Satisfaction. In the 12^th chapter of the gospel of Luke we read about the Rich Fool.

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on you guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Then Jesus tells the story about the rich fool. This farmer who had produced an abundant crop. But instead of celebrating his good fortune, he instead devoted his attention to determining how to get more. To have more, he needed to build bigger barns to store the additional crops. So he began building barns.

Now, there is nothing particularly wrong with having more or building barns. But Jesus tells us to “watch out” because greed easily becomes the focus. Concentrating on having more instead of being more traps us into a shallow life with shallow rewards.

¹⁹ And I'll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for may 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.”

Whoa! While building the barns, while concentrating on what he could have, the farmer may well die! Ah, there is a tragedy. Imagine, all of that concentration on building barns. He's not even a carpenter. He's a farmer. He's not even doing what he loves to do because he's concentrating on how to have more.

Later in the chapter, Jesus tells the crowd that it is much better to concentrate on giving more and letting God provide the abundance. He compares a lily to king Solomon, one of the richest men in history. How beautiful is the lily and yet it's beauty comes at no cost at all.

It's really a matter of how you measure satisfaction. Will you find satisfaction in building abundance? Or will you find satisfaction in building up those around you. Will you invest in having more for yourself? Or will you invest in give more to others? Will your focus be, “I need more?” or Will your focus be, “I have so much to give.” Sometimes it is easier to imagine what will be written on your headstone. Imagine these two possibilities, “Here lies Joe, he built barns.” or “Here lies Pete, he built lives.”