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The Parable Of The Rich Fool – Luke 12:13-21

by Micky Galloway

“And one out of the multitude said unto him, Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me. But he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

It is amazing how indifferent, even rude some people are when another is speaking. Sometimes we just aren’t listening, no matter how great the subject or speaker may be. In the context of Luke 12, Jesus, the Master of all teachers, was teaching “the many thousands of the multitudes.” As He was teaching them on the danger of hypocrisy (Luke 12:1-3), the comfort that comes from acknowledging the universal providence of God, the importance of fearing God (Luke 12:4-7) and confessing Him before others (Luke 12:8-12), “One out of the multitude said unto him, Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.” What a rude and selfish interruption to the Master. What arrogance to suggest that the personal squabbles of individuals about property was more important than the grand themes Jesus was teaching the multitudes. It became an attempt to enlist Jesus on the side of one of the disputants in a family quarrel. Jesus very pointedly responded, “Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?” There were legal tribunals established to settle such disputes. The Lord refused to make it His mission to meddle directly with such affairs. He refused to arbitrate the matter. This prompted Jesus to warn the multitudes about the dangers of covetousness and the foolishness of placing one’s confidence in earthly riches.

Covetousness was the true nature of the man’s problem. Jesus warned all of the multitude, “Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15). “Covetousness” is defined as “a strong desire to acquire more and more material possessions or to possess more things than other people have, all irrespective of need - greed, avarice” (from Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domain. Copyright (c) 1988 United Bible Societies, New York). Life, in all its breadth and depth of significance, does not consist in possession, but in character; and the true riches are the riches of the soul toward God. Jesus taught, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). At the very root of being “possessed by our possessions” is the sin of covetousness, which is idolatry. The apostle Paul also taught, “Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things' sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience” (Colossians 3:5-6). Man’s life here is honoring and serving God our Maker, not making money.

The Parable. This rich man was richly blessed. His crops had produced with abundance. As he considers his situation, he makes plans for the future to build greater barns to store his crops. His plans were much like ours, to retire and enjoy the fruits of his labors for many years. Yet, God calls him a fool! The reason was that very night he was to die, and his soul would be required of him. And the things he had provided, whose would they be? Though this man had great possessions, he was not rich toward God!

The Application:

This man was a fool because he reasoned that his material possessions would be his forever. He thought he had a perpetual lease on life that could be satisfied with material things. Life at best is brief. James 4:14 asks, “What is your life? for ye are as a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Psalms 90:l0 tells us that “The days of our years are three score and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore years: yet is their pride but labor and sorrows, for it is soon gone, and we fly away.” The lesson is in verse 12, “Teach us to number our days that we may get us a heart of wisdom.” The Scriptures assure us that “the living know they shall die” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) and that “It is appointed unto men once to die” (Hebrews 9:27).

This man was a fool because he neglected his soul. Death is certain and then what? The Scriptures also teach that there is an appointed time for judgment. “Inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). Indeed, “each one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). So what is the point? The purpose of life is summed up in the words of Solomon, “This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard; Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole (duty) of man. For God will bring every work into judgment with every hidden thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:12-13).

This man was a fool because he ignored the claims of other men upon him for help. It is right to provide for those who are dependent upon us. It is also right to lay up something for “a rainy day.” But what about others in need? Paul tells us to labor “…working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need” (Ephesians 4:28). I recently read of a lady that went to call upon a friend near the close of autumn, and found her emptying her closets and complaining, “Oh, these moths! These moths have consumed almost everything that I laid away in the beginning of the summer.” The visitor expressed her sorrow and explained that she did not know what it was to have moth-eaten garments. The friend asked for further explanation. To her surprise, the visitor said, “I gave away to the poor, months ago, all the garments for which I had no longer use; and there was no difficulty in preserving the remainder from the moths.” Indeed, the great storehouse for our surplus is in benevolence.

This man was a fool because he thought only of self. He speaks only of “my fruits” and “my goods.” Indeed, he had laid up treasure only “for himself.” He didn’t consider that the greatest factor in the production of his fruits and goods had been God. He gives God no praise and asks nothing of God about what he should do with such abundance, but reasoned only “with himself” (Luke 12:17). No doubt this man praised himself as a “self-made” man.

What a fool the rich man was. What a fool was the brother who interrupted the great teachings of the Master to arbitrate a dispute about worldly goods. Let us learn to lay up treasure in heaven.

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