Greed – The Parable of the Rich Fool

What’s Wrong with Acknowledging Sin?

This is the 2nd sermon in our series “Confronting the Sins We Tolerate”. As I have prepared for the topics of pride and greed so far, I have found that by confronting the issue of sin, the Holy Spirit has been working in me, pointing out issues that I have been tolerating. I trust that the Holy Spirit will continue to do so in all of us.

As sinners, we are not alone. The writer of the popular hymn, Amazing Grace, famously wrote:

“My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”– John Newton. [1]

Notice that Newton uses the present tense, “I am a sinner”. The Apostle Paul did as well. We know, for instance, that several years before writing 1 Timothy, Paul referred to himself as “the very least of all the saints” and as a minister of the gospel only by the grace of God (see Ephesians 3:7-8). In fact, there seems to be a downward progression in Paul’s self-awareness from the least of the apostles (see 1 Corinthians 15:9, written in AD 55) to the very least of all the saints (see Ephesians 3:8, written in AD 60) to the foremost of sinners (see 1 Timothy 1:15, written about AD 63 or 64).

It only makes sense that between the moment of their salvations to their deaths, both Newton and Paul grew in Christlike character. Over time, both acted more and more as the saints they had become at conversion. But that growth process involved becoming more aware of and sensitive to the sinful expressions of the flesh still dwelling within them[…]”[2]

None of us are surprised to know that our culture does not seem interested in the problem of sin. I learned this past week that the word sinhas not been included in the presidential proclamation for the annual National Day of Prayer since President Dwight Eisenhower in 1953.[3]One “pastor invited the men in his church to join him in a prayer meeting. Rather than praying about the spiritual needs of the church as he expected, all the men without exception prayed about the sins of the culture, primarily abortion and homosexuality. Finally, the pastor, dismayed over the apparent self-righteousness of the men, closed the prayer meeting with the well-known prayer of the tax collector, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13).”[4]

I think we would do ourselves a great favor by agreeing with that tax collector, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” and begin again from there.

Greed is a Trap that Prevents Us from God’s Great Plans

If we can approach the issue of sin honestly, then there will be great hope for all of us. This morning I would like to examine the problem of greed with you.

Greed is an excessive desire for more of something, especially wealth or possessions. In the Pocket Dictionary of Ethicsgreed is explained further to be “associated with idolatry, insofar as it leads a person to view the accumulation of material possessions, rather than right relationship to God, as the highest *good (the *good life) and it leads a person to trust in personal ability or accumulated treasure rather than in God for one’s well-being and security. When it becomes one’s central desire, the accumulation of wealth comes to shape both the inner and the social life of the person held captive by greed. For this reason, Jesus taught that a person must eventually choose between serving God and being a slave to the pursuit of wealth.[5]

Sadly, funerals are times when greed becomes obvious. Unfortunately, we all can probably think of a time when the death of a friend or loved one turns into a family feud. Properties are disputed, objects are coveted, insurance settlements are debated…on and on. Jesus warned against greed for possessions.

It is in the backdrop of a funeral that Jesus teaches about the dangers of greed.

Luke 12:13–21 NIV

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; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 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 my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain 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 whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

At the Heart of the Matter

Even before Jesus tells the parable He lays out some important truths that we shouldn’t skip over.

Luke 12:15 NIV

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Be on Guard Against All Kinds of Greed

Rather than taking sides in a family dispute, Jesus warns about greed. Often disputes over inheritance are really about greed, symptoms of the disease of “possessionitis.” Jesus attacks this disease directly in this parable... It appears that greed and the pursuit of possessions constitute one of the greatest obstacles to spiritual growth.[6]

I shared a statement on Facebook this week that challenged the idea that because of the supply chain problems, Christmas was in trouble. If you think that supply chain issues will diminish Christmas – you may have a problem. Christmas doesn’t depend on supply chains. “Perhaps Christmas is about something a little bit more!”

Luke 12:16–19 NIV

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 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 my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’

Greed is an Attitude

Every one of us is thinking, “What’s so bad about this guy building bigger barns to handle his surplus?” Afterall, taking care of our things and preparing for retirement are wise. What Jesus is pointing out is what is going on inside of the rich man’s head.

There is a true story about…

Raynald III, a fourteenth-century duke in what is now Belgium, who was grossly overweight. His Latin nickname, Crassus, means “fat.”

Raynald’s younger brother Edward revolted against Raynald’s rule. Edward captured Raynald but did not kill him. Instead, he built a room around Raynald in the Nieuwkerk castle and promised him he could regain his title and property when he left the room. This would not have been difficult for most people, since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size, none of which were locked or barred. The problem was Raynald’s size; to regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight.

Edward knew his older brother. Each day he sent a variety of delicious foods into the room. Instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter. When Duke Edward was accused of cruelty, he had a ready answer: “My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave when he so wills.” Raynald stayed in his room for ten years and wasn’t released until after Edward died in battle. By then his health was so ruined that he died within a year—a prisoner of his own appetite.

—Thomas Costain, The Three Edwards (Popular Library, 1964)[7]

If Jesus were alive today, he would see the attitude behind the expression “The one with the most toys wins” as a prescription for failure in life. The ancient historian Plutarch said, “Greed never rests from the acquiring of more” (On Love of Wealth1 [Mor. 523 E]; L. T. Johnson 1991:198).[8]

Greed doesn’t stop with just money and things…it is a sinful attitude:

Sensuality –

Ephesians 4:19 NIV

Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

Idolatry -

Colossians 3:5 NIV

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Idolatry opens a whole realm of possibilities. An idol is anything that is worshipped in addition to God.

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18–20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the deadliest appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable.

Jesus said some people hear the word of God, and a desire for God is awakened in their hearts. But then “as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14 NASB). In another place he said, “The desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19 NASB). “The pleasures of this life” and “the desires for other things” are not evil in themselves. These are not vices. These are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking.

And all of them can become deadly substitutes for God. —John Piper, A Hunger for God (Crossway, 1997)[9]

Greed can take advantage of anything that replaces an appetite for God himself, the idolatry [greed] is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable. – John Piper, paraphrased.

Life Does Not Consist in an Abundance of Possessions

Jesus also made the point:

Luke 12:15 NIV

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

The final details of the parable are these:

Luke 12:20–21 NIV

“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 whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

What is the meaning of life? It becomes clear to us from this parable that no man knows the future. That very evening would be the rich fool’s last. It also becomes clear to us that what he valued, God did not value. Worldly wealth does not equate to wealth with God.

Many people love the music of Frank Sinatra. For many decades he seemed to have it all…except, apparently, what really has true value:

His health was in tatters and his life mired in financial wrangles, but Frank Sinatra refused to stop giving concerts. “I’ve got to earn more money,” he said.

His performances, sad to say, were becoming more and more uneven. Uncertain of his memory, he became dependent on teleprompters. When his daughter, Tina, saw her father at Desert Inn in Las Vegas, he struggled through the show and felt so sick at the end that he needed oxygen from a tank that he kept on hand. At another show he forgot the lyrics to “Second Time Around,” a ballad he had sung a thousand times. His adoring audience finished it for him.

“I couldn’t bear to see Dad struggle,” Tina said. “I remembered all the times he had repeated the old boxing maxim ‘You gotta get out before you hit the mat.’ He wanted to retire at the top of his game, and I always thought he would know when his time came, but in pushing eighty he lost track of when to quit. After seeing one too many of these fiascoes, I told him, ‘Pop, you can stop now; you don’t have to stay on the road.’ ”

With a stricken expression he said, “No, I’ve got to earn more money. I have to make sure everyone is taken care of.”

Since Sinatra’s death, there has been constant family wrangling over his fortune.[10]

To be rightly aware of the values of life will enable a man to put ‘things’ in the proper place. The possessions of this life belong to this life; and since this life is less important than the next, the things of this life should be valued less than the things of eternity.[11]

5 Questions to Protect You Against Greed

Questions we can ask ourselves:

1. Why do I want more?

2. What am I willing to compromise for more money?

3. What is the focus of my spending?

4. Who do I credit for my provision?

5. Who’s money is it?

These questions help us identify what is really going on. What are the motives? What is the spiritual cost? Are you becoming more like Christ or is this an issue that pulls you away from Christ?

Greed Dies When We Realistically Examine the Future

The parable is less about greed and more about what life is about. Greed is a detractor from the enjoyment and fulfillment of true life.

What is the meaning of life according to the Bible? According to the Bible, knowing God is the meaning of life because He is the “author of life” (John 17:3). The meaning of life is not based on things we see in the world “for life is more than food, and the body more than clothing” (Luke 12:23).

The keen eye of Jesus in this parable is dividing between those who are taken up with the [desires]of the [immediate]and the things of this life, and those who see that the ultimate future is far more important and are chiefly concerned to provide for the next life.[12]

Don’t let GREED keep you from going where the Lord is taking you!

[1]Excerpt From: Jerry Bridges. “Respectable Sins.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/respectable-sins/id1202947909 [2]Excerpt From: Jerry Bridges. “Respectable Sins.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/respectable-sins/id1202947909 [3]Bridges. Et al. pg 18 [4]Bridges, Et al. [5] Grenz, S. J., & Smith, J. T. (2003). In Pocket Dictionary of Ethics (p. 48). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [6]Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke(Lk 12:13–21). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [7] Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008). 1001 illustrations that connect (pp. 148–149). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. [8]Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke(Lk 12:13–21). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [9]Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008). 1001 illustrations that connect (pp. 130–131). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. [10] Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008). 1001 illustrations that connect (p. 13). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. [11]Wilcock, M. (1979). The Savior of the world: the message of Luke’s gospel (p. 135). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [12]Wilcock, M. (1979). The Savior of the world: the message of Luke’s gospel (pp. 135–136). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.