The Rich Fool
TRANSLATION
(13) Someone in 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 referee between you?” (15) And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
(16) And he told them this parable: “The land of a certain rich man yielded abundantly, (17) so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I do not have room to store my crops?’ (18) Then he thought, ‘This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there will I store all my grain and my goods. (19) And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax! Eat, drink, and be merry.”’ (20) But God said to him, ‘You fool! Tonight, your soul is required of you. Now who will get the things which you have prepared for yourself?’ (21) So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
OBSERVATIONS
At the heart of this passage stood Jesus’ warning, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed” (vs. 15). Words relating to affluence filled the first three verses of this passage: “inheritance” (vs. 14), “greed” and “abundance of his possessions” (vs. 15), and “rich man” (vs. 16). Repetitions in the following parable included the rich man’s constant use of “I do/will do” to describe his plans to tear down his barns, build larger ones, and warehouse everything so that he could “relax, eat, drink, and be merry” for “many years” (vss. 17, 18, & 19). “Soul” was also found three times (vss. 19 & 20). The short saying, “Man proposes, but God disposes” aptly summarizes the story.
OUTLINE
I. Jesus refused to serve as a referee in a dispute over an inheritance. (13 & 14)
II. Jesus gave a parable to show that his followers must guard against greed. (15-21)
IDEA STATEMENT
Greed blinds our hearts to the nature of true riches, that is, being rich toward God.
APPLICATION
The quotation which Jim Elliot, missionary to the Auca Indians in Peru, made famous in a journal entry has become a cliché in the years since he wrote it. Yet it remains an essential truth set forth in this passage of Luke’s Gospel: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” That is precisely why Jesus described the landowner in this parable as a fool. As believers we should know in our hearts that everything we possess materially in this world will have to be forfeited when we die. Yet, we devote far too much time and effort to gathering and hoarding those things which we can never take with us to heaven. Why do we not recognize the error of our ways and reorder our priorities? Why do we invest so much in bank accounts and property when we could be investing in eternal things by supporting the Lord’s work and those who are doing that work?