Jump Start # 3940
Luke 12:19 “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’”
Our verse today comes from the Lord’s story of a successful and wealthy farmer. Life had been good to him. He was all set to expand and retire. Things were in place for everything to fall together. Things couldn’t be better, so he thought. The poor farmer, as he truly was, forgot about God. He didn’t know what time it was. God required his life that very night and all those dreams and plans would fall to someone else.
Jesus tells this story to answer a man’s request for the Lord to get involved in a family matter about money. “Tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me,” was the plea. Jesus wouldn’t do that. It wasn’t His place, purpose or mission. The story of the rich farmer was a lesson for this one who made the request to Jesus.
There is an interesting expression layered in our verse today. The rich farmer says, “I will say to my soul, ‘Soul…’”. I don’t know if I have ever talked to my soul. I have talked out loud when no one was around, just to think things through. When I was a young preacher, I’d preach some of my best sermons on a Saturday night to a dark and empty church house, as I practiced.
I will say to my soul…
Here is something I ran across the other day, “Hank was a cranky guy. He did not smile easily and when he did, the smile often had an edge to it. He had a knack for discovering islands of bad news in oceans of happiness. He would always find a cloud where others saw a silver lining. Many thought “Pessimism” was Hank’s middle name. He rarely affirmed anyone. He operated on the assumption that if you compliment someone, it might lead to a swelled head so he worked to make sure everyone stayed humble. He worked the unique ministry of downsizing everyone’s spirits. His native tongue was “complaint.” Although he went to church all his life, he never was unshackled from his depressing thoughts. Someone once asked Hank, “Are you happy?” Hank paused, and then said, without smiling, “Yeah.” The other person said, “Well, tell that to your face.” As far as anybody knows, Hank’s face never did find out.”
Maybe Hank should have talked to his soul. Maybe we ought to talk to our souls as well.
First, a sour and bitter Christian is a contradiction to the faith he ought to hold. Aren’t we Heaven bound? Don’t we have forgiveness? Isn’t it wonderful to be able to talk to the Almighty? Maybe by nature you’re not one who smiles much, but maybe, just maybe, we need to have a talk with your soul and your face. The way some put it, they have to apologize for the Gospel being good news.
Second, a little talk to our soul might remind us of the promises and truths of God’s word and calm down our worried hearts. There are a lot of scary things in life. Waiting for medical results can sure play tricks on our minds. We tend to put one foot in the grave even before we know what’s going on. When someone is not where they are supposed to be, we often think the worst rather than the best.
How comforting and encouraging we can be to others when they are going through the valleys of life. Yet, when it is our turn, we tend to forget those very words that we told others. Having a little talk with your soul might help you stay where you need to be with the Lord.
There was an occasion in David’s life when he was weary with running from King Saul. David and the men with him returned home only to discover that their families had been kidnapped. So despondent was David’s men that they were ready to stone him. The text tells us that ‘David strengthened himself.’ There was no one else to encourage him. There was no one else to talk to. David must have talked to his soul. There may be times when everyone lets you down. There may be days when it seems like it’s just you against the whole world. Down. Discouraged. Feeling forgotten by others. Have a talk to your soul and strengthen yourself.
Third, when the rich farmer from our passage talked to his soul, he fed it some lies. He believed he had goods stored up for many years. He was looking way into the future and before the day was done, he was done. It does little good to talk to our souls if we are not speaking the truth. It does little good to talk to our souls if we are ignoring God’s word. You can convince yourself that you are doing well, when really you are not. You can tell yourself that you are going to Heaven when you may not be.
If we are going to talk to our souls, we need to use Scriptures. We need to look at ourselves as Heaven sees us. We need to pull the curtain back and be honest. Deceiving ourselves won’t do us any good.
He talked to his soul…
Roger