Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Matt. 6:19, 20.

Christ here gives us a choice: treasure on earth or treasure in heaven. The rich fool in the parable illustrates the point (see Luke 12:15-21). "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully." He had a problem. He did not know what to do with all he now had. What should he have done?

He should have thanked God for His goodness to him. He should have acknowledged that it was God's sun, God's rain, God's soil, that brought forth the good harvest. He forgot all about that. You know how it is. We make a lot of money. We give ourselves the credit. It is owing to our own shrewdness. We made a successful business deal. We congratulate ourselves and leave God out of it.

Or we have made friends with the right people. Success, we believe, was the result of our own attractiveness, smartness, and sophistication. We also left God out of these relationships.

Had the rich man given thanks to God, proceeded to feed the cold, the hungry, and the destitute, sharing with them the good things that God had given him, he would have been laying up treasure in heaven.

He resolved to hold on to all his goods, build new storehouses to keep them all to himself. Not the things that belong to us are important, but the quality of the people to whom we belong and who belong to us.

The rich fool has numerous followers. What is the difference between the rich fool who pulled down his barns and built larger ones and the man who, when he prospers, must build more costly houses, adopt a more expensive mode of living, and make this an excuse for not investing in the cause of God? What is the difference between the rich fool who allowed his mind to be so occupied with temporal riches that he had to leave to others, and those who amass that which they will never require in this life, yet have no intention of using in the service of God? The sin lies in the selfishness.

The only way to enjoy our worldly goods is to share them, to become rich toward God and bring happiness to others.