The man who had
everything – Luke 12.13-21 KS 2 -SEAL Theme New beginnings - resolving an argument
I’ve got a brother. We get on very well now, but when we
were little we used to argue. Brothers and sisters usually do. Do you fight
with your brothers and sisters? What do you fight about? Often it is probably
things that when you think about it don’t really matter all that much. You just
want to win. Sometimes brothers and sisters carry on arguing even when they get
big.
Once two brothers came to see Jesus. They were having a big
argument. Their father had died and they had inherited his money and his
things, but they couldn’t agree how to share them out.. “I should have more”
said the older brother,”because I’m the older brother”. No, that’s not fair,
said the other, we should share it evenly. Anyway, father’s already given you
stuff.” “Yes, but I work harder than you…so I deserve it.”
They were shouting and stamping their feet at each other. “Jesus,
they both said – sort it out. Make my brother give me what is fair!”
Jesus sighed… “I’m not really here to sort out family
disputes he said, but let me tell you a story…”
“There was once a farmer who was very successful. His crops
grew well, and all his animals grew fat and strong. At harvest his farm
produced more than he could use. So he built a barn to put the extra in. The
next harvest his farm produced even more. So he built another barn, then
another, then another. He had more food than he knew what to do with, more
money than he could spend…
Harvest time came round again and yet again it was a bumper
crop, wagon after wagon of grain and vegetables and fruit. He piled it all high
in his barns till every little space was filled up. But there was still more to
fit in.
It’s no good , he said to himself. I shall have to pull down
these barns and build bigger ones to put all the food in.
So that’s what he did. He built himself the biggest barns
you’ve ever seen and he filled them up to the rafters with his harvest.
There, he said ! That’s better. Now I shall have everything
I want forever. I shall be able to eat and drink whatever I want whenever I
want, feast every night, pig out on good food… I’m set up for life!
But at that point, God spoke to him. You silly man, he said.
It’s all very well having all this food, being set up for life, but no one
lives forever. You are already very old, and as it happens tonight is your last night – you are about to die… and
all this food won’t be any use to you now. You have spent your whole life
heaping it up, but you are never going to get to enjoy it…
And the man thought about it. He thought of all the things
he hadn’t done while he was busy heaping up all that food. He hadn’t paid any
attention to his family or his friends, and he didn’t have anyone who cared
about him now. He hadn’t actually enjoyed his life, or done anything for anyone
else. He could have shared his food with others, and made them happy, but he’d
kept it all for himself. And now he was dying, and it was too late. And with
that, he died,” said Jesus. “
“Now”, said Jesus, to the brothers who had come to see him, “what
do you think of that? What’s more important? Having a lot of money and things,
or being friends with each other and helping each other out? Which will really
matter in the end?”
We don’t know what the brothers did – do you think they made
up and found a way of sharing, or do you think they carried on fighting?
What would you do?
(Responses included: “they should share fairly” “It was
more important that they should be friends than have things”)
We often fight over things that aren’t really important. It’s
far more important to have friends and to look after others.
Prayer – think of something we’ve fought over. Help us to
see what is really important and to share what we have.
