Hoarder Or Steward? Series

This morning’s message is entitled “Hoarder or Steward?” O. S. Hawkins, who is with GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, asks, “At the end of your life will you be considered a hoarder or a steward?”(1) We’re going to look at a parable this morning; one which is commonly called “The Parable of the Rich Fool.” Hawkins states, “The parable of the rich fool illustrates the deceitfulness of guarded wealth.”(2) This is a stewardship parable, meaning that it will address the issue of our use of resources, both monetary and spiritual.

The lesson we’re going to learn is this: “Use it, or lose it.” If we do not use the resources that God has given us, then we are eventually going to forfeit them. Henry Blackaby reinforces this truth, saying, “If you (or your church) are not faithful with what God entrusts to your care, don’t be surprised if He refuses to give you more. Don’t be surprised if He even takes away what He gave you.”(3) We may hang on to our resources while we are still alive, but we will eventually lose them when we die. You see, we can’t take anything from this world with us.

Legacy of Destruction (vv. 13-15)

13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 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.”

Right here we see how a man spoke to Jesus about dividing the inheritance that his father had left to his brother. His father may have had good intentions, and left the inheritance to the one whom he considered to be the more worthy or prudent son; but what he actually left behind was a legacy of destruction. His father had spent his entire life storing up and placing all his security in his wealth, but when he died he couldn’t take it with him. All he could do was pass it on, which led to strife and fallout among his sons.

What some would call a blessing, which is to receive a windfall of money which doesn’t have to be earned through hard work, turned out to be a curse. What was once the obsession of the father became the obsession of the sons. Now that the father had passed away, his sons were focusing all their energy, all their effort, and all their attention on this lump sum of money, land or possessions. So, what’s wrong with this picture? Well, that is what we’re about to find out!

Heaping Up Treasure (vv. 16-19)

16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 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. 19 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’.”

When looking at this parable we have to wonder what’s wrong with a man not wanting to waste his grain. Fred Craddock, professor of preaching and New Testament at Emory University, says of this parable, “There is nothing here of graft or theft; there is no mistreatment of workers or any criminal act. Sun, soil, and rain join to make him wealthy. He is careful and conservative. If he is not just, what is he? He is a fool . . . He lives completely for himself, he talks to himself, he plans for himself, [and] he congratulates himself.”(4)

The problem here is not that the man had failed to multiply his resources, as the Lord would have us do; but he wanted all his wealth for himself. The man in this parable sounds similar to a certain dog mentioned in one of Aesop’s fables. In the tale of “The Dog and the Shadow,” Aesop related the following story: “A dog, crossing a little [stream] with a piece of [meat] in his mouth, saw his own [reflection] . . . in the clear mirror of the . . . stream; and believing it to be another dog who was carrying another piece of [meat], he could not [refrain from snapping] at it; but . . . dropped the piece he had in his mouth, which immediately sank to the bottom, and was . . . lost.”(5)

The dog in Aesop’s fable wasn’t satisfied with what he had, for he also wanted the meat seen in the reflection. When he reached out to snatch it, the meat which he had in his own mouth, and the meat that he saw in the reflection, were both lost. He was left with nothing. The man in this parable who had his barns full, similar to the dog, was not satisfied with what he had, so he reached out to take in more. So, what do you think happened as a result? Well, we will soon find out that, like the dog, he would lose everything he had.