7
A PERSON WITH MANY BELONGINGS DID NOT THINK ABOUT GOD
One day Jesus was teaching many people. A man there said to him, “Teacher, our father has already died. He gave his land for me and my older brother. Tell my older brother he should divide that land for us two, tell him to give me my share.”
Jesus said to him, “Who made me a boss for you two? I should not divide your land.” (That is, “It is not my job to divide your land.”)
Then he said to all of them, “Listen! You should not with greed get money and a lot of belongings and such-like. When you have got a lot of money and belongings, money will not make you good, belongings will not make you happy, they will not keep you alive.”
Then Jesus told them a story. “One man had a lot of money. His land was also very productive. He planted (lit. 'put') seeds (of popular cereal-type grasses) in the ground for food, from the ground a very big (amount of) food for flour grew ('became') for that man.
He said to himself, 'My houses for keeping food are small, I cannot put all the food in them. How will I keep all my food?' He was very puzzled.
Then he said to himself, 'I understand about that! I will dismantle (loosen/untie) the small food houses. Then I will make very big ones. In them I will care of all my food and belongings and such-like. Then I will say to myself, “I have a very large amount of food, (enough) for many years truly. From now on I will not work. I will keep on eating food, I will keep on drinking wine, I will be happy forever.”' In that way that man was talking to himself.
Then God said to that man, 'You are ignorant. On this very night you will die. You kept for yourself money and many belongings. How will you use them now? Another person will get them!'”
Then Jesus said to them, “Many people are like this man. They keep on forgetting God. They continually gather for themselves money and belongings and such-like. They withhold from the poor food and such-like. They do not give money for God (lit. 'are not money-givers for God'). They keep on holding it for themselves. All those who behave in that way are like that man. They are not making God happy.” (OR, “They cannot make God happy.”)