Perfection according to Jesus? Give everything you have to the poor. In doing so you are laying up eternally those things that truly please God! Although the majority of us will never be that altruistic it points out that money and its acquisition held onto for our own means mean nothing in this life morally.
In a parable unique to Luke’s Gospel, Jesus teaches on the pitfalls of abundance and the evil of greed. Jesus’ point is to show the futility and deception of acquiring wealth, which He sets in contrast to storing up treasure that matters to God. Faithlife Bible.
The word I appears six times, showing the selfish focus this man has as a result of his fortune. His plan is to store his abundant resources for himself, as though the assets were his alone and should be hoarded. This focus on the self is what Jesus is condemning. All earthly wealth is temporary and ultimately worthless. NKJ Bible.
Luke 12:13–21 (NKJV)
13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Matthew 6:20 (NKJV)
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
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