S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

The Parable of the Rich Fool can be found in Luke 12:13-21. The key to understanding this parable is in verse 15 (and later summarized in verse 21). Luke 12:15 says, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Jesus says this to the man who asked Him to arbitrate between him and his brother. In ancient times, the firstborn was guaranteed a double portion of the family inheritance. More than likely, the brother who was addressing Jesus was not the firstborn and was asking for an equal share of the inheritance. Jesus refuses to arbitrate their dispute and gets to the heart of the matter: Covetousness! Jesus warns this person, and all within earshot, that our lives are not to be about gathering wealth. Life is so much more than the "abundance of possessions."

 Jesus proceeds to tell the man the Parable of the Rich Fool. This person was materially blessed by God; his land "produced plentifully" (verse 16). As God continued to bless the man, instead of using his increase to further the will of God, all he was interested in was managing his increase and accumulating his growing wealth. So the man builds larger barns in place of the existing ones and starts planning an early retirement. Unbeknownst to him, this was his last night on planet earth. Jesus then closes the story by saying, "So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."

 So the point of the Parable of the Rich Fool is twofold. First, we are not to devote our lives to the gathering and accumulation of wealth. There is an interesting point made in the parable. God says to the man in the story, "And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" This echoes the thought expressed in Ecclesiastes 2:18 ("I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me"). You see it all the time in people who are singularly devoted to the accumulation of wealth. What happens to all that wealth when they die? It gets left behind to others who didn't earn it and won't appreciate it. Furthermore, if money is your master, that means God is not (Matthew 6:24).

 The second point of the Parable of the Rich Fool is the fact that we are not blessed by God to hoard our wealth to ourselves. We are blessed to be a blessing in the lives of others, and we are blessed to build the kingdom of God. The Bible says if our riches increase, we are not to set our hearts upon them (Psalm 62:10). The Bible also says there is one who gives freely and grows all the richer (Proverbs 11:24). Finally, the Bible says we are to honor God with the first fruits of our increase (Proverbs 3:9-10). The point is clear; if we honor God with what He has given us, He will bless with more so that we can honor Him with more. There is a passage in 2 Corinthians that summarizes this aptly (2 Corinthians 9:6-15). In that passage Paul says, "And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that having all contentment in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." We are blessed by God, so we can in turn "abound in every good work" and be a blessing in the lives of others. So, if God has blessed you with material wealth "set not your heart on it" and "be rich toward God." That is the message of the Parable of the Rich Fool.

See http://www.gotquestions.org/parable-rich-fool.html

July 01 2013 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Ezekiel Kimosop - Pastor & Bible Scholar

MORAL LESSONS IN THE PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL (Luke 12:13-21)

First it is probable that the man seeking the resolution of a dispute may have coveted the larger portion that fell to the elder brother. Since we do not have the benefit of further information from Scripture concerning the family of the claimant we may make some suppositions for argument sake. 

It is well possible that the claimant may have had a genuine grievance because he may have been shortchanged by his elder brother who may have taken advantage of his age at the time that their father died and perhaps because the society was not as godly and just as that of the Old Testament fathers. The man appeared to have lost hope over the traditional Jewish family dispute resolution system which was probably corrupt and unjust at the time of Christ (Cf. the parable of the unjust judge Luke 18:1-8).

It is also possible that the claimant may have been the son of a “strange woman” or concubine who were often denied full inheritance and frowned upon by the sons of the “legal” woman (See the story of Isaac and Ishmael. Genesis 21:9-11 states “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. 11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.” 

Notice that Abraham considered Hagar a legitimate member of his household and Ishmael his true son beside Isaac. He struggled with Sarah’s nagging until God intervened to indicate that Isaac was the son of the Promise and the two women had to part ways. Nevertheless God blessed Ishmael too but not as much as he did Isaac. 

The Parable of the Rich Fool is a classic treatise of a life lived without God in the picture. Jesus was not overlooking the significance of the case raised by the claimant but took the opportunity to warn those whose love for the things of this world has relegated their devotion to God to the backburners. This warning also rings out in 1 John 2:15-17 where Scripture warns us about loving the world and its systems because it pollutes our love for God

There is always a danger in accumulation of wealth even where it is legitimately earned in that if unchecked it drains away our commitment to godly living and introduces pride and self aggrandizement. Wealthy people even with the best of godly intentions often find it hard to resist the urge for a higher sense of self importance. What with recognition that success brings, the privilege of controlling the lives of those working for or under them and the accolades with which their society garlands them! 

The Rich Fool was a very visionary investor and his success would ordinarily pass for his earthly prudence until we remember that even with the best of human intelligence, it is God who gives us power to make wealth. Material success should therefore call for more humility, a greater sense of gratitude to the ultimate owner of all there is on earth and the giver of life (Psalm 24:1). Our life is the most precious gift that God has donated to us for which we must account to him. He controls our destiny and we live by his grace. 

This is not to suggest that wealth is evil per se or that believers should not pursue it. Job was the billionaire of his time but Scripture demonstrates that he never forgot his God and he held his relationship with God much closer to his heart than all the possessions he had. Even his family came second to God. 

Jesus cautions us in Matthew 6:20 that Matthew 6:19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven..."

May this be true of every child of God even as we seek the best of that which God lays before for us in this passing evil world.

January 15 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report