Relax, Eat, Drink and Be Merry

"The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do,

for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns 

and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; 

relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul 

is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'

So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God."

Luke 12:16-21

What do you say to your own soul? Are you primarily looking to store up treasures for yourself? Do you find yourself living for your own personal comfort? Do you live to 'relax, eat, drink, and be merry'. This is the wasted life, and this is the sad reality of most people in the world (especially in America). 

Everything given to us in the life is given from God, and it is given for the purpose of glorifying His name. If we are given talents, they are to be used to make His name look great. If we have money, it is meant to be handled in a way that makes God look like the ultimate treasure. This passage reminds me of the last verse of a song by Lecrae, 'Don't Waste Your Life'. 

If you're trying to figure out what to do with ya life,
If you make a lot of money hope your doin' it right,
Because the money is God’s, you better steward it right, 
You stay focused, you ain't got no ride,
Your life ain't wrapped up in what you drive,
The clothes you wear, the job you work,
The color your skin, nah you're Christian first,
People get it living for a job,
Make a little money start living for a car,
Get em a wife, a house, kids and a dog,
Then they retire, they living high on the hog,
But guess what? They didn’t ever really live at all,
To live is Christ, and that’s Paul I recall,
To die is gain and for Christ we give it all,
He's the treasure you’ll never find in a mall,
See your money, your singleness, marriage, talents, your time,
They were loaned you to show the world that Christ is divine,
That’s why its Christ in my rhymes,
That’s why its Christ all the time,
See my whole world is built around Him,
He’s the life in my lines,
I refuse to waste my life,
He’s too true to chase that ice,
Here’s my gift and time,
'cause I'm constantly tryna ta be used to praise the Christ,
If He’s truly raised to life, 
Then this news should change your life ,
And by His grace you can put your faith in the place that rules your days and nights,
YES!

In the end, God is too worthy, beautiful and glorious for us to waste our lives on ourselves. The joy, comfort and peace from knowing the Living God are infinitely more valuable than the joy, comfort and peace from a large bank account, or from safe retirement, or to live our lives to 'relax, eat, drink and be merry.' This is an attitude in my own life that I must fight for everyday. I need to remind myself of how marvelous the Gospel of God's grace is. I need to taste God's goodness. In these moments of gospel sanity, the lure of living to 'relax, eat, drink and be merry' fades away' and a passion to live for the Living God arises.