IAN Emmerson, of Hexham Quakers,comments on Luke 12 v13-21:

IN this reading, Jesus states quite categorically that we should be very careful about wishing for the things we don’t have. Real life and real living are not defined by a person’s property.

Jesus emphasises this with a story about a man who plans to build even larger barns to store his vast wealth in, so that he can sit back and live a life of ease.

But God says to him ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life.’ Jesus concludes: “Every man is a fool who accumulates riches on earth but not in heaven.”

This may seem a straightforward message about the dangers of money, but it can be looked at in a different way: hoarding wealth, whether in terms of money or talents, runs the risk of it going to waste or being completely squandered.

There is great sadness and suffering in the world at present, which it is easy to get very depressed by, but if we look around, we find many examples that raise our spirits of people living lives of courage and determination.

Just two that come to mind are the late Jo Cox MP, and also the surgeon Dr David Nott, who regularly visits and works in the most dangerous conflict zones of the world. Similar examples can be found among some of the wealthiest men and women of the business world who are also great philanthropists.

The Religious Society of Friends has no formal creeds, but within its literature Quakers have ‘Advices’ for guidance.

One of these says: ‘Live adventurously. Do you take the way that offers the fullest opportunity for the use of your gifts in the service of God and your community? Let your life speak.”