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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.”

Luke 12:16-21

This rich man got more and then focused more on himself.  The challenge he had is the same I think we all have, only investing in ourselves.  It’s easy to go through each week just thinking of how to build your own life, without thinking about helping others build their lives.  Ultimately, this rich man valued himself, his own comfort and wealth without regard for what God valued.  Does what you value match up with what God values?

Where we give our time, effort and money reveals where our heart is and what we value (Matthew 6:19-21).  We all spend money and give our time somewhere, but do we invest in anything that lasts beyond our own lifetime?

One of the best examples of investing I know is what my parents have done for me throughout my life.  My dad did not go to college and wanted us to have the best education possible, experience what he didn’t and have more opportunities to choose what we wanted to do with our lives.  My parents sacrificed time, money, their own comfort so I could go to whatever college I wanted to, even if it meant taking a 2nd mortgage out on the house.

Their sacrifice moved me after I graduated college when I realized what they had done for me and it still moves me today, almost a decade later.  They thought of the future, cared about building my life, and believed that their investment in me would make a lasting impact.

What my parents understood was that it’s not about how much money you have or spend, but it’s what and who you invest it in that counts (Luke 21:1-3).  We are supposed to have the same heart to invest in building something God values, something that makes lasting impact beyond our lifetime.

  1. Where do you invest your time, effort and money? Who benefits from it?
  2. What does that reveal about your heart?
  3. What could you do to invest and build something for God that lasts?

Written by

Nick Straw

Nick Straw is a Santa Clara University alum, and is passionate about ministry and community service work in the San Francisco Bay Area.