LUKE 12: [13-] 16-21. [PARABLES IN LUKE]
A FOOL AND HIS RICHES
[1 Timothy 6:6–10]
AMERICA has been assured by its political leaders that ours is the highest standard of living in the World. We have the most wealth that men have ever known. Everywhere there are supermarkets overflowing with food and other items. Everywhere are huge stores crammed with merchandise of all kinds surrounded by expansive parking lots. We have superhighways clogged with expensive vehicles to transport us. Where there is navigable water we find large marinas filled with luxurious boats of all types. We are told that we have more TVs, more cell phones, more computers, more elevators, more air conditioning, more private and commercial planes that any people on earth.
Into such a civilization the Son of God comes to speak ancient words of eternal wisdom. “A man’s life does consist in the abundance of his possessions” (12:15). Jesus’ statement was prompted by a dispute between brothers over an inheritance. The desire for money was creating a huge problem for this family. So Jesus’ points out that life does not consist in having many possessions.
Greed constitutes a great obstacle to spiritual growth [Bock, Darrell. The IVP NT Com. Luke. Inter Varsity Press, Dover Grove, IL. p. 224]. Covetousness puts spiritual blinders on people causing them to see only “stuff.” The disciples needed to learn the lesson that life is more important than material things. Jesus’ disciples therefore must learn not to be diverted from their commitment to Jesus by greed for wealth and material possessions (CIT).
We must avoid the tyranny of things, for what people own will not supply true peace and joy. True riches and satisfaction come only from God.
I. STUFF DEMANDED 13-15.
II. STUFF DEPOSITED / RECEIVED, 16-19.
III. STUFF’S DISPOSAL, 20-21.
In the middle of Jesus’ teachings about life in the kingdom, someone interrupts in verse 13 with a request to settle a family dispute and divide an inheritance. “Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
A disgruntled attendee in the crowd appeals to Jesus as the teacher, since he wanted Jesus to instruct his brother to divide up the inheritance which was due him in an equitable way. [Likely the reference is to the double-portion allotted to the firstborn son.] Apparently the regulations for inheritance cases (Num. 27:1-11; Deut. 21:15-17) were not being followed, in the opinion of the younger brother, who must wait on the older to share the family wealth. [These matters were often settled in the synagogue.]
In verse 14 we find that Jesus, the great reconciler of people, would not take up his case. “But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
Although ministry can all too often become mired in an attempt to right perceived wrongs, Jesus wisely said, “This is not My area of concern.” Jesus mission was too urgent, too important to be diverted to issues other men could settle. Jesus came to reconcile us to God and to each other, and not to reapportion wealth[, nor to reinforce our own views of justice].
Jesus’ purpose was not to make bad men good or good men better. His purpose was to make dead men live, to see people born again and brought into the kingdom. Jesus was out to heal relationships between God and people, only then could they heal relationships between each other.
Countless times we think that if we only had more money we could prevent problems from coming our way. We think money would not only allow us to enjoy a better life, but that it would allow us to enjoy life better. The sooner we get over the illusion that more stuff means a better life the better off we will be. Then we can pursue true treasure, a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus.
Jesus uses this opportunity to teach us in verse 15 that possessions do not give life its meaning. Desiring possessions can become a tyrant in our life filling us greed. “Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
Jesus uses this interruption as an opportunity to teach His disciples where the focus should be as He warns them and us of the deceitfulness of riches. In a world as affluent as ours where everyone seem to be seeking more and more temporary and fleeting stuff the warning against greed has never been more needed. The Bible calls this pursuit of stuff greed.
What is greed or covetousness? Simply wanting more when we already have enough. Jesus said it is a sin of which we must be so careful. Not only is it one of the Ten Commandments, it is the root of all evil. [The Greek word for covetous in 2 Timothy 3:2 is the same as “love of money (1 Tim. 6:10.] Jesus then tells a parable to explain why we need to guard against all kinds of greed [apparently there are many types of insatiable desires].
We nnd to ask ourselfs, “Does life consist in the abundance of possessions?” [For Jesus, life consists of listening to and obeying the Word of God (see 8:21; 10:42; 11:28) ] It sad to hear modern “Christian” movements promoting what might be called a “prosperity cult,” by teaching that gain is godliness. They emphasize that positive mental attitude, “visualization,” and faith that God wants this stuff for you, will make it happen. These teachers and their affluent lifestyles have deluded multitudes into thinking they have some sort of divine right to material prosperity. Hebrews 13:5 states, “Make sure your that your character is free from the love of money [covetousness], being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’”
You cannot find ultimate fulfillment or true riches in stuff because we never have enough stuff to satisfy us. Fallen man always desires more and more stuff. True fulfillment and the abundant life are found in and out of your relationship with God who grants us faith, hope, love, joy peace, and so much more. In Him life finds meaning, intense, multifaceted, genuine and abiding satisfaction.
What is more important to you: money or your relationship with God? Surely life consists in more that owning more stuff and making sure that we will always have earthly stuff. To support the primus that life is more than plenty of stuff Jesus will tell us another parable.
II. STUFF DEPOSITED / RECEIVED, 16-19.
The parable starting in verse 16 is meant to illustrate the truth that “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” “And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
To explain this teaching on possessions Jesus told a parable about a rich man who continued to build bigger and bigger barns to store all his grain and goods. The farmer had worked hard and overcame all the obstacles and obtained success. A new possibility presented itself, “What do you do with all your excess productivity?
Possessions are dangerous because they can possess us. This danger is especially true for the man who is not awareness that his bumper crop or his riches are a gift from God. He may have thought that riches came from his hard work alone (Prov. 10:22, 11:28) and not realize that God might have a greater purpose for it that simply storing up an abundance (Deuteronomy 16:17) .
In verse 17 the abundance of the rich man’s harvest causes him to reflect on how he can keep even more of it for himself. “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
The man is blessed with abundance and he responds with self-congratulations and conversations with himself. Family, neighbors, and even God are all absent from his plans. The man believes that what he has is his and he can do with it just as he pleases. There is no hint of an awareness of stewardship or responsibility to God, His work or others.
Verse 18 demonstrates the greedy selfishness of the wealthy man. “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
There is nothing wrong with preparing for the future or enjoying the fruit of all our hard work, but there is much wrong with selfishness. Although he already possess more than enough, he can think only of himself. This man determined to live a life of self-indulgent greed. He says, “I’m moving to easy street.”
In verse 19 the foolish man imagines that his eternal soul can be satisfied with earthly food and drink. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’
After the rich man has hoarded his plenty he relaxes thinking his troubles are over. His attitude was that he would have an easy life because he had everything he could possibly want or need. He does not sense any responsibility toward anyone else but himself, certainly there is no consideration of what God would have him do.
He thinks that he will soon make his appearance on the TV show “The Rich and Famous.” God though has plans to test someone else with all this stuff.
Would you want to TRADE PLACES with a man like Cecil Rhodes? Maybe you'll say yes when you find out that he was wealthy beyond description. Through some shrewd but ruthless business dealings, he made a killing on diamond and gold mines in South Africa [during the early 1900s]. He was living proof that “you can have it all.”
Or was he? As he lay moaning on his deathbed, this unbelievably affluent man said, "I've found much in Africa - diamonds, gold, and land are mine- but now I must leave them all behind. Not a thing I've gained can be taken with me. Eternal treasures that abide I have not sought; therefore I actually have nothing at all."
That's a poor man talking, isn't it? Spiritually speaking, Cecil Rhodes - and anyone who fails to gain the riches of God through faith in Christ - will die penniless. Like the rich fool in Jesus' parable, we end life bankrupt if we are not rich toward God.” Money may enable us to buy fancy cars and luxurious homes, but it can't buy the peace that comes through trusting God.
Jesus indicates that we should use our energy to set aside treasures for eternity. We do that when we love others, stay in fellowship with God, and give of ourselves unselfishly. Don't spend your life searching for the almighty dollar, only to discover at the end that true riches come from trusting the Almighty.
III. STUFF’S DISPOSAL, 20-21.
Suddenly the voice of God thunders His response to the rich man’s actions. In verse 20 Jesus portrays the folly of laying up treasures on earth. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
God suddenly announces to the man that his earthly life is over. The man discovers that his life was on loan from God who was demanding His interest on the life He has loaned to him. God’s proclaims that the man was foolish (You fool!) because when he died that night his goods would do nothing for him. They would simply pass on to someone else.
The tragedy of this parable though lies not in what the rich man left behind, but in the judgment that awaited him, for he would enter judgment without any evidence of wise stewardship on earth. Rather than using some of his surplus to lay up treasures in heaven, he selfishly and greedily hoarded his world wealth with the result that in the end he does not even benefit from it. If you come to the end of your life and all you have is money, you die broke.
[A band of gangsters in France got away with more than $35 million. But the thieves had a problem. The loot was in French coins worth only about $2 each and weighing a total of 17 tons!
A Paris newspaper taunted the bandits with this statement: "You can't buy a chateau, a car, or even a pair of crocodile shoes with bags of change. And if you go out to celebrate your coup, the owner of the smallest café will become suspicious before you drop the tenth coin on the counter." The article continued, "Their punishment is included in their success. They will have to spend their loot franc by franc. They can buy millions of bottles of soft drinks. But what else?"
Those robbers had what might be called a wealth of poverty. Although they were rich, they couldn't spend their money for anything worthwhile.
Their situation reminds me of people who spend a lifetime accumulating things while making no provision for eternity. They have material wealth but are spiritually poor. How much better to heed Jesus' words: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Mt. 6:20). Anything else is just a wealth of poverty. [RWD. Our Daily Bread. Radio Bible Class.]
The story is told of a NOBLEMAN WHO DIED VERY SUDDENLY. Immediately his personal servant ran to tell the other servants of the household that their master was dead. He asked with gravity, "Where has he gone?" The servants replied, "Why, to heaven, to be sure." "No," said the man, “I am certain he has not gone to heaven." Somewhat surprised, the others asked him how he knew their master had not gone to heaven. The man replied "Because heaven is a long ay off, and. I've never known my master to take a long trip in his life but what he talked of it beforehand and made thorough preparation for it. And I never heard him say a word about this journey, nor ever saw him getting ready for it.
It's true that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ-not by how much we talk about it (Eph. 2:8). Yet it's strange when people think they're going to heaven but never mention it nor prepare for it.
The rich fool wasn't prepared when the Lord said, "This night your soul will be required of you (v.20). If you seldom think about heaven and never discuss it, could it be you're not going there? One way or another, you are going to meet God. Are you prepared? [RWD. Our Daily Bread. Radio Bible Class.] Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people
Jesus underscores the tragedy of this miss-invested life as He closes the parable in verse 21 with this commentary, “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God”
A person who selfishly stores up treasure for himself is not rich toward God [or rich with God]. He has accumulated treasure with no thought of God or eternity (1 Tim. 6:6–10; James 1:10). Possesions are a stewardship, not to be hoarded selfishly, but to be used to truly bless others.
This teaching points out the importance of proper priorities regarding possessions. Jesus was not saying possessions are bad but that we are responsible to use them to honor God by investing them in the cause of eternity. This man failed to recognize that he was accountable to God for all he owned. To be rich toward God is to acknowledge, through how we use our resources, that all we have comes from God.
We need to resist the lie that the more we possess the happier and more secure we will be. The person who believes that security and the good life are to be found in the acquisition of more and more is sadly mistaken. The true storing of treasures is being rich toward God not in being rich toward self.
IN CLOSING
What a tragic misuse of the gifts of resources that the man had labored so diligently to gain. What could have been an opportunity for stewardship became a mill stone around his neck. God has given us stuff not to possess, but to enjoy. Let not greed for that which is temporary keep you from that which is eternal.
Thus Jesus challenges the brother looking for personal economic justice to think on the greater issue of what he should do with what he does have. Whether the inheritance is under your control or under your brothers, it ultimately will belong to neither. Our wealth and our lives are on loan from God who will hold each accountable for them. Jesus’ disciples must learn not to be diverted from their commitment to Jesus by greed for wealth and material possessions. The message here is to go through life as a steward of all that God chooses to give you.
There's an old legend about three men who were CROSSING A DESERT on horseback at night. As they approached a dry creek bed, they heard a voice commanding them to dismount, pick up some pebbles, put them in their pockets, and not look at them till the next morning. The men were promised that if they obeyed they would be both glad and sad. After they did as they were told, the three mounted their horses and went on their way.
As the first streaks of dawn began to spread across the sky, the men reached into their pockets to pull out the pebbles. To their great surprise, they had been transformed into diamonds, rubies, and other precious gems. It was then that they realized the significance of the promise that they would be both glad and sad. They were happy that they had picked up as many pebbles as they did, but sorry-so sorry-that they had not collected more.
I wonder if we will have a similar feeling when we get to heaven. We will be happy for the treasure we laid up in heaven while on earth, and joyful for the rewards Christ will give us. But we will also experience regret for not having done more to serve Him.
Let's make the most of our opportunities so that we'll be more glad than sad. [Richard De Haan. Our Daily Bread. Radio Bible Class.]
As you look forward to the rest of your life, you have two choices for your primary goal: to put money first or to put God first. How will you make sure you've made the right choice?
[Mt. 6:19-34] [REFLECTION: With all the examples of unhappy rich people, why are people still convinced that money will make them happy?]
