Bigger Barns

I visited a man one time that had a lot.  He had done well in business.  He had prided himself on his work.  He had a collection of nice things.  What he thought was nice was different than some.   He did not show me boats and houses and rec equipment.  He showed work equipment, vast collections of the finest things in his craft.  He was an old man who had worked a long time, loved what he did, and had done well.  That is what we talked about.  I took the tour.  He talked about the weak work ethic of today and how craftsmanship is no longer appreciated.  He told me that he had done well, worked 16 hour days, had not blown his money, and had a lot...again and again and again.  It was impressive but weighing over me more was another impression.  So I ask, "You have been blessed with so much.  God has been good to you.  He has given you health, strength, and a keen mind for the task and you have made the most of it in your field.  However the big question to me is, 'Have you ever given your heart to Jesus?  Have you ever committed your life to the Lord?'"  His difficulty in hearing required me to repeat and rephrase the questioning.  I was hoping I was making a connection with a mind that had been amazing but was fading away in his latter years . He looked at me and said, "I did not have time for that.  I was too busy working.  Sunday was just another day that I could work."  I probed again but with no more success.  Suddenly all the things I had admired, the things that were so amazing, and so well made, lost their luster in my mind.  I could not help but think that all of these things had not only become his focus but had taken away his life more than actually making his life.  It all seemed haunted in one way and no more that kindling for a fire in another way.  I left disheartened and burdened. 
He crossed my mind today as I read Luke 12:16-21 (www.lifejournal.cc):  ¹⁶And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' ¹⁸And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' ²⁰But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' ²¹So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
The bigger the barn the hotter it burns.  Invest today in something that will last.