What the Parable of the Bigger Barns Teaches Us About Saving

In the twelfth chapter of Luke, Jesus tells this parable:

“The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 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 my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain 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 whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:16-21

Throughout history, some Christians and churches have interpreted this parable to mean that we should not save our resources. Accumulating wealth was thought to reveal a greedy heart and lack of trust in God. The message many preached was: “Do not save. Just trust God for provision.”

However, the Bible is not against saving. In fact, it is equated with wisdom. Proverbs 6:6-11 says,

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
    and gathers its food at harvest.

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
    When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

How are we to reconcile these two passages? Is saving for the future by accumulating wealth good or bad? Is it a sin or a command? 

The Real Problem Behind Bigger Barns

Let’s take a closer look at the first parable. When Jesus starts telling this parable, the rich man already has barns. He has already been preserving some of his crops each year for the future. If he were to consume or even donate all of his crops each year, he would have no seed left to plant the following year. His farm would cease to exist. In farming, saving is a prerequisite to productivity and sustainability. Practicing restraint by saving seed for future planting is the only way to continue to be fruitful.

The key to this parable is not the existence of barns. It’s the building of bigger barns. The problem wasn’t saving, it was retaining more of the harvest than was necessary for the sustainability of the farm: hoarding wealth.

What is Surplus For?

When God provides us with more than we need, it is not so that we can “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” The Lord supplies surplus so that we can share it with others and help those in need. This is illustrated beautifully in the principle of margin commanded in the Old Testament: 

“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.”

Leviticus 19:9-10

In this passage, the Lord commands the nation of Israel not to consume everything they produce so that there will be some left for those in need. He wants us to do the same today. Saving is wise, but forgoing generosity to hoard wealth is foolish.

Where do you place your security?

That isn’t all this parable has to say to us. After all, the rich man wasn’t only hoarding his surplus, he was placing his trust in it. Jeremiah has some pretty harsh words about this in chapter 17, verse 5. Just like the rich man who placed his confidence in his barns, Jeremiah warns us of the danger of trusting in ourselves or our possessions: “This is what the Lord says: Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.” As we are wisely saving, we need to resolutely look to God for our security and not our wealth. 

This parable, and all of the Bible, ultimately points us beyond our financial habits to the posture of our hearts. The truth is, none of us live this out perfectly. We all wrestle with wanting to store up more, to feel secure, and to protect ourselves from uncertainty.

Our Example

But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus did what we could not. He didn’t choose to “build bigger barns” for Himself in heaven or withhold His glory and favor. Instead, He emptied Himself, leaving the riches of heaven to come to earth as a humble baby and to die on our behalf (Philippians 2:5–8).

Jesus, who was perfectly rich, became poor so that through His poverty we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). He gave everything, not to hoard, but to redeem.

When we see that kind of generous love, it changes how we view our own resources. We no longer save out of fear or hoard out of pride: we save wisely, give joyfully, and trust deeply in the God who has already given us everything we need in Christ.

If you need guidance on your stewardship journey then please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our advisors here at the Christian Financial Advisors Network.

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