Daily Devotional November 9 - When All Is Said And Done Will You Be Found Thinking About God?

"And He spake a parable unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, this will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow my fruits and goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Luke 12:16-21

There is noting wrong with getting rich. But success is found in the honest pursuit of wealth, not in the accumulation of things. The mistake that this man made was not that he was rich. God provided rich soil and the man worked the soil and it produced well. The mistake that this man made wasn't that he had become so rich that he needed new, bigger and better barns. Again God wants men and women to be diligent and produce goods and services to service the people.

So what was it that the man did that made him a fool?

He had not reconciled with God along the way. He was rich with goods, but poor with the things of God. Had he made a place for God in his life, this parable would have been written about another man. God did not take his soul because he worked hard and was rich and about to get richer. God didn't plan his death so he couldn't enjoy his harvest. God didn't take his life at all. But God did know when his earthly life would end and this man was not ready to pass over.

That's the point. You are working hard and making a life for yourself and your family. Maybe you have been successful and maybe things are going really well for you. Don't wait until you think you have it all together to get right with God. Do it now. Do it today. You can't be sure about tomorrow, but you can be sure about right now. Bow your knee and let God know that you do want the things of God to be pertinent in your life.

Become a steward of everything instead of an owner of a few things. Were the man in the story a steward, it would mean that he had already reconciled himself to God and he was now using his mind and his hands to produce goods for the betterment of mankind, sharing his wealth and sharing his smart business acumen. He would have had no less wealth, but an even greater wealth in having the satisfaction that he was doing business God's way. It does matter. Time is fleeting and as each day passes, your collective opportunity to follow God's leading and change the way you think is diminishing. On your last day, let it be, that you were thinking like God.