July 8.
Ruled By Riches

Luke 12:16

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.

Parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings. In this parable, Jesus spoke about how the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. The problem here is not that the man is rich. Richness does not affect you as long as you allow the money to be a servant and not a master. This means that you must control the money instead of letting the money control you. Apparently this man was a great entrepreneur because he made his money honestly. He was not a dope pusher; he was not a gambler. He was a farmer. And he was successful at farming. The grounds had been blessed, and everything he touched turned to gold.

If this rich man lived in our day and time, we would have him in almost every conference meeting possible. All of the prospective entrepreneurs would want to talk with him and ask him for advice. How did you become so successful just turning soil, raising fruits and vegetables? You have to give him credit – he was successful. He knew what he was doing. He knew the time to do what he did. A good farmer knows that there are certain types of soil you can plant in and other types of soil you cannot use for growing crops. You must also cultivate the soil correctly. You have to put the right amount of fertilizer in the soil and give it the right amount of water. The harvest must be gathered at the right time. After all this, the product must be marketed wisely to produce sales.

This man was so successful that he ran out of space. He ran out of barns. This man had made it and had made it well. He was known everywhere in the community. People knew him. However, this doesn’t mean he was spiritual or that he knew God. Everybody that can manage money can’t manage God’s affairs. You have to have God, first, in order to manage affairs of the Kingdom.