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.
Luk 12:16-19
Though Isaac Newton became one of the most famous scientists of history, his great discoveries might never have been shared were it not for the help of Edmund Halley. Halley encouraged Newton to print his mathematical discoveries and even edited, supervised, and financed the printing of Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. The massive work had influence around the world, but few recognized Halley’s contribution to its very existence. Ironically after doing so much to promote Newton’s work, Halley is now remembered for a discovery he made using Newton’s principles, a comet that bears his name and returns to the night sky every seventy-six years or so. Halley didn’t care about receiving credit and honor for himself, but about the advance of science and mathematics.
The purpose of our lives is not for us to be honored or glorified or famous or wealthy. The point of what God has given us is not so that we can build bigger and bigger houses and barns to hold more and more stuff. The point of life is to honor and glorify God, seeking not our own promotion and prominence, but seeking to lift Him up in the eyes of others. John the Baptist demonstrated the proper attitude. When people pointed out that most of the crowds who had once flocked to hear him were now following Jesus instead, he did not view that as a failure, but as success. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). When the focus of our lives becomes only internal, we are headed down the wrong track.
