Luke 12.13-21 (NRSV)
The
Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said
to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with
me.’ 14But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or
arbitrator over you?’ 15And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on
your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s
life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ 16Then he told them a
parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17And he
thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?”18Then
he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and
there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say
to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat,
drink, be merry.” 20But God said to him, “You fool! This very
night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared,
whose will they be?” 21So it is with
those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’
My text this morning is written in Luke 12:21:
21So it is with those
who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’
We live in a world which has got its priorities all
wrong. And this is nothing new. People feel that if they have their health and
enough money, they will have a wonderful life and all will be okay. This is
evident in the fact that people tend to treat wealthy people with greater
respect than others. People also tend to allow wealthy people to get away with
being rude, brash and unpleasant because they are people who, in the opinion of
the world, are special. This is even true of people who have done nothing and
have simply inherited their wealth. Jesus, in this week’s Gospel, points out
that to hold this view is to be foolish and to make this point tells the
parable of the rich fool.
A man came to Jesus for aid in solving a family problem.
This was a perfectly natural thing for the people of this day to do. Religious
leaders were expected to be proficient in the Law of Moses, which dealt with
matters in all areas of life. Jesus refused to act as the mediator in this
situation because he knew that no answer that he gave would deal with the real problem. The two brothers were
quarrelling about their inheritance because they had covetous hearts. As long as they remained greedy, there would be no
settlement. They asked Jesus to serve
them and what they needed was for Jesus to save
them. Their hearts needed to be changed and the only way any person can be
changed is through the power of God through coming to Jesus, and allowing him
to fill their lives with his transforming love. Life is not made better or
worse depending on what one owns or does not own. Jesus warns in verse 15: “...
a person's true life is not made up of the things he owns, no matter how rich
he may be.”
True life does not depend on money or possessions. All
people have certain basic needs. It is ridiculous to think that we will be any
richer if we acquire more and more of these material things. The fact of the
matter is that possessions, in no matter what quantity, do very little, if
anything to provide us with anything more than a mere existence. Material
things do not last forever. We can take none of these things with us when we
die. And none of us has any certainty when that will be. There are many people
in the world today who will also testify that riches can disappear in a flash.
The number of people who lose everything in a frighteningly short time is
amazing. One day everything is wonderful materially speaking, the next day,
there is nothing!
All too often I still find myself being overly concerned
about the material things in life and I too still have much change needed in my
life.
If our happiness is determined by the state of our
bank balance or what we possess - we are in terrible trouble. What are we going
to do if we lose everything - and losing everything can happen to any of us.
In the parable Jesus speaks of a rich fool. Indeed it is foolish to trust in
riches. The rich man thought all the possessions belonged to him. Notice how
many times in the passage he refers to ‘I’ and 'my' and in verses 16-20. But
the point is that if a person is in love with what money can buy, they face the
danger of losing the things that money cannot buy.
Many people, lured by riches reject God and his
ways - for they are willing to sacrifice their souls through dishonesty and
greed - in order to become rich. The Scriptures warn that there are many
dangers associated with riches. In 1 Timothy 6:8-10 we read:
... if we have food and clothes,
that should be enough for us. But those who want to get rich fall into
temptation and are caught in a trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which
pull them down to ruin and destruction. For
the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager
to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their
hearts with many sorrows.
Again in Matthew 13:22, Jesus warns in the parable
of the sower:
The seeds that fell among the thorn
bushes stand for those who hear the message; but the worries about this life and the love of riches choke the message,
and they don't bear fruit.
People who are self sufficient in material things
and money feel that they can do without God and so they turn away from the word
of God. But they are in danger - they can lose their souls for the sake of mere
things that are temporary.
Jesus states that being truly rich has nothing to
do with money or material wealth - but rather in being rich in God's eyes. How
do we do this? In Matthew 6:33 Jesus explains:
... be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom
of God and with what he requires of you,
and he will provide you with all these
other things.
Each person will know what real life is all about
when they get their priorities right. The first thing we need to above everything else be concerned with
the Kingdom of God and with what he
requires of us.
Do we possess our
possessions or do our possessions possess us? A useful way of telling is by
asking ourselves the question? "What would happen if we were told that we
were going to lose every material thing we owned?" It is okay to feel sad
at the prospect but it really should not matter. The Scriptures provide us with
the perspective we need. In Philippians 4:11 Paul writes:
... I
have learnt to be satisfied with what I have. I know what it is to be in need
and what it is to have more than enough. I
have learnt this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content,
whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little. I have the strength to face all conditions
by the power that Christ gives me.
Again, 1 Timothy 6:
6ff states:
...
religion ... make[s] a person very rich, if
he is satisfied with what he has. What did we bring into the world?
Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing! So then, if we have food
and clothes, that should be enough for us. But those who want to get rich fall
into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires,
which pull them down to ruin and destruction.
When people have their perspective right,
they are liberated from worry. Worrying is one of the most destructive things a
person can do. As Corrie Ten Boom writes: “ Worry
does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow ... it empties today of its strength.”
It is the concern
about material things that makes a person worry. Many, many people (myself
included) worry about, finances, health, shelter and all sorts of other
temporary things. People worry about making a living and Jesus tells us that we
should be more concerned with making a life. The proper perspective is to be
more occupied with our souls and minds than with our bodies. Are we doing what
God wants us to do? It is when we fix our attention on the things of the world
that we worry. When we get the proper perspective and fix our attention on the
things of God that we are filled with peace. Paul writing to the Philippians
explains (4.6-7):
Don't
worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always
asking him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is far beyond human
understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
God looks after
birds, flowers and animals. How much more will he look after us who are his
children?
We all have to work.
The Scriptures are clear in stressing that laziness is never to be tolerated.
People should also not be irresponsible in not making adequate provision for
the future. The issue here is one of priority. As one commentator puts it: “He
does not neglect the worldly duties of his station, but he regards them as of
infinitely less importance than the requirements of God.”
The things of the
world are important, but they are not as important as the soul. When one has
the proper perspective then God gives us all the things we need. Where is our
security - is it in Jesus Christ or is it in what we possess? Are we making a
living or are you making a life? Are we worried, or do we know God's wonderful
provision?
Seek first God's
kingdom as your as your first and priority and you will know what it really
means to enjoy life and that in all its fullness; if we do not, we miss out on
what makes life really worth living – or as Jesus put it:
21So it is with those
who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’
Amen.
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