Let’s Be Rich Toward GOD
( 让我们在神面前富足 )
Scripture: Luke 12:13–21
Jesus and the apostles considered money hazardous and helpful. And they taught us how to minimize the hazard, and maximize the helpfulness. And that’s what I hope to do today. I would like to spare you the tragedies that money can bring, and I would like to maximize your joy in the way you make your money helpful.
Money Represents Value
Now let’s make clear immediately that money in itself is simply pieces of metal and pieces of paper. And the reason they are of any concern to us at all is that in our culture we have established that these pieces of metal and paper will function as currency. They will represent value. So money is significant for us simply because we exchange it for what we value. What you do with your money shows what you value with your heart.
We value life and taste, so we give money for food. We value education, and so we give money for books and tuition. We value entertainment (probably too highly), and so we give money for Netflix and ballgames and concerts. We value the ministries of the church and the spread of the gospel, and so we give money to the church and other ministries.
“The movement of your money signifies the movement of your heart.”
Jesus said here in Luke 12:34, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The movement of your money signifies the movement of your heart. Where your money goes, your heart is going. You exchange money for what you value, what you treasure.
So when I say that money is hazardous and helpful, what I mean is that the pieces of metal and paper that you have in your pocket or purse have the capacity to show that you value things more than God (which is hazardous), or that you value God more than things (which is helpful). The paper is nothing, but its expression of the treasures of your heart is everything.
The Conviction of This Message
The conviction behind this message therefore is threefold: (1) that where a people (I’m thinking of you now — this church) treasures God above all that money can buy; and (2) where a people understands the biblical teaching that the movement of your money expresses the movement of your heart; and (3) where a people grasps that the local church is crucial for God’s work in the world, that people — that church — will have what it needs to pursue God’s mission of mercy and evangelization, and to build up the body of Christ; and all the while every member and family in it will be cared for.
So my job, week in and week out, is to point you to the supreme value of God in Christ, and to reveal how the heart moves with its money, and to highlight the preciousness of this local church in our lives.
My approach today will be to give an exposition of this text, Luke 12:13–21, and a longer application using my own experience as a testimony to God’s faithfulness.
Confronted with a Choice
Someone approached Jesus and said in Luke 12:13, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Now Jesus is confronted with a choice — just as we pastors are from time to time. Will he get down into the nitty-gritty of the inheritance dispute, or not? Just a few weeks ago I was drawn into such a dispute. I found Jesus’s approach here instructive.
He says in verse 14, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” In other words, my calling is different from what you are asking of me. I do have something relevant to say to you, but I am not the one to be drawn into the details of this dispute. And then he gives a warning about how hazardous this inheritance is. He says in verse 15, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
He sees a man losing his grip on his portion of the inheritance. And he sees in him some evidence that the hazard of the inheritance is deceiving the man. This is why Jesus refers to “the deceitfulness of riches” in Matthew 13:22. This inheritance was lying to the man. This is why money is so hazardous. It lies to us. It tries to deceive us. What was it saying?
How Money Lies
It was saying: “If you lose me, you lose a very large part of your life. If you lose me, you lose what life can be for you. I am your life. Do you realize how big I am? Life will be real life — truly life — if you have me.” That’s what the inheritance was saying.
And Paul knew that’s what riches say. Which is why he told the rich in 1 Timothy 6:18–19, “Be rich in good works . . . be ready to share . . . take hold of that which is truly life.” In other words, don’t be deceived by the message of money that woos you with the words: “I give you life. Your life will be drab and boring and empty and meaningless and unhappy without me. I am your life.”
And to this Jesus says in verse 15, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” In other words. It’s a lie. Don’t listen. “Take care, and be on your guard.” This lie will awaken covetousness, and covetousness is idolatry (Colossians 3:5), and therefore the hazard here is huge. Not only is this inheritance not your life. It is about to take your life.
Which is exactly what Paul said about the hazard of money in 1 Timothy 6:9, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” Beware! Be on your guard! This inheritance is about to kill you. This is more or less what I said in the dispute a few weeks ago: the issue here is not mainly whether you get your fair share, but whether wanting it so much will destroy you.
What Life Really Is
Oh, how vulnerable the fallen human heart is — mine is — to feeling that having lots of things equals being really alive. And Jesus is urgent and passionate (verse 15): your life does not consist in having lots of things. Life consists in knowing God. John 17:3: “This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Life is not having things. Life is knowing God. Now Jesus is coming to that.
So Jesus tells them a parable. Not just for the man who asked the question, but for all of us. We are all listening in. So it says in verse 16, “He told them a parable.”
“Life is not having things. Life is knowing God.”
The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, “What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?” And 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. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.
It is not a bad thing when your “land produces plentifully” (verse 16). It is not a bad thing when your business prospers. It is not a bad thing to receive a promotion and with it a pay increase. It is not a bad thing when your investments increase in value. That is not the evil in this parable. He is not called a fool for being a productive farmer. God knows this broken world needs productive farmers and profitable businesses.
A Damned Fool, Literally
Why, then, is he called a fool? That’s the question in this parable. Not only a fool, but a fool who loses his soul. Verse 20: “God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you.’” He was literally and tragically a “damned fool.” Why?
Here’s the way I would put it: By the way he used the increase of his riches he gave no indication of being rich toward God. He kept building bigger barns. That might be ok — if you’re storing the grain for a use that shows God is your treasure. But what does the farmer say? Verse 19: “I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’” The use he plans to make of his wealth says one thing: “My treasure is relaxing, eating, drinking, and fun.” That is my life. And the riches in my barns make it possible.
What’s wrong with that? Nothing, if there is no infinitely valuable God and no resurrection. That’s why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:32, “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’” But there is a God, and there is a resurrection. So what’s wrong with this man’s way of handling his riches is that he fails to use them in a way that shows he treasures God more than riches.
Rich Toward God
Here’s the key concluding verse that makes the point most clearly (verse 21): “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” The phrase “rich toward God” is unusual. What does it mean to be “rich toward God”? The meaning is plain from the contrast: it is the opposite of laying up earthly treasure for yourself. Being rich toward God is the opposite of treating the self as though it were made for things and not for God. Being rich toward God is the opposite of acting as if life consists in the abundance of possessions not in the abundance of knowing God.
Being rich toward God, therefore, is the heart being drawn toward God as our riches. “Rich toward God” means moving toward God as our riches. “Rich toward God” means counting God greater riches than anything on the earth. “Rich toward God” means using earthly riches to show how much you value God. This is what the prosperous farmer failed to do. And the result was that he was a fool and lost his soul. That is what I meant when I said, Jesus considered money hazardous. It lures us out of love for God. It lures us away from treasuring God.
Again the issue isn’t that the man’s fields prospered. The issue is that God ceased to be his supreme treasure. If God had been his treasure what would he have done differently? Instead of saying, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry,” he would have said something like this:
“God, this is all yours. You have made my fields prosper. Show me how to express with my riches that you are my treasure, and the riches are not. I already have enough. I don’t need a bigger and bigger safety net. I don’t need better food, better drink, better parties. I do indeed want to make merry, but not in self-indulgent parties with rich retirees. I want to make merry with the people who have been helped by my generosity. I want the fullest blessing of giving. Because you taught me, Lord, it is ‘more blessed to give than to receive’ (Acts 20:35).
Some Risky Application
That’s my exposition. Now here’s some application. And I am going take the risk that Paul took several times in his letters and give my own testimony with regard to my handling of money — or I should say Noël’s and my handling of money, because what’s mine is hers. Paul said, for example to the elders in Acts 20:33–35,
I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
It’s risky to speak of yourself (Matthew 6:2–4), but hear me like this as your shepherd, as a father. I am testifying, not commanding. I am trying to inspire you with God’s faithfulness not coerce you with demands. I am taking my cue from 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Not under compulsion. I want you be radical, generous people (to be “rich toward God”) because God is your treasure, not because I demanded that you tithe. So Paul tried to inspire the Corinthians with the example of the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8:1–7 and with his own example in 1 Corinthians 9.
Five Ways to Guard and Maximize
So here are five things I do to guard against the hazard and maximize the helpfulness of money. I hope they inspire you to figure out your way.
1. I study to see and savor the supreme value of Jesus above all earthly things.
This means I read my Bible daily with on this quest so that I can say with Paul in Philippians 3:8, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him.” I am daily on a quest to see him this way.
2. I pray that this would free me from the love of money.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!” (Psalm 119:36). “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14). Expose the deceitfulness of riches, O Lord, by revealing your superior value.
3. I trust in God’s promises for every need to be met (for my family and the church).
“My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33). I rest my soul on these promises.
4. I set aside electronically our regular gift to the church, and then add spontaneous gifts in the worship services.
I take my cue here from Paul’s teaching that giving should be regular and free — disciplined and spontaneous. For example, he says in 1 Corinthians 16:2, “On the first day of every week [on Sunday, the worship day], each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.”
This points to the wisdom of planned, regular, disciplined giving. Sporadic giving with no plan will probably mean you are not treating giving as an integral part of your worshiping life. So to secure the disciplined part of our giving I go online and tell BBC giving page to take the amount out of my checking account every pay check.
“We treasure God by valuing him over the money that we are giving up.”
And since we want to make plain and teach our children and remind ourselves that giving is an essential aspect of our heart’s worship we have always built it into our services. That’s the meaning of that moment in worship: “We treasure you, God, in this very service by valuing you over the money that we are giving up. We prefer the joy we receive in seeing your mission advance.” That’s what we say with our offering in worship every weekend.
When I joined Bethlehem I made a covenant along with 3,151 of you to “contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry and the expenses of the church.” Many of you did not grow up in homes where you had any teaching or modeling of how to give to your church. So consider me your father in this service. I love you and want for you your fullest joy. The main reason for allowances to children as soon as they can count is to teach them that regular, disciplined, proportionate giving to the church is normal Christianity.
And if you ask “how much?” my answer starts with the Old Testament standard and build on that, as God prospers you. It is hard for me to imagine the children of God after the glories of the cross give less to the church than the saints of the Old Testament.
5. Finally, I put protections in place against bigger barns and I turn the prosperity of my fields into blessings for others.
Three ways. First, I surrender the copyrights and all the royalties of all my books to the Desiring God Foundation which keeps about ten thousand dollars in the bank and gives away to Desiring God and Bethlehem all the rest. I have no legal access to any of this money.
Second, I surrender all my honorariums to Desiring God and Bethlehem. This way I limit my income to what the church pays me.
And, third, each year Noël and I, as a regular practice, increase not only the amount we give to Bethlehem, from our salary, but the percentage as well. If you don’t put something like this in place, you will call more and more and more things needs which are in part only wants.
The reason for these three limitations on our income take us back to the beginning of the sermon. Jesus and the apostles considered money hazardous and helpful. It’s hazardous and therefore I encourage you to put limits on how much of you keep for yourselves — not how much you make, but how much you keep. And its helpful, which means you get the incredible joy of giving more and more to the causes that you love.
God As Our Riches
And lest there be any misunderstanding, if you are a businessman and turn a $200,000 business into a $200,000,000 business not by glittering your lifestyle, but plowing profits back into job creation and the expansion of worthy goods and services, you have done the right thing. The issue is not that the man’s fields prospered. The issue was: What did he do with it?
May the Lord grant us all the joy — the sheer unadulterated joy — of finding our life not in possessions, but in the abundance of all in God, and in fulfilling our covenant commitments, and in showing the world what it means to have God as our riches. Amen.
让我们在神面前变得富有
经文：路加福音 12:13–21
耶稣和使徒们认为金钱既危险又有用。他们教我们如何将危险降到最低，将有用性最大化。这就是我今天希望做的。我希望你们免受金钱带来的悲剧，我希望你们在让金钱变得有用的方式中最大限度地享受快乐。
金钱代表价值
现在让我们立即澄清，金钱本身只是金属片和纸片。我们之所以关心它们，是因为在我们的文化中，我们已经确定这些金属片和纸片将作为货币发挥作用。它们将代表价值。所以金钱对我们来说很重要，因为我们用它来交换我们看重的东西。你用钱做什么表明了你内心看重什么。
我们重视生命和品味，所以我们用钱买食物。我们重视教育，所以我们用钱买书和学费。 我们重视娱乐（可能太重视了），所以我们会为 Netflix、球赛和音乐会捐款。我们重视教会的事工和福音的传播，所以我们会为教会和其他事工捐款。
“你钱财的流动代表着你心的流动。”
耶稣在路加福音 12:34 中说：“你的财宝在哪里，你的心也在那里。”你的钱财的流动代表着你心的流动。你的钱去哪里，你的心就去哪里。你用钱来交换你重视的东西，你珍惜的东西。
所以当我说金钱既危险又有用时，我的意思是，你口袋或钱包里的金属和纸片能够表明你重视东西胜过上帝（这是危险的），或者你重视上帝胜过东西（这是有帮助的）。纸片不算什么，但它对你内心宝藏的表达才是最重要的。
这条信息的信念
因此，这条信息背后的信念有三点：（1）当人们（我现在想到的就是你们——这个教会）珍视上帝，胜过金钱所能买到的一切；（2）当人们理解圣经的教义，即金钱的流动表达了人们内心的流动；（3）当人们认识到地方教会对上帝在世界上的工作至关重要时，人们——那个教会——将拥有追求上帝仁慈和福音传道使命以及建立基督身体所需的一切；与此同时，教会中的每个成员和家庭都将得到照顾。
因此，我的工作，周复一周，就是向你指出上帝在基督里的至高价值，揭示人心如何随着金钱而流动，并强调这个地方教会在我们生活中的珍贵性。
今天，我将阐述这段经文，即路加福音 12:13-21，并使用我自己的经历作为对上帝信实的见证，进行更深入的应用。
面临选择
有人走近耶稣，在路加福音 12:13 中说：“老师，请你吩咐我的兄弟和我分家业。”现在耶稣面临一个选择——就像我们牧师时不时面临的一样。他会深入探讨遗产纠纷的细节吗？就在几周前，我被卷入了这样的纠纷。我发现耶稣在这里的方法很有启发性。
他在第 14 节中说：“你这个人，谁立我作你们的审判官或仲裁者？”换句话说，我的使命与你对我的要求不同。我确实有一些相关的事情要告诉你，但我不是被卷入这场纠纷细节的人。然后他警告说，这份遗产有多么危险。 他在第 15 节中说：“你们要谨慎自守，免去一切的贪心，因为人的生命不在乎家道丰富。”
他看到一个人失去了对自己那份遗产的控制。他在他身上看到了一些证据表明遗产的危险正在欺骗这个人。这就是为什么耶稣在马太福音 13:22 中提到“财富的欺骗性”。这份遗产欺骗了这个人。这就是为什么金钱如此危险。它欺骗我们。它试图欺骗我们。它在说什么？
金钱如何撒谎
它在说：“如果你失去了我，你就失去了你生命中很大一部分。如果你失去了我，你就失去了生命对你的意义。我就是你的生命。你知道我有多重要吗？如果你拥有我，生活将是真正的生活——真正的生活。”这就是遗产所说的。
保罗知道这就是财富所说的。 这就是为什么他在提摩太前书 6:18-19 中告诉富人，“要在善事上富足……乐意供给人……把握那真正的生命”。换句话说，不要被金钱的信息所欺骗，它会用以下话语诱惑你：
“我给了你生命。没有我，你的生活将会枯燥乏味、空虚无意义、不快乐。我就是你的生命。”
对此，耶稣在第 15 节中说道：“人的生命不在乎家道丰富。”换句话说，这是个谎言。别听。“要小心，要警惕。”这个谎言会唤醒贪婪，而贪婪就是偶像崇拜（歌罗西书 3:5），因此这里的危险是巨大的。这笔遗产不仅不是你的生命。它即将夺走你的生命。
这正是保罗在提摩太前书 6:9 中关于金钱危险所说的：“那些想要发财的人，就落入迷惑，落在网罗和许多无知有害的私欲里，叫人沉在败坏和灭亡中。”小心！要警惕！这笔遗产即将杀死你。 这或多或少就是我在几周前的争论中所说的：这里的问题主要不是你是否得到了公平的份额，而是太想要它是否会毁了你。
生命的真正意义
哦，堕落的人心是多么脆弱——我的心也是如此——会觉得拥有很多东西就等于真正活着。耶稣是迫切而热情的（第 15 节）：你的生命不在于拥有很多东西。生命在于认识上帝。约翰福音 17:3：“认识你独一的真神，并且认识你所差来的耶稣基督，这就是永生。”生命不是拥有东西。生命是认识上帝。现在耶稣谈到了这一点。
所以耶稣给他们讲了一个比喻。不只是对那个问这个问题的人讲的，而是对我们所有人讲的。我们都在听。所以第 16 节说，“他给他们讲了一个比喻。”
“生命不是拥有东西。生命是认识上帝。”
一个富人的土地出产丰盛，他心里想：“我该怎么办呢？因为我没有地方收藏我的出产。”他说：“我要这样做：我要拆掉我的仓房，建造更大的，在那里收藏我所有的粮食和财物。我要对我的灵魂说，灵魂啊，你积蓄的财物足够多年的使用，只管放松，吃喝快乐就好。”但上帝对他说：“愚昧人啊！今夜必要你的灵魂，你所预备的要归给谁呢？”为自己积蓄财宝，而在上帝面前却不富足的人也是如此。
当你的“土地出产丰盛”（第 16 节）时，这并不是一件坏事。当你的生意兴隆时，这并不是一件坏事。升职并随之加薪并不是一件坏事。当你的投资增值时，这并不是一件坏事。这不是这个比喻中的邪恶之处。他并不是因为是一个多产的农民而被称为愚昧人。 上帝知道这个破碎的世界需要多产的农民和盈利的企业。
字面上的该死的傻瓜
那么，为什么他被称为傻瓜？这就是这个寓言中的问题。不仅是一个傻瓜，而且是一个失去灵魂的傻瓜。第 20 节：“上帝对他说，‘傻瓜！今晚你的灵魂就要被取去。’”他确实是一个“该死的傻瓜”，这很可悲。为什么？
我会这样说：从他使用财富增加的方式来看，他并没有表现出在上帝面前富有的迹象。他一直在建造更大的谷仓。这可能没问题——如果你储存粮食是为了表明上帝是你的财富。但农夫怎么说？第 19 节：“我要对我的灵魂说，‘灵魂，你有足够的财物可以多年使用；放松，吃，喝，快乐。’”他计划如何使用他的财富说明了一件事：“我的财富是放松、吃、喝和快乐。” 这就是我的生活。而我仓库里的财富使这一切成为可能。
这有什么错？没有错，如果没有无限价值的上帝，也没有复活。这就是为什么保罗在哥林多前书 15:32 中说：“若死人不复活，我们就吃吃喝喝吧，因为明天要死了。”但上帝是存在的，复活也是存在的。所以这个人处理财富的方式有问题，因为他没有以一种表明他珍视上帝胜过财富的方式来使用财富。
在上帝面前富足
以下是关键的结论诗句，它最清楚地说明了这一点（第 21 节）：“凡为自己积财，在上帝面前却不富足的，也是这样。”“在上帝面前富足”这个短语很不寻常。“在上帝面前富足”是什么意思？从对比中可以看出，其含义很明显：它与为自己积攒地上的财富相反。 在神面前富足，与把自己看作是为物质而不是为神而生相反。在神面前富足，与把自己看作是生命在于拥有丰裕的财物而不是认识神的丰富相反。
因此，在神面前富足，就是心被吸引到神面前，以神为我们的财富。“在神面前富足”意味着将神作为我们的财富。“在神面前富足”意味着将神视为比世上任何事物都更宝贵的财富。“在神面前富足”意味着用世俗的财富来表明你有多重视神。这正是那位富裕的农民未能做到的。结果他成了一个傻瓜，失去了灵魂。“我给了你生命。没有我，你的生活将会枯燥乏味、空虚无意义、不快乐。我就是你的生命。”
对此，耶稣在第 15 节中说道：“人的生命不在乎家道丰富。”换句话说，这是个谎言。别听。“要小心，要警惕。”这个谎言会唤醒贪婪，而贪婪就是偶像崇拜（歌罗西书 3:5），因此这里的危险是巨大的。这笔遗产不仅不是你的生命。它即将夺走你的生命。
这正是保罗在提摩太前书 6:9 中关于金钱危险所说的：“那些想要发财的人，就落入迷惑，落在网罗和许多无知有害的私欲里，叫人沉在败坏和灭亡中。”小心！要警惕！这笔遗产即将杀死你。 这或多或少就是我在几周前的争论中所说的：这里的问题主要不是你是否得到了公平的份额，而是太想要它是否会毁了你。
生命的真正意义
哦，堕落的人心是多么脆弱——我的心也是如此——会觉得拥有很多东西就等⁸于真正活着。耶稣是迫切而热情的（第 15 节）：你的生命不在于拥有很多东西。生命在于认识上帝。约翰福音 17:3：“认识你独一的真神，并且认识你所差来的耶稣基督，这就是永生。”生命不是拥有东西。生命是认识上帝。现在耶稣谈到了这一点。
所以耶稣给他们讲了一个比喻。不只是对那个问这个问题的人讲的，而是对我们所有人讲的。我们都在听。所以第 16 节说，“他给他们讲了一个比喻。”
“生命不是拥有东西。生命是认识上帝。”
一个富人的土地出产丰盛，他心里想：“我该怎么办呢？因为我没有地方收藏我的出产。”他说：“我要这样做：我要拆掉我的仓房，建造更大的，在那里收藏我所有的粮食和财物。我要对我的灵魂说，灵魂啊，你积蓄的财物足够多年的使用，只管放松，吃喝快乐就好。”但上帝对他说：“愚昧人啊！今夜必要你的灵魂，你所预备的要归给谁呢？”为自己积蓄财宝，而在上帝面前却不富足的人也是如此。
当你的“土地出产丰盛”（第 16 节）时，这并不是一件坏事。当你的生意兴隆时，这并不是一件坏事。升职并随之加薪并不是一件坏事。当你的投资增值时，这并不是一件坏事。这不是这个比喻中的邪恶之处。他并不是因为是一个多产的农民而被称为愚昧人。 上帝知道这个破碎的世界需要多产的农民和盈利的企业。
字面上的该死的傻瓜
那么，为什么他被称为傻瓜？这就是这个寓言中的问题。不仅是一个傻瓜，而且是一个失去灵魂的傻瓜。第 20 节：“上帝对他说，‘傻瓜！今晚你的灵魂就要被取去。’”他确实是一个“该死的傻瓜”，这很可悲。为什么？
我会这样说：从他使用财富增加的方式来看，他并没有表现出在上帝面前富有的迹象。他一直在建造更大的谷仓。这可能没问题——如果你储存粮食是为了表明上帝是你的财富。但农夫怎么说？第 19 节：“我要对我的灵魂说，‘灵魂，你有足够的财物可以多年使用；放松，吃，喝，快乐。’”他计划如何使用他的财富说明了一件事：“我的财富是放松、吃、喝和快乐。” 这就是我的生活。而我仓库里的财富使这一切成为可能。
这有什么错？没有错，如果没有无限价值的上帝，也没有复活。这就是为什么保罗在哥林多前书 15:32 中说：“若死人不复活，我们就吃吃喝喝吧，因为明天要死了。”但上帝是存在的，复活也是存在的。所以这个人处理财富的方式有问题，因为他没有以一种表明他珍视上帝胜过财富的方式来使用财富。
在上帝面前富足
以下是关键的结论诗句，它最清楚地说明了这一点（第 21 节）：“凡为自己积财，在上帝面前却不富足的，也是这样。”“在上帝面前富足”这个短语很不寻常。“在上帝面前富足”是什么意思？从对比中可以看出，其含义很明显：它与为自己积攒地上的财富相反。 在神面前富足，与把自己看作是为物质而不是为神而生相反。在神面前富足，与把自己看作是生命在于拥有丰裕的财物而不是认识神的丰富相反。
因此，在神面前富足，就是心被吸引到神面前，以神为我们的财富。“在神面前富足”意味着将神作为我们的财富。“在神面前富足”意味着将神视为比世上任何事物都更宝贵的财富。“在神面前富足”意味着用世俗的财富来表明你有多重视神。这正是那位富裕的农民未能做到的。结果他成了一个傻瓜，失去了灵魂。
这就是我说耶稣认为金钱是危险的。它引诱我们失去对上帝的爱。它引诱我们不再珍惜上帝。
问题再次不在于这个人的田地兴旺发达。问题是上帝不再是他的至宝。如果上帝是他的财富，他会做什么不同的事情？他不会说：“灵魂，你有足够的财富可以存很多年；放松，吃，喝，快乐”，而是会说这样的话：
“上帝，这都是你的。你让我的田地兴旺发达。告诉我如何用我的财富来表达你是我的财富，而财富不是。我已经拥有足够了。我不需要越来越大的安全网。我不需要更好的食物、更好的饮料、更好的派对。我确实想快乐，但不是和富有的退休人员一起参加自我放纵的派对。我想和那些被我的慷慨帮助过的人一起快乐。 我想要得到奉献的最大祝福。因为主啊，你教导我，“施比受更为有福”（使徒行传 20:35）。
一些冒险的应用
这是我的阐述。现在来谈谈一些应用。我将冒着保罗在他的书信中多次冒的风险，就我处理金钱的方式——或者我应该说诺埃尔和我的金钱方式——给出我自己的见证，因为我的东西也是她的。例如，保罗在使徒行传 20:33-35 中对长老说，
我未曾贪图一个人的金、银、衣服。你们自己知道，这两只手常供给我和同人的需用。我凡事给你们作见证，叫你们知道应当这样劳苦，扶助软弱的人，又当记念主耶稣的话，就是他自己说的：“施比受更为有福。”
谈论自己是有风险的（马太福音 6：2-4），但请听我说，我是你的牧羊人，是父亲。我是在作证，不是在命令。我试图用上帝的忠诚激励你，而不是用要求强迫你。我以哥林多后书 9：7 为线索：“各人要随本心所酌定的，不要作难，不要勉强，因为捐得乐意的人是神所喜爱的。”不是被迫的。我希望你们成为激进、慷慨的人（“在神面前富足”），因为神是你的财富，而不是因为我要求你缴纳什一税。所以保罗试图用哥林多后书 8：1-7 中马其顿人的例子和哥林多前书 9 中他自己的例子来激励哥林多人。
五种防范和最大化的方法
因此，以下是我为防范危险和最大限度地发挥金钱作用而做的五件事。 我希望它们能够启发您找到自己的道路。
1. 我学习是为了看到并品味耶稣高于世上一切事物的至高价值。
这意味着我每天都带着这个追求阅读圣经，这样我就可以和保罗在腓立比书 3:8 中说：“我也将万事当作有损的，因我以认识我主基督耶稣为至宝。我为他已经丢弃万事，看作粪土，为要得着基督，并且得以在他里面。”我每天都在寻求以这种方式看待他。
2. 我祈祷这能让我摆脱对金钱的热爱。
“求你使我的心倾向你的法度，不追求私利！”（诗篇 119:36）。“求你使我们早晨得饱你的慈爱，好叫我们一生一世欢喜快乐”（诗篇 90:14）。主啊，通过揭示你的优越价值来揭露财富的欺骗性。
3. 我相信上帝的应许会满足我的家庭和教会的一切需要。
“我的神必照他荣耀的丰富，在基督耶稣里，使你们一切所需用的都充足”（腓立比书 4:19）。“神能将各样的恩惠多多地加给你们，使你们凡事常常充足，能多行各样善事”（哥林多后书 9:8）。“你们要先求他的国和他的义，这些东西都要加给你们了。”（马太福音 6:33）。我将这些应许作为我的灵魂安息之所。
4. 我把我们定期给教会的电子礼物放在一边，然后在礼拜仪式中添加自发的礼物。
我在这里从保罗的教导中得到启发，即奉献应该是定期的和免费的——有纪律的和自发的。 例如，他在《哥林多前书》16:2 中说：“每逢七日的第一日（星期日，礼拜日），各人要照自己的进项抽出来留着，免得我来的时候现凑。”
这表明有计划、有规律、有纪律地奉献是明智的。没有计划的零星奉献可能意味着你没有把奉献当作你礼拜生活不可或缺的一部分。因此，为了确保我们奉献的纪律性，我上网告诉 BBC 奉献页面，每次发薪水时都从我的支票账户中扣除这笔钱。
“我们珍视上帝，因为他比我们放弃的钱更宝贵。”
由于我们想让孩子们明白并教育他们，并提醒自己，奉献是我们内心崇拜的一个重要方面，所以我们一直把它融入到我们的服务中。这就是礼拜中那一刻的意义：“上帝啊，我们珍视你，因为你比我们放弃的钱更宝贵。 我们更愿意看到你们的使命在前进，并因此而获得快乐。”这就是我们每个周末在礼拜中奉献时所说的。
当我加入伯利恒时，我与你们中的 3,151 人立下契约，“愉快而定期地为教会的事工和费用提供支持。”你们中的许多人并不是在没有任何教导或榜样的家庭中长大的。所以请把我当作你们在这场礼拜中的父亲。我爱你们，希望你们能获得最大的快乐。给孩子们零花钱的主要原因是让他们知道，定期、有纪律、按比例向教会捐款是正常的基督教信仰。
如果你问“多少？”我的回答从旧约标准开始，并以此为基础，因为上帝会让你兴旺发达。我很难想象在十字架的荣耀之后，上帝的孩子们给教会的钱比旧约的圣徒还少。
5. 最后，我采取保护措施，防止出现更大的谷仓，并将我田地的繁荣转化为对他人的祝福。
三种方式。首先，我将所有书籍的版权和版税全部交给渴望神基金会，该基金会在银行存有大约一万美元，其余部分全部捐给渴望神和伯利恒。我对这些钱没有任何合法的使用权。
其次，我将所有酬金全部交给渴望神和伯利恒。这样，我的收入就仅限于教会付给我的金额。
第三，每年我和诺埃尔都会定期增加从工资中捐给伯利恒的金额，以及捐献比例。如果你不这样做，你会把越来越多的东西称为需要，而这些东西在某种程度上只是想要的。
这三个收入限制的原因让我们回到布道的开头。耶稣和使徒们认为金钱既危险又有用。它是危险的，因此我鼓励你们限制自己为自己留下多少钱——不是你赚了多少，而是你留下了多少。它是有用的，这意味着你会从为你热爱的事业付出越来越多的东西中获得难以置信的快乐。
上帝是我们的财富
为了避免任何误解，如果你是一个商人，并且不是通过炫耀你的生活方式，而是将利润重新投入到创造就业机会和扩大有价值的商品和服务中，将 20 万美元的生意变成了 2 亿美元的生意，那么你就做了正确的事情。问题不在于这个人的田地兴旺发达。问题是：他用它做了什么？
愿主赐予我们所有人的喜悦——纯粹纯粹的喜悦——让我们的生活不是在财产中，而是在上帝一切的富足中，在履行我们的契约承诺中，在向世界展示上帝是我们的财富意味着什么中。阿门。
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