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Every Day Bible

The World’s Worst Bank Robbers

Have you seen the Geico commercial about lousy bank robbers? The robbers bolt out and run to the side of the road where you would expect to find the getaway car running, but there’s no car! Once they get outside, one of the robbers pulls out his phone and uses Uber to summon a car. As the bank’s alarm is sounding and police sirens get louder, the robbers just stand there counting down the minutes until their car arrives. I hate to spoil the ending for you, but as the commercial ends, the police arrive and the bank robbers are certain to get arrested.

The commercial is funny because the robbers are so bad at their job. They evidently failed to plan for the last and most significant part of the robbery: the getaway!

Their story is a lot like a story Jesus told in Luke 12:13-21. Instead of a bank robber, it focused on a farmer who had made a lot of money. He did a lot of things right. He was successful in planning for the near term and had a great return on his investment. He was so focused on the next stage of his investment that he ignored the final and most important stage. Jesus ended that story by saying, “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God.” When we forget the eternal, we are the foolish bank robbers made over.

James used the same image in James 4:13-17. He warns us not to forget that life is just a vapor that appears for a while and disappears. We must not forget to plan for God’s will—not just ours.

If you want to avoid being the world’s worst bank robber, you need to think about what happens at the end. Don’t forget to plan for the most important part of life.