TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
418
out in conceit. The pressure of our inordinate accretions chokes off our good impulses, our self-sacrifice, our happiness, and finally our spiritual life. Sometimes the Great Surgeon is obliged to use the knife of Poverty, Failure, or Ignominy in order to place us on the road to spiritual health again. But how much better it is not to get into such a fix at all! —Amos R. Wells. A Poor Rich Man ■E xodus 20:17; L uke 12:13-24 MEMORY VERSE: Matthew 25:40. Or: “Lord, thou knowest that I love thee” (John 21:16). AIM: To lead the child to love the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. APPROACH: Dorothy’s father gave her a string of bright beads. “Oh, Daddy,” she said, “I love you so much even without the b e a d s?” Dorothy had to think hard 5 . INIV ICTOR before s h e could ^ u n answer. D id she love a person more than the gifts the person gave?. The people who listened to the Lord Jesus when He was here on earth had to think about the same thing. LESSON STORY: “I want what be longs to me,” a man said to Jesus one day; “make my brother give me my share.” The selfish brother was think ing only about things, not about his love for a person. To answer him, the Lord Jesus told this story. Jesus said there was a man who had a . fine farm. , Everything grew extra well there. The farmer had so much fruit that theflp was not room to put, it all. Without thinking of the heavenly Father who gave him all he had, the rich man said to himself, “I will pull down my barns and build greater; . . . And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; . . . eat, drink, be merry.” But that night the rich man died, and all his things were useless to him. The Bible doesn’t tell us how thè selfish brother felt when he heard this story. It doesn’t tell us how the other people felt, who listened. But it does teach us this wonderful lesson: All God’s good gifts to us should make us love Him. Object Lesson C as ! l C an C ured of C oveting OBJECTS:A two-pound coffee can, 5 smaller cans of varying sizes, water, slue ink, and a red cross. (An inset if tin is soldered obliquely on the in side of the large can, from the top —so v e r y , v e r y much!” A f t e r a while, h e r father a s k e d q u i e t l y , ______ “Would y o u love H 9 H Daddy that much, IV R >
thought he had “many years” to eat and drink, when, in reality, he had only a few minutes before he would awake, a penniless pauper, in eternity. He was a fool because his covetous ness hindered his being rich toward God. III. T he A ttitude for the C hristian Luke 12:22-25 The Lord Jesus is not here denounc ing thrift and industrious living; that would deny abundant teaching on this point from both Himself and His apostles. But Jesus was teaching that the proper attitude for the Christian is one of perfect contentment, With full trust that when tomorrow comes the Lord will be there with every needed provision. He reminds us that the unworried and care-less birds have their needs amply supplied by their Creator; surely the Father will take care of His children. Anxiety cannot accomplish anything construc tive. It becomes a form of covetous ness, because the a n x i o u s person thinks if only he had what he desires, everything would be all right. He for gets that all the experiences of the Christian are under the control and direction of God. To be occupied with the life, rather than with the elements that sustain it; i concerned with what the person is, rather than with what he has; and to be content in all things, is to be free from the evil of covetousness (cf. 1 Tim. 6:10; Heb. 13:5; Prov. 28:16). Points and Problems 1. "Thou s h a l t not covet" (Ex. 20:17). Being the last of the Ten Com mandments does not mean that this one is the least important. With this commandment a climax is reached. Covetousness is a sin which leads to the other sins mentioned in the Deca logue: stealing, adultery, murder, etc. Covetousness is a form of selfishness. And selfishness is at the bottom of all sin, the pleasing of self rather than God. 2. "And he spake a parable unto them" (Lk. 12:16). The “ and” in this statement points back to the reason for the giving of the parable which follows. The preceding verse gives a warning against covetousness; “Take heed, and beware of covetousness.” Hence the striking parable of the rich fool is first of all a warning against self-seeking or covetousness. T h e great purpose of life has been missed if it is spent only in gratifying the desires of the flesh. 3. "But God said unto him. Thou fool" (Lk. 12:20). The failure of this man consisted not so much in what he did as in what he forgot. It is not essentially wrong to possess crops and barns and houses and lands. But it is wrong if with the possession of these things man forgets the more im-
BLACKBOARD LESSON
portant things. A study of the para ble reveals the fact that the man forgot four things, and this forgetting made him a fool. (1) He forgot God. As far as the man’s thoughts were concerned, God did not exist. Note his attitude with respect to his goods. He speaks of "my barns,” "my fruits,” "my goods,” "my soul” (vs. 18, 19). He is impressed with the importance of himself. (2) He forgot the needs of his fellow men. It seemed never to have occurred to him that there might be some use for his riches other than to store them in barns. There was no thought of the poor and needy, no interest in missions or benevo lences. He was altogether self-cen tered. He had no idea of the steward ship of life’s blessings. (3) He forgot the needs of his own soul. He pro jected himself into the future when his barns would be full and his work done, and he imagined he then would be completely satisfied. He thought his soul could feed on these material things. He failed to realize that man cannot live by bread alone. Jesus said one day, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34).. That ia the only food that can satisfy the soul. The rest is but husks. (4) The con summation of this man’s folly lay in the fact that he forgot death. He lived as though he expected to stay in this world forever. Sane men and women recognize this life to be but a prepara tion for a world beyond. The Washington Heights Hospital of New York City had a strange case. A boy was brought to the hospital with four broken ribs puncturing his lungs. He could injiale, but as he exhaled the air passed from the lungs into the tissues of the body. This air spread all over his body until he became twice his natural size. He was, indeed, a balloon boy. Finally the air began to press so severely upon the wind pipe that the lad was almost choking, and a surgical operation was found necessary to save his life. Thus it is ever when we draw in, but do not give out. No matter what it is—air, book learning, money, praise, power—con stant sucking in with no correspond ing outgo is a fatal process. We swell Golden Text Illustration * E xodus 20:17
*
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs