The Rich Fool Luke 12:13-21
Today we are going to stay in Luke’s Gospel as we look at events in Jesus life.
Today Jesus encounters a man who is having difficulty with his brother. Family squabble, what a surprise. And as it is today, this family problem revolves around money.
Have you ever noticed that as a man with no money Jesus spends a lot of time discussing it? In Matthew 13 Jesus tells a parable about a great treasure hidden in a field and one about a pearl of great price. In Luke 15 he tells the parable of the lost coin and maybe his most famous parable, The Prodigal Son. And last Sunday we looked at his parable about two men being forgiven their debts. Out of the approximately forty parables that are recorded being said by Jesus, about half refer to money.
Today we are looking at Jesus parable of the Rich Fool. In this point in Jesus' ministry, he’s attracting crowds. Some come to see if he’s going to perform a miracle, some come to listen to what he has to say. In the crowd around him today a man yells out to him, Verse 13, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
If we go back to the beginning of Luke chapter 12 w see in verses 4-7 Jesus talks about fear, in verses 8-12 he’s talking about anxiety. Today he’s not talking about money and yet that is what is in the forefront of this man’s mind. By what he asks Jesus to do we can infer that this man sees Jesus as someone with authority, but we can see he’s not really listening to what Jesus is talking about. We see Jesus responds, letting him know he has no intention of getting in the middle of this dispute. Verse 14, “Jesus replied, ‘Man, who appointed me a judge or arbitrator between you?’” Now the thing is, God gives Jesus authority over all things so he really does has authority over this issue, but that is not why Jesus came to earth.
I’ve said that I believe God answers all prayers, but like we tell our children no sometimes, sometimes God’s answer to us is no. And I believe that can be due to our motivation.
Let’s look at this man. He asks Jesus to intervene, but he is asking from the point of greed. He doesn’t ask for Jesus to restore a broken relationship with his brother, he’s basically saying, “I want the money so I can have wealth.” He’s doesn’t ask for the inheritance so he can feed the poor or donate to the Temple; his request is totally self-centered. And the worst part is he’s actually talking to God without giving God any thought at all.
When we pray we must make sure our prayer is honest and God centered. I pray I win Lotto, but what I want to do with the money exposes the desire that my prayer comes from. Do I pray so I can help and rise up my brothers and sisters, or do I pray so I can live the life of the wealthy?
Verse 15, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed…”
Jesus tells us he’s not just warning us about money. “…guard against all kinds of greed…” People have greed for money, yes; but we can have greed for many things; food, cloths, drink, fame. Think of someone who has a greed for fame, they always want to be the center of attention. They’re usually boastful and most likely they put others down to raise themselves up.
In one of my Bibles this line is translated as “…be on your guard against covetousness.” Covetousness is a desire for more. In the context of our reading it’s a warning to us about guarding against strong desires to acquire more possessions without regard for whether or not those possessions are needed.
We all can want things we really don’t need. The last Star Trek convention we went to I bought the complete DVD set of Star Trek the animated series. I had to have a pair of “taking care of business” sun glasses from the Elvis Presley convention in Lake George. None of this is bad, it becomes sinful when these desires take control of our lives and causes us to focus on nothing else but acquiring things.
Jesus warns us because this kind of desire prevents us from working for the betterment of our fellow men. But I believe the bigger warning is that our constant striving for earthly riches suppresses our striving for heavenly riches. If our time and energy is directed toward amassing things, where is the time and energy we devote toward God? In essence, when we put more stock in things than we do in God, that’s sin. Why? Because it means we are telling God he is less important to us than our things.
The second part of verse 15 says, “…life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Jesus is saying that the most important things in this life are not our possessions, they are our relationships; family, friends, God. Our possessions don’t mean as much or they cannot give us as much pleasure as working for others in God’s name.
If we look at this slightly differently and see the word “life” representing eternal life then it takes on another interpretation. I can have homes in Saugerties, Maine, Florida, L.A. and France. I can have everything I desire. And when I die none of it, not one single piece of what I have will do anything to grant me eternal life in heaven.
One meaning for our life is this; God did not put us on earth to pursue possessions for ourselves, God gives us possessions so we will use them to do good for our neighbors in his name.
The second meaning for us is this; a true life, a joyful and blessed life doesn’t come from what we own, it comes from who we know; Jesus.
The parable Jesus tells today is called the Parable of the Fool and the subject of his story was foolish because he concentrated on his earthly harvest, in fact he accumulated so much he contemplated building larger barns. This man didn’t guard against covetousness he was gratified by it. And this man’s plans all came to an end as all our plans do, with his physical death. Verse 20, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.”
Augustine of Hippo, a theologian from the 2nd and 3rd centuries said about this man, “He did not realize that the bellies of the poor were much safer storerooms than his barns.” Put another way, it is better for us to use our possessions to help others than it is to hoard and hide what we have.
Our Christian worldview says we should not strive to be rich in earthly things but in heavenly things. Matthew 6:19-20 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth…but store up for yourselves treasure in heaven…” Our readings verse 21 says, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
What is being rich toward God? Being rich toward God means you measure your own worth by your faith in Christ not by what you own. A person’s wealth tells us nothing about who he is on the inside. And the truth is God doesn’t really care how much money you have in the bank, he judges wealth differently. To God you are wealthy when you know him. We are rich in God when the thing we value the most in our life is what Jesus did for us on the cross. The cross is what makes us acceptable to God the Father.
Now since today’s scripture centers on wealth and money I felt I must touch on 1Timothy 6:10. We’ve all heard it, money is the root of all evil. Actually the verse says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
Now of themselves money, wealth, possessions are not necessarily evil, placing our desire for them above God is. This is part of what the spirit of the law is in the first commandment given to Moses “You shall have no other gods before me.” This refers not just to worshiping false gods but also to putting the desire for anything above the desire to know God.
In these verses this morning Jesus is telling us to pray with an honest heart. Our requests of God should always come from a Godly point of view and not from a self-centered point of view. There are times we all can be a little greedy, times when we just want something. This is part of our humanity but if it motivates our actions and life, if it causes us to look away from the needs of others, if it causes us to look away from God then it becomes sinful.
Jen and I are looking at moving, and it is a little overwhelming how much stuff we have in closets and cabinets, but none of it will gain us one second in heaven. As I say most weeks, God is the originator of what’s in our lives, don’t tell him they are more important than he is. God gives us things so we can use them to help others. When we praise God for giving us the means to aide others, it brings our hearts in alignment with God and brings us closer to him.
Remember what Augustine said, the belly of the poor is a better storehouse than the strongest barn. Using what we have to help those who don’t have honors them, it honors us, and most importantly it honors God.
God gives us what we have but he cares about what we are. As followers of his son God cares if we live our Christian faith and ideals. By doing so we will be rich in God.
Amen