The Parable of the Rich Fool

Introduction

The late Pres. pastor, Tim Keller, was talking to his wife about a mens breakfast where he was teaching through the 7 deadly sins.

His wife, Kathy, replied, “I’ll bet that the week you deal with greed you will have the lowest attendance. She was right.

People packed the room for lust, wrath, and even pride.

Tim Keller concluded, “No one thinks they are greedy.” He doubled down on this point, saying, “As a pastor I’ve had people come to me and confess that they struggle with almost every kind of sin. Almost. I cannot recall anyone every coming to me and saying, ‘I spend too much money on myself. I think my greedy lust for money is harming my family, my soul, and people around me.”

No one thinks they are greedy.

This is a problem for us, because the sins in our hearts that are often the most damaging are the ones that we have no clue exist.

We have the privilege of the subtitles, “The Rich Fool.” Because if we didn’t have the subtitles, some of us would find the words of this rich man perfectly reasonable.

Therein lies our wrong assumption - that our money ultimately belongs to us and will be a source of satisfaction for us.

Read Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13–21 ESV

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for 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 produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Explanation

Luke 12:13–14 “Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?””

Be careful when you ask God brashly for something. We can often be entitled with God.

Be careful when you prayers, or your heart, says, “I deserve ___.”

Every breathe is a grace, much less many of the things we ask the Lord for.

We can and should pray to God prayers of supplication, meaning, “God, supply my needs.”

You may actually be using God for something other than Himself.

God may be a means to what you want instead of the ends.

One of the primary ways we do this is with our finances, our money, and our possessions.

Luke 12:15 “And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.””

Covetousness - The desire for or idolatry of possessions and money that can buy possessions.

My sister and I used to fight incessantly over the biggest piece of whatever we were eating. Cake, grilled cheese, etc.

My mom started a rule: Whoever cuts the grilled cheese has to let the other pick the piece.

You don’t have to teach a kid to be selfish. We are born with an innate desire to have more than the person next to us. We, as broken humans, think that having more will satisfy us and distinguish us as better than the people around us.

Idolatry seems like an Old Testament problem, doesn’t it? Idolatry seems so primal and foreign to us. Making gods out of clay, stone, wood, or metal.

However, Paul uses the term often. And it isn’t just referring to manmade idols, but rather, the fact that there are things that replace in our hearts the desire and need for God.

The reasons idols in the OT context are so awful is that they replace mans heart, affection, and need for the One True God. And therefore, anything that you allow to do the same - sex, money, possessions, fame, etc. - something that possesses the affection you should have for the Lord - is an idol.

Brian Rosner. We do three things with an idol. We love them. We trust them. We obey them.

We love money.

We dream about money. We dream about what we would do if we had more money. We fantasize about the bigger house or nicer car or cooler boat or longer/better vacations.

When we have it, we relish how much we have in our bank account and the power it provides.

We trust money.

We feel safe when our bank account looks good. We see money as a means to safety.

The foundation of our peace and comfort comes from our finances.

We obey money.

How much influence something has in your decision making shows how much you have placed that think upon the throne of your life. We often think that money obeys us, but rather we obey money.

How often do you make decisions not based upon what you need, but rather upon what you want others to think you have?

Tim Keller, “For Jesus, greed is not only about love of money, but excessive anxiety about it.”

Idols always overpromise and underdeliver.

Have you ever walked away from the sales counter with that empty feeling in the pit of your stomach?

Have you ever bought something, got home, thrown it on the counter and said, “What now?”

Luke 12:16–19 “And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’”

In every way, this man’s response to his good fortune and his wealth shows he has a deep, idolatry of money. It has hooked him deeply.

The man loves his money, “Soul, you have ample goods.” This man felt in his CORE the love of money.

This rich man trusts his money, “What shall I do, for I have no where to store my crops.”

“My wealth, what I own is a means to my own safety and comfort. I don’t need to see a love for common man more than myself. This is mine, and it is for me.”

This man obeys his money, “I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grains and goods.

The decision that he makes about his money stems his need to hoard and keep more.

Luke 12:20–21 “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.””

Randy Alcorn’s “Treasure Principles”

God owns everything; I am his money manager.

Everything you own is the Lord’s. You may have made the money, but the Lord gave you the brains, the brawn, the family to support you and get you educated, etc. etc.

No one ever acquires wealth on their own. The Lord is a help and a keeper.

Everything you have comes from Him. He doesn’t own a percentage of it. All of it is his. Abraham Kuyper says, “There isn’t one inch of the universe that Jesus doesn’t declare, MINE!”

I should live today not for the dot, but for the line.

Your life on earth is a dot, yet your eternity is a never ending line.

Life your life not for the dot but for the line.

The Lord can do more with your money than you can do with it.

Giving is the only antidote for materialism.

If you are a guest today, and a friend invited you… I want you to know they may look ok, but they are a little stressed. Because they invited you the day the pastor talks about money. If my talking about money keeps you from hearing what I have said/will say about Jesus, then don’t feel the pressure to give.

But as for us, we are a covenant community who partners together for the sake of the gospel.

Jesus tells us to give, because ultimately, all that we have is his AND only in giving can we be free of the master of money. Too many of us allow our money to tell us what to do instead of us telling our money what to do.

God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.

God always blesses us to bless others. Our blessings are never in isolation. And those blessings can be little or big! Either way, use them to help others.

Invitation

Puritan Pastor, David Clarkson, “Idols are not removed. They are replaced.”

You will always worship something. You will always love, trust, and obey something.

I know a better master than money. My Master stooped to wash the feet of his disciples. My Master gave his life instead of keeping and hoarding it for Himself. My Master was enthroned in all riches, glory, and praise, and chose instead, to come to his humanity.