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PART VIII: THE MISCELLANEOUS PARABLES
CHAPTER 34
THE RICH FOOL
Introduction
The Parable of the Rich Fool is found only in Luke
12:13-21.
The Story
Someone in the crowd said to him,
"Teacher, tell my brother to divide the
inheritance with me."
Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed
me a judge or an arbiter between you?"
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on
your guard against all kinds of greed; a
man's life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions."
And he told them this parable; "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'll
do. I will tear down my barns and build
bigger ones, and there I will store all
my grain and my goods. And I'll 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?'
"This is how it will be with anyone
who stores up things for himself but is
not rich toward God." (Luke 12:13-21,
New International Version).
Jesus was teaching and was interrupted by a man who
wanted Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance
with him. It was common in Palestine for people to take
unresolved disputes to respected rabbis. (Barclay, DAILY
STUDY BIBLE SERIES, LUKE pp. 166 ff.). Jesus then warns his
listeners to avoid greed. The Greek word translated "greed"
in verse 15 is PLEONEXIA, which means covetousness in a bad
sense, an insatiable desire to have more. [W. E. Vine,
VINE'S EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF NEW TESTAMENT WORDS.
Unabridged ed. (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Co., n.d.),
s.v., "Covet, Covetous, Covetousness"]. Then he told them the
Parable of the Rich Fool.
Earle gives an excellent outline (Turnbull, Gen. ed.,
PROCLAIMING THE NEW TESTAMENT, THE GOSPEL OF LUKE, by Ralph
Earle, pp. 56-58), from which the following outline is
adapted:
1. HE FORGOT HIS SPIRIT. "What shall I do?" In verse 19, in
the Greek text, he speaks to his PSYCHE "soul." Man is a
spirit who has a soul (intellect and emotions) and lives in a
body. The rich man was ruled by his soul and body, rather
than by his spirit. There is a spiritual hunger in people
that cannot be satisfied by material things.
2. HE FORGOT OTHERS. "I will tear down my barns and build
bigger ones." This man was surrounded by poor people whom he
could have helped without hurting himself. Instead, he chose
to hoard his crops. Ambrose writes,
Thou HAST barns--the bosoms of the needy, the
houses of the widows, the mouths of orphans and of
infants. (Trench, NOTES ON THE PARABLES OF OUR
LORD, p. 118).
Greed is a slavemaster. It drives people to amass wealth and
it is never satisfied--it must have more.
3. HE FORGOT GOD. "Then who will get what you have prepared
for yourself?" The rich man was planning as though he would
be living on earth indefinitely. His trust was in his
material wealth instead of God. God is really the only
security we have and knowing him is true riches.
The Interpretation
The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt,
their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
(Psalm 14:1)
(New International Version)
The Psalmist describes a "practical atheist," that is, one
who lives as if God does not exist. This is the sin of the
rich fool. (For a more complete discussion on atheists, see
the essay entitled, "Do Atheists Exist?" in my book, ESSAYS
EXPOSING THE MYTHS OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS).
The rich fool also assumed that he owned something.
[BEACON BIBLE COMMENTARY (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill
Press), LUKE, By Charles Childers, pp. 520 ff.]. The truth
is that we own nothing in the absolute sense--God owns
everything. The Lord says,
every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
...the creatures of the field are mine.
...the world is mine,
and all that is in it.
(Psalm 50:10-12)
(New International Version)
We are temporary stewards of the Gospel, material goods,
spiritual wealth, intelligence, scientific knowledge and all
the good things that God has entrusted into our care.
Not only does the covetous person need to answer the
question that God asked the rich fool, but the believer needs
to answer it, too. After the believer dies, "Then who will
get what you have prepared for yourself?" Hopefully, the
believer will have supported the work of God with tithes and
offerings and also made a legal will. A will extends a
person's choice after he dies physically. It insures that
his family will be taken care of and that his wealth will
also go to godly causes instead of being squandered. Even
if there is little wealth, parents need to choose who will
raise their children, or the state will!
The rich fool was covetous. Covetousness will usually
drive a person into accumulating wealth, but not always. The
covetous criminal in prison is usually broke. It is possible
to be covetous and poor and it is possible to love God first
and be rich.
Covetousness is also a "seed" sin. If a person is
covetous, he will probably break more than the tenth
commandment. If his desire is for material goods, then he
will probably steal or kill. If his desire is for someone
else's mate, then he will probably commit adultery. If he
covets recognition, he will probably lie.
The rich person who does not trust in God has an anxiety
concerning someone stealing his wealth. He who trusts in
uncertain riches has a peculiar anxiety of losing his "god."
The poor person who does not trust in God has an anxiety
of not having his basic needs met.
Immediately after this parable, Jesus told his disciples
not to worry, but to trust in God to meet their needs. Jesus
promised that if we place God first, he would meet our
material needs (vv. 22-30). God will meet the needs of both
the "haves" and "have-nots."
Human desire in itself is not always bad. The sinful
desire to have more (PLEONEXIA, "covetousness," is always
bad). However, many human desires are in themselves neither
good or bad--they are good or bad depending on how they are
used, for example, EPITHUMEO, simply means "to fix the desire
upon." (Vine, VINE'S EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF NEW TESTAMENT
WORDS, s.v., "Covet, Covetous, Covetousness"). There is a
desire that is always good: to desire God, his righteousness
and his gifts (ZELOO, "eagerly desire"):
But eagerly desire the greater gifts.
(1 Corinthians 12:31)
(New International Version)
Central Truth
COVETOUSNESS LEADS TO TRAGEDY.
Conclusion
Material wealth is a wonderful servant but a terrible
master. Alva Walker, a retired Missionary from Africa, gave
me these words of wisdom and they are stamped indelibly in my
mind:
HOLD ON TO MATERIAL THINGS LOOSELY.
On the one hand God teaches us industry:
Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest--
and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.
(Proverbs 6:6-11)
(New International Version)
However, he also teaches us to give:
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly
will also reap sparingly, and whoever
sows generously will also reap
generously. Each man should give what he
has decided in his heart to give, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God
loves a cheerful giver. And God is able
to make all grace abound to you, so that
in all things at all times, having all
that you need, you will abound in every
good work. As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to
the poor;
his righteousness endures
forever."
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and
bread for food will also supply and
increase your store of seed and will
enlarge the harvest of your righteous-
ness. You will be made rich in every way
so that you can be generous on every
occasion, and through us your generosity
will result in thanksgiving to God. (2
Corinthians 9:6-15, New International
Version).
John Wesley said it well:
Earn all you can.
Save all you can.
Give all you can.
END