A soldier's counter-parable

ABC News reports,

After completing two tours in Iraq, Sgt. Wayne Leyde won $1 million from a scratch-and-win lotto ticket on Tuesday. ...

Leyde couldn't believe it when he scratched a winning ticket, but he still plans to return to Iraq.

"It was a commitment I made about three months ago. I'm going to stick to it," Leyde said about his decision. ...

"For right now, I'm going to hold off [spending] and let reality sink back to earth. This is a true blessing. I'm going to turn it around and see if I can bless other people with this," Leyde said.

Now consider this parable that Jesus told:

“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

The farmer’s deficiency was not that he was wealthy. It was that he was self-centered, not God-centered. His every thought or word included the personal pronoun, “I.” Blessed with plenty, he was filled with worry: “What shall I do?” It would have been nice to hear a prayer of gratitude for his harvest, but there was none. He did not seek the Lord’s guidance in managing his affairs. He impulsively decided to tear down his old barns and build new ones. The farmer kept everything and decided to entertain himself with his abundance. His wealth was God’s gift to him, but the farmer only wanted to amuse himself with God’s gifts.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

What does the LORD your God ask of you but to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul?

He has showed you what is good and what he requires: to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will be revealed.”

Be not puffed up with desires that are not upright—the righteous will live by faith. The entire law is summed up in one command, "Love your neighbor as yourself."

I have no idea what religion Sgt. Leyde follows, or whether indeed he follows any at all. But he understands what so few seem to: that the primary question of wealth is not how to manage it, but why does one have it in the first place.