Is it sinful to build new barns?

When I was a young teenager, I began to work summers for a contractor who built (mostly, but not only) residential homes. I persevered in the trade and became a master carpenter (that is mainly a union term, but we were not union). Sometimes we built new barns, and so this question is close to home. We never thought we were sinning building new barns. No, I do not think we were. However, could building new barns be sinful, and if so, when?

Barns filled with plenty and the need of more storage space might be a sign of God’s blessing: Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine (Proverbs 3:9-10). On the other hand, a rich and thoughtless fool brought the building of new barns into the realm of the sinful. See Luke 12:16-21.

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

The Thoughtless Fool

Learn ye of a man now dead—
What he did not think about,
Why he did not think ahead,
And how it all turned out.

Yes, building new barns can be sinful. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23).

When it is with the self-conception that ignores God’s power, providence, and governance.

The life and breath of all mankind is in the Lord’s hand (Job 12:10). The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein (Psalm 24:1). He that built all things is God (Hebrews 3:4). He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45). God gives seed to the sower, and bread to the eater (Isaiah 55:10). A life lived without faith toward God and without recognition of God’s power, providence, and governance in all things is a life lived in sin. The experience of the rich and thoughtless fool demonstrates one who “thought within himself” and did not think about God in all his ways. See also Deuteronomy 8:18; Judges 17:6b; Psalm 10:4; 2 Corinthians 5:7; and 2 Corinthians 10:12.

When it is with the self-glorification that rests in one’s own accomplishments.

No flesh should glory in God’s presence (1 Corinthians 1:29). Yet man by nature praises the work of his own hands, and is snared in the work of his own hands (Psalm 9:16). Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). That the rich man would pull down his old barns, and build greater barns – rather than keep the old barns and build more as needed – suggests a pride that looked not only inward, but also outward to show the world, “Look at me. Look what I have done.” Yet his pride caused him to dwell careless, at ease, to see life going forward as only the enjoyment of his success. See Job 4:19-20; Ezekiel 16:49-50; Amos 6:1; Zephaniah 2:15; Matthew 24:37-39; and 1 John 2:16.

When it is with the self-deception that disdains the eternal perspective.

The rich fool viewed the rest of life as a constant source of pleasure, in which he had much goods laid up for many years, could concentrate on “taking it easy,” – in order to “eat, drink, and be merry.” However, he had not taken all into account. The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). He had ignored his appointment with the inevitable (Hebrews 9:27). He had not prepared to meet his God (Amos 4:12). Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? See Ecclesiastes 5:15; Isaiah 40:6-8; Matthew 6:219ff; Romans 14:11-12; Colossians 3:2; 1 Timothy 6:6-10; and 1 John 2:15-17.

2 Kings 6:27 …If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?

John 3:15 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Which way he went?

Among the tombs I strolled one day,
To read what the epitaphs would say.
As leisurely I walked around
On one this bold advice I found:

"Remember this as you pass by 
"As you are now, so once was I.
"As I am now, soon you shall be,
"So you prepare to follow me."

I thought and thought and gave a sigh,
Then on the ground scrawled my reply:
"To follow you, I'm not content--
"Until I know which way you went!"

(A little poem cobbled around an old epitaph and its "response")

Reasons to Love Not the World

1 John 2:
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Notice two reasons not to love the world, whatever "the world" is. Interestingly, the words "love" and "world" that John uses are the same ones Jesus used in John 3:16 when He said God so loved the world. John exhorts us, commands us -- do not love the world!

The love of the world is opposed to the love of God the Father. No man can serve two masters. No man can love two opposites. The world and its elements are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These elements arise not from our Father God, but from the nature of the world. We cannot love both. We must "choose this day" whom we will love. Worldly love should have no place in the child of God.

The world is temporal and the child of God is eternal. We should lay up our treasures -- our love -- in a place that is eternal, and we should love that which is eternal. The world is passing away, and all the desires we have in it. Let us not place our desires, our treasures, our love, in a woven basket that is temporal. Love that which we will love throughout eternity and not that which will melt with fervent heat.

The Valley of the Shadow

It is appointed unto men once to die. But before we meet that appointment we may on numerous occasions walk through valleys where death casts its foreboding shadow. King David, after he had served his nation 40 years, became sick and died. Many times before death his eyes caught a view of the shadow death cast.

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Death due to unintended consequences
David was made to mourn deaths of those from outside his inner circles -- death that had resulted from his actions and decisions. What misery of mind to acknowledge the unintended consequences to the priest Abiathar, "I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house (1 Samuel 22:22)." Uzzah's death before the ark at first angered David. Then he realized his complicity in the matter by not transporting the ark properly (Cf. 2 Samuel 6:8; 1 Chron. 15:2). 

The death of friends and family
The hurt of the death of friends and family is a profoundly deep wound not soon healed. The Bible tells the tale of several such gut-wrenching moments in David's life. The death of his close friend and confidant Jonathan touched him profoundly -- "How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan." The loss of his sons, a baby, Amnon -- especially Absalom  -- was a special burden. "And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" The mournful song of regret pours forth from his tongue in deep anguish.

The imminent death of one's self
From shepherd to soldier to king, David had not a few run-ins with the shadow of death. Out in the wilds herding and defending his father's sheep, he neared the paw of the lion and the bear, and was delivered. 1 Samuel 17:37 "David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." As a youth in the shadow of a giant who had been a soldier from his youth, David stared into death's shadow and was again delivered. David as soldier in Saul's army conquered the foe time and again. As a fugitive from Saul's regime, as a kingly leader of his armies, as an Absalomic exile from his own throne, and as a scofflaw of the 7th and 8th commandments, David knew the meaning of imminent death and saw the long shadow of its approach, only to see God turn it aside. 1 Samuel 20:3 "And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death."

Yes, it is appointed unto men once to die. As far as we know, at any given moment, there is but one step between us and death. But if God be with us, there is no cause to fear. Death is the door by which we exit this world and enter the next. 

Psalm 56:11 In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain!

The two lives

1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Writing to Timothy of issues with which he must grapple, Paul speaks of the life that now is and the life which is to come. This sums up the totality of our existence. Now in time and in the flesh we live "the life that now is" a mortal temporal existence. It is appointed unto men once to die. This temporal existence numbers only a few days, and is full of trouble. It is like a vapor that appears for a little while and then disappears.

When we die the second life, the life which is to come, must follow. It will be for all, but it will not be the same for all. This is graphically illustrated in the lives and deaths of the rich man and Lazarus (Read Luke 16:19-31).

In Paul's exhortation to Timothy we see the need to rightly divide between the temporal and the eternal. In verse 7 Paul's urges us to exercise "rather unto godliness." He follows that by noting "bodily exercise profiteth little." Paul is not campaigning against exercise or healthy living, but putting it in its proper perspective. Physical exercise is temporal. It only affects this body, which lives this life that now is -- the vaporous life. Godliness, on the other hand, is profitable both now and forever. Let us not exalt the things that are temporal over the things that are eternal.

Hell

I have often heard it expressed that the Bible speaks more about Hell than Heaven, or that Jesus talked more about hell than about heaven. I don't know the truth of these statements, and it could actually be quite complicated in determing it -- for example, there are many other words in the Bible that refer to these places other than just these two. I can say that by running a simple search at KJVBible.net for the words heaven and hell, there is quite a disparity. 691 verses include some form of the word heaven/heavens. 55 verses include some form of the word hell. With that kind of disparity, my initial reaction would be that it is unlikely that the initial statement it true. But it is likely that a number of those verses about heaven do mean heaven/heavens in the sky and not heaven where God dwells.

Regardless, there are some very important things the Bible says about hell. For examples:

Matthew 5:22 Some in danger of hell fire.
Matthew 5:29-30 Some bodies to be cast into Hell.
Matthew 10:28 Someone is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 23:33 Can you escape the damnation of hell?
Mark 9:43 Hell fire shall never be quenched:
Luke 16:23 The rich man lift up his eyes in hell, being in torments.

The Bible declares for whom Hell is prepared, who will inhabit it for how long, and the nature of their existence in this place. Passages such as Matthew 25:41-46; 13:42; Revelation 20:14-15; 1 Peter 3:19; Luke 8:31; and 2 Peter 2:4 are helpful in teaching us.

Paul writes, “...when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels (when), In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (who): Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction (how long) from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power (the nature of their existence)” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

The rapid flight of Time

From The Baptist Harmony
480 P.M. Dossey's Choice.

The rapid flight of Time, and the Solemnities of Eternity.

My days, my weeks, my months, my years,
Fly rapid as the whirling spheres,
Around the steady pole;
Time, like the tide, its motion keeps,
And I must launch through boundless deeps,
Where endless ages roll.

The grave is near, the cradle seen,
How swift the moments pass between,
And whisper as they fly;
Unthinking man, remember this,
Though fond of sublunary bliss,
That you must groan and die.

My soul, attend the solemn call,
Thine earthly tent must shortly fall
And thou must take thy flight
Beyond the vast expansive blue,
To sing above as angels do.
Or sink in endless night.

The Existence of God

God is from before time to after time -- from eternity to eternity. God is the all mighty, all power, all knowing, the Great I AM. God is in everything about us -- the very breath in our nostrils is from God. The Apostle Paul said it is in God that we live and move and have our being in the world. Some people praise Him and some people can do nothing but damn Him, but God still exists and looks upon us all. God is awesome. Romans 1:16-20 - Bobby Budd, January 1995