Bigger Barns

Your opinion, my friend, if you have the time?
I’ve been accused of enacting a crime,
a disregard for my neighbors around
who struggle to raise their crops from the ground,
while I, clearly blessed by life’s higher power,
rake in the profit, hour by hour.
The grain I gather from all my fields
is more than I dreamed they all could yield.
So, there’s little I can say or do,
just build bigger barns, then when I’m through
I’ll hire armed guards and build a fence,
it doesn’t make a bit of sense
to let the riff-raff plunder and steal
simply because they seem to feel
entitled to the grain my fields produce,
but I will withstand their insistent abuse.
For, as everyone can plainly see,
this grain is mine. It belongs to me!
So, bigger barns are on the way,
and I don’t care what people say.
I’m not a greedy man at all.
In fact, tonight I will issue a call
inviting my neighbors to drop by someday,
receive a handout, no need to pay.
I just insist that they all agree:
this grain is mine. It belongs to me!
Now, forgive me, but I cannot stay.
I’m already late for my hour to pray.
I can’t afford to disappoint God.
I’ll give him a wink, a respectful nod.
I can see them now, those beautiful barns!

Reflection on Luke 12:13-21