The Crumbs Below
Wealth comes with its worries. In Luke 12:16-21, the rich man is all too familiar with this fact. He had too many crops. His barns were overflowing. What was he to do? His solution was to build more barns, enough to hold all of his wealth. With endless resources stored up for himself, he could relax; after all, he had worked so hard for his fortune. Yet, in this parable, the rich man is described as a fool, not because he was rich but because he lived his life preparing for the wrong things. It seemed his focus was on accumulating wealth, the kind here on earth.
It is not unusual to set out in life with a plan. Most people work hard and strive to succeed in education and their careers, among other things. We teach our children about success and press them to achieve greatness, and there is nothing wrong with that, but what if we prioritized heavenly goals instead of earthly ones? What if we taught our children that education and career are important but only to the extent they are used to glorify God?
My husband Tensley was in a near-fatal car accident as a teen and, as a result, suffered a traumatic brain injury and an amputation. He is with the LORD in eternity now, but for almost 12 years, despite his two graduate degrees, he worked as a host at the movie theatre. Some would deny his success in this life. Many of his former classmates have traveled the world and dominated their fields of work. One such schoolmate was a political aide to President Barrack Obama. Between the two of them, the world would perceive the president’s aide as a success, and that is perfectly fine, but for over a decade, I observed someone who was undervalued, underappreciated, underpaid, and often taken advantage of work faithfully as if he were working for the LORD and not man (Col. 3:23-24).
Tensley shared in celebrations and losses with his customers, received letters, cards and gifts, all for being so kind and making their day. Unbelievably, he even had a baby named after him! This was someone who put on an artificial limb every day and struggled with the brain function that is natural and automatic for others, yet, in the entire time I had the privilege of being in his life, I never heard him complain about his disabilities. Instead, for the strength he had, he gave credit to the LORD and allowed the light of Christ to shine through him and impact the lives of others. Now, that is true wealth and success. Living for the LORD gives us a sense of value and significance, knowing we are exactly where we should be. Regardless of how stressful, menial, or frustrating the task, when you do everything as unto the LORD, you make a difference for the Kingdom of God, all while storing treasure in heaven (Col. 3:23).
Still, there is nothing wrong with earthly riches. Remember, it is God who gives us the power to get wealth, whether we give Him credit or not; it is the love of money that is a hindrance to our souls (Deut. 8:18, 1Tm. 6:10). The rich man was considered a fool because of his greed, disobedience, and thievery. He was greedy because he stockpiled, he was disobedient because he refused to share, and he was a thief because he took credit for his success. Others likely admired this man. They probably thought he was brilliant because of his wealth, but God saw a fool. The LORD blessed him with fertile ground, yet honoring God was the furthest thing from his mind. Like the rich man, everything we have, we owe to God. Every idea, every opportunity, and every ounce of our physical and mental strength has come from God, and only a fool would take credit for what he has not done.
“We forsake the feast above for all the crumbs below” are all too true lyrics from the Sovereign Grace song, Forgiven. We waste a lot of time preoccupied with the things of this world. We admire celebrity, power, and money, yet these are the crumbs below. The rich man filled his barns with riches, but the LORD saw what he had as merely crumbs. Crumbs because when his soul was required of him, it turned out he was spiritually bankrupt. Believers do not need to hoard money and possessions; we have the assurance of God's care (Lk. 12:24). When we see the riches of this world for the crumbs that they are, we should realize how foolish it is to work ourselves to death, towards death, when we could work for the LORD, towards eternal life.
Over five hundred people attended my husband's memorial service. They were not there for his wealth, celebrity, or worldly success; they were there because of the impact he made on their lives as a follower of Christ. Today, Tensley Terrell Brandon enjoys the feast above because he did not care about the crumbs below.
