law or boundaries)
4.Where your treasure is where your heart is also
5.Eternal Life (See Note)
When I saw this I realized that every believer (emphasis on “believer”) is being offered the awesome opportunity of depositing their goods in a heavenly account with outstanding returns. Have you ever thought of giving as opportunities and not a thing you have to do? When the offering plate comes by, it is an opportunity. When a person with little or no means of support asks you for money, it is an opportunity. When there is a project in your church, it is an opportunity. When God asks you to bless someone, it is an opportunity to deposit in that account.
That is how giving with a cheerful heart is possible. The giver is giving out of, not only obedience, but of love and the knowledge that they are laying up treasure in their heavenly bank account. We shouldn’t shy away from the thought of laying up treasure, since these are the same terms that Jesus used and offered as He spoke.
Now, there are some that refuse to believe that this is for them or that it means a spiritual value and not a physical one. I have three things that I would point out:
1.Heaven doesn’t need money; this is an offering (in the banking sense) to the believer.
2.The Bible says whatsoever you sow you will reap. We believe that if we sow evil we will receive evil, if we sow death we will receive death, if we sow thievery we will receive thievery. Why do we believe this for the evil side but when it comes to the good things, we refuse to believe that it means what it says? We may feel more comfortable saying that it means a spiritual value, but that doesn’t take away from what the Word really says: WHATSOEVER you SOW you will REAP.
3.As with all things in the Word, this is for the believer. If you don’t believe, then this isn’t for you.
Happy deposits!
Eternal Life Note:
Jesus makes an interesting point in Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:28, and Luke 18:29-30. Jesus says that the person who does these things/ walks this way will receive Eternal Life. I believe this stems from the faith placed in God and not our physical strength or ability. The comparison of faith in God and our own strength is an essay for another day, but a great point to highlight.
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