Luke 12:
13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
14 But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"
15 And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."
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." (New King James Bible)

When the man asked Jesus to help him and his brother divide the family inheritance, Jesus refused to get involved, pointing out that the motivation in the hearts of both brothers was covetousness, so neither would ever be satisfied no matter how equitable the settlement was.
Covetousness is a burning desire for more and more of something YOU feel you will not be satisfied without. Then Jesus told them a story about covetousness.

This rich man had a problem: what should he do with his overflowing plenty?
He gave the matter some thought and calculated on the fact that his health was good at the time and that he had a great life-expectancy.
But he made his plans with the motivation of covetousness, and without the input of God.

The question he asked is one that is common to human beings: What shall I do?
When we are in trouble we ask, What shall I do?
When we are at a crossroads in life and need to make a decision on the way forward, we ask, What shall I do?

God was evidently observing his decision-making process.
What was God listening for?
God was listening to hear whether HE, God, was included in this man's planning process.

Unfortunately, it seems never to have occurred to this man that his wealth and massive increase had come as a result of God's favour on his life. It never seemse to have occurred to this man that he should direct his question about the future TO GOD!

Had this rich man done that, God would have been able to warn him of his impending death and he would have made very different plans!
He may have even had the opportunity to ask God to give him an extension to his life!
But God was not in his thoughts.
What a pity!

Prayer:
Loving heavenly Father, I come to confess that often when I ask the question, What shall I do?,
You are not in my thoughts.
I ask You to forgive me for not including You in my decision-making process.
Today I set me heart on You.
I declare that whenever I have cause to ask the question, What shall I do?,
I will ask this question of You,
because my life and future are in Your hands.
I want above all things to fulfil Your purpose for me as I live today,
and in the coming days of my life,
in Jesus' name,   Amen.

Hope