What Defines You?

Text: Luke 12:16-21

Monks’ Grove received a special treat this Sunday morning. The guest speaker of the hour was our very own Terry Glasgow. For Brother Glasgow to not be an ordained minister, he came to our congregation with a sermon, not a message. He blessed our hearts with a word that was preached from Luke 12:16-21. The title of his sermon was “What Defines You.” It was definitely a word from the Lord, and our congregation hasn’t stopped talking about it since!

In keeping with the theme for Black History Month, most Black people would agree on how to define our historically famous Black leaders. Most people would agree unanimously on how these people are perceived by Black America. A good word that the majority of people would probably use to define Harriet Tubman is fearless. Brother Glasgow challenged us to look inside ourselves and consider how we are defined. When people see you, what do they associate you with? When your name is mentioned, what word automatically comes to mind? What do you want people to know about you?

The man in the text was a rich man with a large farm. He had so many crops that his barns were overflowing. This man was defined by his possessions. This isn’t the way we as Christians should want people to define us, by our houses, cars, or wealth. Look inside yourself and see if this is how people define you, too.

The next illustration used to describe the man in the text was that he was self-reliant. He put his trust in himself. He was so blessed, and had so many crops, that he considered tearing down the barns and building new ones. They were already full to overflowing. Instead of trusting God to be in charge of his future, he trusted himself. God called him a fool for thinking this way. Do you think this way too?

Finally, the man was unrepented. He rejected the truth and was disobedient. He kept on going without God. After the man contemplated building bigger barns, God told him that he would die that night. Who would get all of that food then? The fact that this man had all of these material possessions had nothing to do with the relationship he had with God. Those crops weren’t going to help him get into Heaven. If you accumulate wealth only to enrich yourself, without trying to help others, you will die empty handed.

All of these reflections really made us think about ourselves. How do people see you? Where is your heart? What defines you?

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