The Parable of the Rich Fool

Scripture: Luke 12:13-21(NIV)

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Devotional

Be on your guard.

In Luke 12, Jesus used this phrase two consecutive times: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (v. 1) and “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed” (v. 15).

Jesus again looks at the inner person. He is not interested in who gets what inheritance in a family. But He is interested in reminding us that “life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

His story of a self-focused entrepreneur who sets himself up for a life of luxury, only to die and end up with nothing, is a reminder to focus on God, not self. Jesus warns: “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (v. 21).

Focus on the phrases “stores up things for themselves” vs. “rich toward God.” Does this mean it is wrong to set aside savings or prepare for retirement in our modern world? I think not. But if we do so at the expense of being rich toward God, then we are on thin ice. The problem is not so much the amount of wealth, but the focus of that wealth: self or God. Our desire and focus is to be God alone.

We say, “The one with the most toys, wins.” Jesus says, “The one with the most toys, dies.”

Be on your guard.

Poem

Worry Warts

You kiss a toad
You get a wart
You worry sick
You break your heart
You sit depressed
You crumble sure
You live a life
You can't endure

Instead allow
The toad to hop
The cares away
The worry stop
The kiss instead
The Lord will give
The comfort sure
Upon your head

Podcast: Week 28

Sermon: Week 28

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