Luke 12:18

Plain English Version

He thought about it, and then he said, ‘I know what to do. I will pull down my little sheds and build big sheds, and I will keep it all in those big sheds. And I will keep all my other things in those big sheds too.

Cross References

Matthew 6:26

Think about the birds. They don’t put seeds into the ground to grow a garden, to get their food from it. And they don’t build sheds to keep their food in. But God, your father, gives them food anyway. And you are much more special to God than birds, so you can trust him to give you the food you need.

Luke 12:17

The man looked at it all and said to himself, ‘My sheds are not big enough for all this seed food. Where will I put it all?’

Luke 12:19

Then I will say, “Ah. I’ve got lots of stuff now. I’ve got enough in those sheds to last me for a long time. I don’t have to do any work. I can just sit down and eat, and drink, and be happy.” ’

Luke 12:21

That is a picture story to tell you people this. If you keep money and things just for yourself, and if you don’t use them the way God wants you to, you are stupid.” (We have not yet translated 12:22-53. You can read those stories and messages in Matthew 6:19-21, 25-34; 10:34-36; 24:45-51.)

Luke 18:4

The judge didn’t answer her. He took no notice of her, and he wouldn’t listen to her. But she kept on asking him, and for a while he kept on taking no notice of her. But after a while he said to himself, ‘This woman is making me go crazy. Even though I don’t respect God, and I don’t care about people, I will make sure she gets a fair go. I will give her what she wants. If I don’t do that, she will keep on asking me, and I’m getting sick of it.’ ”

Luke 18:6

Then Jesus said, “That judge was a bad man, but think about what he said to himself. That woman kept on asking him, and in the end, he did the right thing.

James 4:13

Listen. Some of you talk like this, you say, “Tomorrow we will go to that town over there, and we will buy things for a little bit of money, and then we will sell them for a lot of money. We will keep on doing that for a year. That’s how we will get plenty of money to keep for ourselves.”

James 4:15

So don’t talk up big about something you will do tomorrow, but instead you have to talk like this, “If God wants us to, we will keep on living, and we will go and do that thing.” It is wrong to forget God and talk up big about something before you do it.