June 10, 2016

“And he 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

My dollar spot excursion brings me next to a tote bag. But this is not the usual tote bag – it is a tote bag with a big picture of Yoda on the side. Now, Yoda is a character from the “Star Wars” movie. Yoda was a Jedi Knight Master who taught Luke how to use the power of “The Force” – which is some hidden power within the universe that only Jedi Knights can tap into.
Yoda is of an indiscriminate species, and possibly someone out there in the Star Wars “Blog-O-Sphere” would be able to tell me exactly what species Yoda is. However, only the people who would know this would also want a Yoda tote bag – at least that is my opinion. Or, if you are looking for such a Tote Bag, it might also mean you have too much stuff — if this is what you need to add to your collections.

Jesus tells the parable of the rich man in response to a question about helping someone divide inheritance within a family. Jesus goes on to say: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

I was listening to the radio this morning and they were talking about the salary for an NBA basketball player. His salary is, as it stands right now before he is eligible for “Free Agency” (which only means more money) his salary is $19 million a year. Take a second to gather your breath after hearing that sum of money. If I spent 100 dollars a day every day, it would take me more than 500 years to spend that money. Now, consider the fact that in many parts of the world, people live on $2 a day or less. That is what their salaries allow them so spend — $2 a day. Do you think there is a problem with wealth distribution in this world?

No, I am not advocating for “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” equal distribution for everyone like Karl Marx – but if Christians are not leading the charge to help the poor and the oppressed to receive more that will allow them to live better lives, then who will?

Pastor Dave