Parable of The Rich Fool

In the Parable of the Rich Fool Jesus Teaches Us that Our Savings Tell a Story...

How we spend our money while we are alive, tells the story of what we hope in once we die...

Your budget tells the story of what you actually believe.

If you really want to know what you put your faith in…dont look at your church attendance. Dont look at your confession. Don’t look at the Baptist faith and message. Look at your bank statement.

This story tells us that how we save and how we spend tells the story of what and where we ultimately put our faith, hope, and love.

The Parable is found in the middle of a situation…and it begins in verse 13 where Luke writes:

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

The passage starts out with Luke telling us that there was someone in the crowd who told…notice I didnt say he asked him—he told him to do something. And what was the thing he told him to do? He told him to tell his brother to divide the inheritance with him.

But notice the situation here…if you read back just a few verses in front of this scenario…you find Jesus teaching about the need for fidelity in the wake of inevitable persecution...

I mean just listen to Luke 12:4-5

Luke 12:4–5 (ESV)

4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Jesus essentially says here in this teaching, dont fear those that can issue the death penalty…fear God, because He has the authority to issue the death penalty and then send you to hell...

And it’s at that moment that this young whipper snapper in the crowd decides…you know I think this is just the right time to interrupt Jesus and ask him about my money… “Hey Jesus…tell my brother to give me my money...” (See, I dont ever want to hear again that Millennials or Gen. Z are the most selfish generations to ever live…this was generation A…and a dude was interrupting Jesus about his money)

…the man asking Jesus to preside over his case had little to no concern for Jesus’ teaching, no concern for the crowd which was listening, and no concern with whether or not he was legally justified in asking Jesus to issue a verdict over whether or not his dispute with his brother was even justified in the first place… All he was concerned about was with getting his, and—as it were— it seems that he wanted it now.

The other reason that he asked Jesus this question is because there were two things Jesus was almost always talking about Money and Justice...

This guy felt like a crime had been committed against him…and he felt like his money had been stollen from him…and therefore, he probably figured, since Jesus cares about justice and Jesus cares about money…surely he will help me in this case...

So Jesus responds to this man…he says in v. 14

Luke 12:14 (ESV)

14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”

You see, this man was doing something that would have been somewhat normal during this time period. God had given his people laws and principles to govern themselves by in the Torah. God had laid out laws about all kinds of things, one of which was teachings about how inheritances should be divided up amongst families upon the death of the family patriarch.

But this young man obviously felt like he didn't get his fair share of what was rightly his, and therefore he wanted Jesus to side with him on this dispute. Therefore, he told Jesus to tell him to give him what was rightfully his.

Here was Jesus. The most renown Rabbi of his day…not just the best teacher, but He was Himself truth incarnate. If this man wanted clarity on what the law said, Jesus might have explained it to him. If he just wanted Jesus’ opinion over whether or not his brother had sinned in robbing him of his fair share of his inheritance that was due to him…Jesus might have done that. But this man didnt ask for Jesus’ opinion, he wasnt at all concerned with what Jesus was teaching or saying. All he was concerned about was himself and his money. He wanted Jesus to be a pawn in his self-centered scheme to get rich quick...

In essense, Jesus says to him… “Nah Bruh, that isn’t why I’ve come...”

And in fact, Jesus uses this man’s request to teach us a lesson…and the lesson is found in verse 15.

Luke 12:15 (ESV)

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.”

Be on your guard against all covetousness—because life is more than about the stuff we possess.

Life is more than the car you drive.

Life is more than the house you own.

Life is more than the money in your savings account.

Life is way more than about what you can possess and consume on this side of eternity...

But in America…this isnt at all what we believe. And I dont just mean “those people” out there in the world. I mean church people too! We are a people who are consumed with consuming. We have so much junk that we spend 38 billion dollars a year on storage units. That’s not 38 Billion on the stuff that we consume, that’s 38 billion on the stuff that we dont have the guts to throw away…so we pile it all in huge closets that we call storage units. We spend so much on junk, that we have to spend even more money to store the junk that we dont need anymore to make room for the new junk we want to have.

Where does this drive for more come from? It comes from a longing for meaning, value, and purpose in life. As the French Sociologist, Jean Baudrillard (BOU-DRI-ARD) notes, “materialism has become the dominant system of meaning in the Western World.” Atheism isnt the greatest threat to Christianity anymore…shopping is.

You see…we believe that we need the new car because we believe that we are what we drive.

We believe we need the new clothes because we are what we wear...

The things that we own for us arent just things…they are our identities.

We buy the latest version of the iPhone, not because we need a new phone…most of the time our old phones are just fine. They still text, still make phone calls, the apps still work, the gps still functions. So why do we get the latest version? Because we want to be trendy and notable. We dont want to miss out on the latest and greatest the world has to offer…

in America especially—We need to be mindful of our money…because how we handle money and possessions in this life tells us where we ultimately place our faith, our hope, and our love.

You see…it really is possible to gain the whole world and lose your soul along the way…

this is the purpose of the story Jesus tells beginning in V.16

Luke 12:–21 (ESV)

16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 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. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Jesus tells a story about a rich man who’s land produced plentifully. His fields produced so plentifully that he has run out of room to store his crops. So what does he decide to do? Tear down his barns and build bigger barns. Then he will have ample room to store up goods for years and years…and with enough laid up he can then start living the good life. He says as much in verse 19

Luke 12:19 (ESV)

19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’

The man isn't spending frivolously.

He is saving up a retirement!

He is building up his 401k...

In American culture…we would say this man is a good business man.

But look at what Jesus says about him.

Luke 12:20–21 (ESV)

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

Because of this man’s plan to invest in himself…Jesus calls him a “fool.”

A “Fool” in the Biblical sense doesnt mean unintelligent.

When the Bible calls someone a fool it is making a moral judgement...

Psalm 14:1 (ESV)

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” ....

When the Bible talks about the person who is a “Fool” it is making a moral judgement on a person. The fool is a person who has no love for God...

The Rich man in this story wasnt a Fool because he was unintelligent…He was a fool for two reasons: (1) He didnt care God… (2) he didnt care people...

HE WAS SELFISH...

Look at: Luke 12:16 (ESV)

16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully,

And then look at his response...

Luke 12:17–19 (ESV)

17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 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. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’

he failed to acknowledge the truth that what he have are gifts from God…

James 1:17 (ESV)

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

1 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

It isn't evil to have wealth…it is evil to not acknowledge that God is the Giver…and it is evil to spend our money only on ourselves...

Your possessions…were not earned by you ultimately…Everything that we have has been given to us a good and generous God....and God has blessed us SO THAT through us He can bless others!

“Do you live this way?”

Are you grateful to God for what you have been given?

If you have very little wealth…are you grateful?

If you have more money than you know what to do with…are you grateful?

Do you use what God has given you to bless others?

Thus, Jesus says in verse 21:

Luke 12:21 ESV

21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Our inability to be thankful to God for what we have and generous toward others tells the story, ultimately, of what our Faith, Hope, and Love is...

How do we Not be the Rich Fool?

BE Gratefull

Thank God for all that you have...

Acknowledge that every good and perfect gift comes from Him

Every gift you have is a reminder to worship the gift giver...

BE Generous

Make as much money as you can…and then give as much money as you can.

You and I have been called to give generously out of the abundance of what God has given us...’

Paul says it this way in 1 Timothy 6...

1 Timothy 6:17–19 ESV

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

This is why we are doing Catch Up Sunday…this is an opportunity for us to live out the gospel...

The gospel is a story about the Generosity of God...

God in Christ Jesus has given us far more abundantly than we could ever imagine or earn. He has taken away the reproach of sin AND has given us His perfect record of righteousness…you and I didnt earn this…it was simply given to us out of the abundant and undeserved love of God.

God doesnt need our money…he has all of it already....

God wants you…and he was generous toward you because he wants you…that’s the gospel

We dont give because we want to earn God’s grace…we give because we have already freely received God’s grace.

And our giving is an expression of our love for God and our love for others...

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So have you recieved the grace of God this morning avaliable in Christ Jesus? Have you by faith, trusted in the generous work of Christ? If not, recieve it this morning by faith.

IF you have…then out of the abundance of what you have recieved…give with a glad heart…make the generous heart of God known through your obedient generosity...

Lets Pray