Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”

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.”

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 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. 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.” ’

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?’

“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

- Luke 12:13-21 (NKJV)

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The Parable of the Rich Fool.

When studying the parables ( and actually all scripture ) context is all important. Last week we saw how the parable of the two debtors emerged from the actions of a woman and a Pharisee. Context helped us understand why it was said, the points made in the parable, and the larger point (righteousness by faith) that followed its telling, giving us a power packed lesson in how to obtain and hold on to peace!

This week we have two extremely powerful points that are made. One, The quality of your life is not determined by the amount of stuff you have... and Two, beware the trap of covetousness. We are warned against it in the Law... the 10th commandment... but the reason we are commanded not to covet is given here... let’s take a look!

The parable is triggered by a man asking our Lord to arbitrate a dispute over an inheritance. We are all familiar with how these spats over things divide close family members... in this case... a man and his brother. Jesus politely declines to interfere... (a good model for us to emulate as well :-))... but He does offer counsel on how to approach the issue ... don’t fall in love with stuff - rather - love your brother ... then he tells a story to illustrate his point.

On first reading, you may be wondering, why is this rich man called a fool? God blesses his land with plenty, his current storehouses are not enough to hold it, so he decides to build bigger ones to store his gains, and then retire! A lot of us probably wish we were in the same position! If we came into a windfall, we would probably stick it in a retirement fund, and then lie on a beach somewhere ... right? We would even be thanking Him for blessing us ... amen!

Here is the problem. This mans barns were already big enough to store more than enough for his needs. When he received the blessing, he did not think that the surplus could be used to bless others, in fact, the thought never even crossed his mind! All he could think of was to convert it all into more stuff, so that HE could have a life of ease and enjoyment.

The Word says that the fruits of our labor are ours to enjoy... and that they are a gift from God.Ecclesiastes 3:12–13 (NKJV): “I know that nothing is better for them (the sons of men) than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 5:18–20 (NKJV): “Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.”

When it comes to the fruit of the land, however, a different principle applies.Ecclesiastes 5:9 (NKJV): “Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.”

And there’s one more principle... Ecclesiastes 5:10–17 (NKJV): “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.This also is vanity. When goods increase,They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes? The sleep of a laboring man is sweet,whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; and he shall take nothing from his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a severe evil—Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.”

So here you have the reasons for the evaluation of the man as foolish, and why our Lord ends the parable with the warning not to lay up treasure for oneself, but to be rich toward God.

Laboring for riches for riches sake, coveting others stuff - bring with it the following issues. A- as Solomon says, we will have sorrow, sickness and anger ( alll stress related issues ). We will not have sleep/peace. B - we can’t take them with us, or consume them all by ourselves in one go ( as the word says - all we can do is look at them ). C - We will never be satisfied , and will be in a vicious spiral to labor to keep what we have and acquire more. D - We become completely self centered and POOR in spiritual terms. Money is NOT evil ( sometimes it is a gift from God ).. the LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil! D - As God says to the rich man, you are going to die tonight... what good is your stuff going to be to you?..

You may say, but- but - but - we need to take care of ourselves and our families, and leave our children with an inheritance...... Well - do you really think that should keep you up at night? Here’s a complementary perspective on life in our Lords own words..

Matthew 6:25–34 (NKJV): “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. —- Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? —— Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Moral of the story : God has your life covered. -Don’t- worry about the basics, enjoy your work, and the fruits of your labor. Be content with what you have - it is the gift of God - and enjoy it without guilt! Bless others with your surplus cheerfully... ( BTW that’s why we HATE the current cliche of “sacrificial giving” - God NEVER asks us to give from want, but out of our surplus/increase which comes from HIS hand- which is WHY we can give cheerfully - see our video on tithing on this page ) Don’t go chasing after stuff, it’s not going to do you any good and may actually shorten your life and make you self centered ! Enjoy your life and use it to glorify God - that’s what it’s meant for!

Lay up treasure for yourself in Heaven, because THAT IS SMART & WISE! That market never crashes, there are no thieves there, and it never rots! Don’t be a rich fool!

Hallelujah!