The Text: Luke 12:13-21 
Most councils will have what are known as “hard rubbish” collections. These are collections where you can throw out items you no longer need that are too big for your regular rubbish bins.
It is no surprise today seeing things that are not really rubbish in the collection – TV sets, tables, and lounge suites piled up on nature strips waiting for the truck to come along and take it to the tip. These days it just seems we all have so much stuff that we just throw out things that are probably still okay but we just don’t need it anymore because we’ve bought something new.
I often wonder how refugees feel when they come here from refugee camps where they lived in such harsh conditions to see the things we throw away.
It’s everywhere you look. Unneeded Stuff!
From garage sales, to car boot sales and trash and treasure markets, to nature strips with people riffling through your trash to find something of value.
Stuff is everywhere.
What a difference there is between third world countries and first world countries like ours when it comes to being thankful for what we have.
We’ll send a steak back to the kitchen because we asked for “well-done” and this is still red inside while the starving line up for hours for some grain to cook or some fresh water and the thankfulness for what little they receive.
We feel like second class citizens because our internet is slow – or our mobile phone isn’t the latest model – or our computer takes so long to turn on – while millions go without food and shelter.
We feel embarrassed because we can’t get our hair to sit right or we’ve noticed a wrinkle with ageing while children are dying from AIDS, malaria and other diseases overseas.
We feel embarrassed if we have to wear last season’s clothes while millions are lucky to have a piece of rag to cover up their humility.
We live in a society where obesity is our major health problem while millions are starving.
It’s very easy to lose perspective on life and forget to be thankful for all the blessings which God has showered upon our lives.
And let’s be honest – we have an abundance and have more than we need.
Maybe we don’t have all that we “want” but we have more than we need.
Greed is something we understand well.
All one has to do is turn on the television when the Power Ball jackpot reaches some obscene amount of money and listen to the interviews of people saying what they will do if they hit the big one. Our human nature will tell us that the more we have the more we want and the less thankful we are.
All of us are capable of being like the man in the story that Jesus told.
He tells the story of a rich man who receives a more abundant crop than normal but instead of being thankful and finding a way to help others he pulls down his barns, builds larger ones, and stores the grain and everything he owns there.
The man’s focus was himself.
His chief advisor was himself.
The only beneficiary to his actions would be himself.
Notice how many times “I” is used in his decision-making.
‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, ` you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry’.
God’s response: “You fool.”
The man loved his riches and didn’t even thank God for what he had received.
That’s where his heart was.
But he would have no opportunity to enjoy his wealth, because he would die that night.
Jesus accuses the man of not being “rich in what matters to God.”
When our possessions become our focus they muddy our thinking. We are not thankful for what we have we see what we don’t have.
And life then becomes a worry for us because we believe that we don’t have enough. And when that happens we become ungrateful for what we have rather than thankful.
The man’s life is about to take a sudden turn; he will die that night.
Our lives can take sudden turns: the results of a medical test; the death of a family member, or friend; a loss of job; the breakup of a marriage. These and many other crises can make life very difficult to bear and no one is exempt.
No amount of fame or fortune can prevent disaster; but they can be even more devastating if our lives are not rooted in God, who is our rock in hard times and our strength to see us through.
Money can’t buy everything.
This is not against preparing for rainy days that causes Jesus to call us fools, nor does he condemn wealth.
It is the selfish and excessive desire for oneself that becomes greed and becoming thankless for what we have. It is the way we treat our abundance and our wealth that matters to God.
Our parable today asks us to think about our stuff – our possessions in two ways:
How much stuff do we really need and when we have more than we need how do we use it?
How much stuff do you really need?
When you have a more abundant “crop” than you expected what is your response?
When you are thankful to God for what you’ve received you want to share those blessings with others.
And the reason God wants you to do this is also twofold.
Firstly to help others in need. God gives abundantly to this world, but because of human nature, the resources are not shared evenly. According to one report is estimated that half the world’s wealth now in the hands of just 1% of the population.
But the other reason why we need to look beyond our possessions is because God has richly blessed us all but our greed cannot see that and be thankful. As Paul said in our reading: Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
This is where we can think of our own baptism.
What an amazing blessing God has given us.
Our eternal life has been assured as children of God for which we are truly thankful.
But how easy for the worries of life to hide that from us as we worry about earthly things – worrying about money and possessions and work and other physical things.
Just look at Adam and Eve who had everything they could have possibly wanted or needed. But instead of being thankful Satan convinced them there was more.
And that’s what Satan does to us.
No matter how much we have we will always want more until we stop and thank God for what we have and not become disheartened over what we don’t have.
Our lives are so blessed – we probably don’t even realise how much we have to be thankful for!
The Red Cross released a statement that read:
If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of the world, but are we thankful?
If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy,, but are we thankful?
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week, but are we thankful?
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation you are luckier than 500 million people alive and suffering, but are we thankful?
If you can read this message you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world who cannot read it at all, but are we thankful?
If you don’t think there is anything to be thankful to God for then we need to look again.
And even if we had just the shirt on our back – we would still be abundantly rich because Jesus died for us and we have eternal life in heaven.
That is the greatest possession anyone could ever have for which we should be truly thankful.