The Parables of the Lord Jesus Christ
7 - The Rich Fool
The parable we are discovering this time is found in the Gospel according to Luke chapter twelve and verses thirteen to twenty-one. The story is usually called "The Parable of the Rich Fool." At the beginning of chapter twelve we are told that a huge crowd had gathered around Jesus to hear his teaching. The crowd was so big that they were trampling on one another. In that crowd there was a man on whom Jesus' words seem to have made no impression at all. It appears that someone in his family had died, because he says to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
He felt he was being cheated and it seems he felt that justice wasn't being done. Situations like this often bring out the worst in people. Where there is a will there is often disputation over its fairness and some feel they have been badly done by because they have been left out or not been given as much as they anticipated. This is how it seemed to this man who approached Jesus with his demand. It appears that his brother had kept everything for himself and was not willing to share the inheritance. It was a situation that had taken over his whole life and he felt compelled to involve Jesus in his problem.
In verse fourteen we are told: "Jesus replied, 'Man who appointed me a judge or arbiter between you?'" Jesus refused to get involved. Why? Well, of course, there were legal authorities available to look into such matters. But also Jesus' task was far more important. He had come to answer the spiritual needs of the people, to seek out and to save those who were lost in their sins. He knew this man's heart and his preoccupation with obtaining some material gain, so He issues a warning. It is a warning to all in that great crowd and not just to this one man. He says to them all, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Here is a very serious warning that every one us should take to heart. We should remind ourselves that it is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. Not that money itself is the root of all evil, as an old song said, but it is the desire for money above anything else that leads to many sinful actions and attitudes. Where money is concerned Christians should be generous with what they have. Do we delight to give help to others or am I a mean, selfish person? Am I a greedy person in my attitude to money? The Greek word for greed is very descriptive. It literally means "the thirst for having more." Be on your guard against the tyranny of greed and of always wanting more and more and more - not just money but material things. Think carefully on these words of the Lord Jesus: "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Your life, the life that really matters, is not made up the things you possess. There is a spiritual dimension that is of far greater importance because it has to do with your relationship to God and to your eternal destiny.
So Jesus now drives his point home with this parable of the rich fool. "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops..' Then he said, 'This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry."' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' And Jesus said, "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God."
Here is a rich farmer who has a fine harvest and perhaps the other farmers were amazed at the quality and size of it. What was wrong with that? Nothing! Was there any question of dishonesty? No, that is not even hinted at. What was wrong soon becomes clear in verses seventeen to nineteen. He's going to build new barns for all his crops and all his goods and he's going to say to himself, ' That's it! I have all I need for years to come. I am going to take it easy and live the good life, eating and drinking and partying! But there are vital things that he has left out of his thinking. He cannot be sure of the years to come. He forgets that, like us all, he is mortal. He fails to realise, too, that all his material wealth will not save his soul. He does not recognise that his deepest need is spiritual, not material, and that he is accountable to God. Neither does he take account of the needs of others around him who are not so well blessed. He is a thoroughly selfish man. In the original Greek of the New Testament, the words "I" and "my" occur twelve times in this one parable. Eight times he says "my" four times he says "I".
Notice, too, that he does not thank God or glorify Him in any way for the bounty he has received. He behaves like one in whose life God has no part. God is not in his thoughts and all he can think about is his own enjoyment and selfish ambitions. Is that not the attitude of so many in our world today? They live only for pleasure and for themselves. Has God blessed you with material comforts and provided you with all you need? Then give Him the thanks due to Him and learn to use what you have for His glory and the benefit of others.
So what is God's word to this rich fool? We have it in verse twenty: "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded of you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" "Fool" here has the meaning of "senseless" or "witless". This man had no sense of his need of God. He thought he was in control of his life, his body and his soul. He was the master of his fate! But now God tells him that his life is at an end, not after many years, but on that very night. How different he was from King David who wrote in Psalm 39, "Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes back and forth; he bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it."
So what is the purpose and application of this parable told by Jesus? He gives us this picture and He makes the point that anyone who lives only for self, and is not living in relationship with God, is the same as this tragic fool. He is not saying it is sinful to be rich or to provide for our families or to be conscientious in our employment, but what must come first in our lives? In Luke chapter twelve verse thirty-one Jesus says that we are to seek first the kingdom of God and then He will give us the material things we need for living our lives. Another Scripture reminds us that God will supply all our need according to his riches in glory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul puts it like this: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though He was rich yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." There are those in our world who are very rich materially speaking and yet they do not know anything at all of the spiritual riches that Jesus gives. They are actually very poor in the sight of God. And yet there are some who have nothing of this world's wealth, but because they know Jesus as their Saviour they are very rich indeed. They are rich because they receive all the spiritual blessings of their heavenly Father. A hymn-writer wrote these words: "Seek ye first not earthly pleasure, fading joy and failing treasure, but the love that knows no measure. Seek Me first." If we put the Lord Jesus Christ first in our lives and honour him and live for Him then we shall be rich indeed.