Borrowed Land

Only once did I have to pay a hefty $50 fine for forgetting to pay off a credit card. A well-known retail store in America offered a 20% discount if I purchased my clothes on their credit card. Silly me! I took the offer, signed up for the credit card, and purchased my clothes but forgot to pay the bill until the credit sharks contacted me and said that I owed $50 in fees. In addition to that expense, my credit score was lowered, and I didn’t qualify to purchase a house eight years later. I learned a big lesson about taking loans.

In ancient days, only wealthy landlords had properties. They subleased it to farmers for harvesting. Keeping that in mind, the Lord said a parable.

“The land of a certain rich man had a wonderful harvest, and he dialogued with himself, saying: ‘What will I do? I have nowhere to store my harvest.’ Then he rationalized, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns, rebuild larger ones, and store there all the grain and my valuables. Then, I’ll say to my soul, “You have many good things stored up for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and be glad.”’ (Luke 12:16–19)

All of these were good things that a successful farmer (or businessperson) thought. S/he was careful, calculative, and wise. But s/he forgot one basic truth: s/he was on borrowed land.

The Lord continued,

“God said to him: O, thoughtless one, this night, they will ask from you’re your soul. Then what will happen to what you have prepared?” (Luke 12:20)

English translations make this third plural, “they,” vague and passive, something like “your life will be demanded from you” (NIV), “your soul is required of you” (ESV), or “thy soul shall be required of thee” (KJV). In the process, they miss something crucial – this rich person had borrowed the land or taken a loan on that land to harvest it. The landowner and his/her people would require a certain percentage of his/her harvest, including his/her soul, if s/he weren’t able to pay off the loan. The land wasn’t his/her to plan the retirement – “rest, eat, drink, and be glad.” S/he had to give an account.

Having set this context, the Lord said,

“So is also for the one who treasures for him/herself and not stores riches for the Lord.” (Luke 12:21)

If someone were to think that their borrowed land to harvest truly belonged to them, they would be surprised to see when the landlord came back to get his land and harvest. Similarly, disciples who worked for God, if they were to think that their work was awesome and they could rest, they would be surprised to find that they were truly working for the Lord. He would come and take the best for himself.

Often, in Christian work, we think we are doing an excellent job. But in reality, God gives the harvest, and he takes it any time he wants. We are just workers in his field. The disciples were to keep that in their mind (which Paul did, 1 Cor 3:9), and in the same way, we are to keep in mind that we are just manual laborers in God’s field – the harvest belongs to him, not us.