A story is told of a rich man who had yielded an abundant harvest and was overwhelmed as there was no enough room for storage.
He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12: 16-21
A creative friend of mine used the same context and wrote a poem “ASK THE RICH MAN.” A very reflective one, that challenges us to live for a greater goal, to live for God.
” ASK THE RICH MAN ” by Kavita Ndolo
Ask the rich man;
The one who realised he had riches untold
And dreamt how life would unfold
Notice how his heart was so appeased
By how much his wealth had increased
Ask the rich man
Of whom Jesus a parable told
Illustrating how you don’t have to die old
That’s why it’s sad to hear the young say
YOLO (you only live once) as the excuse to go astray
Ask and learn that you also only die once
And you know not when death will pounce
Then off to God you bounce!
Ask the rich man
How your life could be required of you any day
After which in the end God will either say
“Good and faithful servant, you’ve done well”
Or, “I know you not, go to hell”
Ask the rich man
And learn that you can run after your lusts
But at last learn they don’t last
You’d better run after what doesn’t rust
Let God be your first and last
Because at last you’ll realise,
He’s the first and the last. ”
Ask the rich man!
By Liz Ekakoro:Diaspora Messenger contributor/Kenyan in Ukrain
