| 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.”
22
Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to
you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body,
what you will put on.
23
Life is more than food, and the body is more
than clothing.
24
Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap,
which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much
more value are you than the birds?
25
And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to
his stature?
26
If you then are not able to do the least, why
are you anxious for the rest?
27
Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither
toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these.
28
If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in
the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He
clothe you, O you of little faith?
29
“And do not seek what you should eat or what you
should drink, nor have an anxious mind.
30
For all these things the nations of the world seek
after, and your Father knows that you need these things.
31
But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things
shall be added to you.
32
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your
Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33
Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves
money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not
fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
34
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also. |
