Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ‘ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)

The Challenge Of Prosperity

Success can breed contempt. One of the great challenges to faith is the spirit of accomplishment. When the heart becomes satisfied, believing that everything in life has been gained, the need for God can begin to fade. Materialism replaces the Lord. Success highlights the individual’s accomplishments. When the heart is in a state of satisfaction, there is a temptation to forget God, deny His blessings, and become spiritually blind to all that God has provided. Faith becomes choked by the things of the world rather than living for the glory of God. The heart believes the soul is fully satisfied and life will never change. This is a tragic mistake.

When Israel was about to cross the Jordan and possess the land of Canaan, Moses warned the people about the challenges of success. God had given the land to Israel forty years earlier, but the people were fearful and did not trust God. He punished them for forty years. A new generation now stood at the border of the promised land, anxious to conquer and possess the land. Canaan was described as a land flowing with milk and honey. A land with brooks of water, fountains, and springs with fields of wheat, barley, vineyards, fig trees, and pomegranate, a land of olive oil; a land in which they would never go hungry. Moses warned that in their season of success, they would forget the Lord by failing to keep His commandments, judgments, and statutes.

Seeking greater faith is often more challenging in times of success than in times of persecution. History has borne the wisdom that the church is stronger under persecution than under freedom and prosperity. The reason is clear: success can lead to apathy. Moses warned the people they would forget God, and they did. Life became so bountiful that faith turned toward the cares of the world instead of trusting in the care of the Lord.

Jesus told the parable of a rich man who prospered greatly. The ground yielded plentifully, and the man did not have barns big enough to store his crops. God blessed the man with a prosperous harvest. Instead of giving God the glory and using the crops to share with others, the greedy man desired to keep the blessings of God to himself. He decided to build greater barns to store all his crops and goods. He thought he had many years left on earth to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He was a fool. His barns were never built. The abundance of his crops never made it to the barn. Everything he had held on so tightly was lost the night he died. His treasure was in the things of the world. He was not rich toward God.

Faith must be found when the days are good and bad. There should be no seasons of faith. Faith must be resilient whether facing persecution or enjoying peace. Seeking greater faith may require greater effort when the days of prosperity come, because the heart is drawn away from God. In the parable of the sower, it was the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches that choked the ground with thorns. There is no productivity in lives filled with worries about life and the belief that happiness comes from the things of this world. That is a fool’s errand and a fool’s end.

When the days of success come, remember from whom all blessings come. Abraham and Job were immensely successful men, but their faith rested in the word of God. When all was taken from Job, his faith remained in the God who had given him everything. He accepted good from God, and he accepted adversity. In all things, he could only bless the name of the Lord. He did not sin nor charge God with wrong. His season of success did not cause him to forget God. When he lost everything, he did not forget God. Be thankful. Do not forget God in seasons of success.