A. Many times, many men have thought, "If I only had more
money, then my life would be better." Is
this true? Is the quality of our lives
determined by our worldly wealth?
B. In the parable of the rich fool, Jesus powerfully teaches
us that life is not about worldly possessions.
Let us consider His divinely wise teachings in this lesson.
II. THE OCCASION OF THE PARABLE -- LUKE 12:13-15
A. When a man requested that Jesus arbitrate his
inheritance, Jesus refused.
1.
Jesus was in the
midst of many thousands of people when this request came to Him (Luke
12:1). This was an opportunity for
Christ to teach a valuable lesson to many souls.
2.
The request was,
"Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."
3.
In reply, Jesus
neither validated nor invalidated the man's claim to the inheritance, but
rather He said, "Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" It was not the purpose of Jesus to oversee
such matters.
4.
How foolish was
the man who made this request.
a. With an opportunity to speak to the Son of God about
matters of eternal life, he chose instead to appeal to Jesus for his own worldly
gain.
b. Let us remember this man's poor example when we speak
to the Lord in prayer.
B. This request prompted Jesus to give a warning to the thousands
of people present with Him.
1.
The Lord said, "Beware,
and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an
abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
a. Greed is a grave danger, for it is a corrupting
influence consumes a person. Paul later
wrote, "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by
longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with
many griefs" (1Tim. 6:10).
b. Notice that greed is a problem for the rich and the
poor alike. By using the phrase "not
even when one has an abundance," Jesus indicated that there is never a time
when life is defined by possessions.
Regardless of whether a man is rich or poor, his greed, his love of
money, and his obsession with possessions will lead him to evil.
2.
The Lord
emphasized this warning by teaching the parable of the rich fool. Let us consider it here.
III. THE PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL -- LUKE 12:16-21
A. In the parable, a rich man was faced with a dilemma
concerning the abundance of his crops.
1.
The man's problem
was one that many think they would like to have. He had more possessions than he could store,
so he had to decide what to do with them.
2.
Among his options
would have been to sell his excess possessions, to share them with others, to give
them away, or to find a way to keep them for himself.
B. The rich man's decision was to store his crops and
take his ease.
1.
Notice his own
words: "This is what I will do: 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
many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be
merry.'"
2.
Consider a few
points from his words:
a. He already had barns that were obviously sufficient to
hold many possessiosns, for he was already rich even before this very
productive season. He did not need more
than his old barns would hold, but he now had more possessions than he had ever
owned before.
b. He addressed his own soul.
i.
The word "soul"
is from the Greek word psychē (ψυχή),
which means "life." The soul is one of
the three components of man's existence (body, spirit, and soul, see 1Thess.
5:23).
ii.
This man was speaking
to himself about the meaning of his life.
Consider this for yourself: If you were to address your own soul, what
would you say?
c.
He assumed that
his soul (life) had many years yet to come.
His choice to reserve his possessions for his soul was based on that
unfounded assumption.
d. He decided to take his ease. From this time, his soul (life) would not be
about diligence, service, or anything productive, but rather it would be
consumed in eating, drinking, and being merry.
(Consider Proverbs 21:17 -- "He who loves pleasure will become a poor
man; he who loves wine and oil will not become rich.")
C. Before he was able to carry out his decision, God
declared him to be a fool.
1.
God said to him,
"You fool! This very night your soul is
required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?"
2.
Consider what
made this man a fool in the sight of God and also what did not.
a. He was a fool because he made a foolish assumption
about the years of his life.
i.
He had said to
his own soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come." However, his soul was required of him that
very night.
ii.
The Scriptures
warn us about the brevity and uncertainty of life. James wrote, "Yet you do not know what your
life will be like tomorrow. You are just
a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (Jas. 4:14).
iii. Likewise, Proverbs 27:1 warns, "Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth."
b. He was a fool because he did not recognize that his
possessions were only temporarily under his control.
i.
Now that his life
was ending, his possessions would belong to someone else. He had wasted his opportunity to make use of
tremendous resources.
ii.
Consider
Ecclesiastes 2:18-19:
Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had
labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after
me. And who knows whether he will be a
wise man or a fool? Yet he will have
control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting
wisely under the sun. This too is
vanity.
iii. The fact is that all things belong to God, for He
says, "The world is Mine, and all it contains" (Ps. 50:12). He only allows us to use His things for a
season.
c.
He was a fool
because he had not used his possessions to truly benefit him in the future.
i.
He had trusted in
the abundance of his possessions for his future security on earth. Consider Proverbs 18:11 -- "A rich man's
wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own imagination."
ii.
Instead, they
could do nothing for him as his soul was called away from earth by God. Notice Proverbs 11:4 -- "Riches do not profit
in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death."
iii. His possessions could have benefited him had he used
them in a way that would have brought glory to God. Consider Proverbs 3:9-10 -- "Honor the LORD
from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be
filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine." As it was, he would not be able to give a
good account of his stewardship before God in judgment.
d. He was not a fool simply because he owned many
possessions.
i.
Having material
savings is an exercise of wisdom, for it is foolish to consume everything that
one receives. Notice Proverbs 21:20 -- "There
is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man
swallows it up."
ii.
The failure of
this man was not due to the amount of wealth he accumulated, but it was due to
the attitude of his heart toward his wealth and toward His God.
IV. CONCLUSION
A. The primary lesson for us was given by the Lord at the
conclusion of the parable in Luke 12:21: "So is the man who stores up treasure
for himself, and is not rich toward God."
B. No amount of worldly treasure can give men eternal
life. Even though men know this is true,
they often behave as if they will live on earth forever. "Their inner thought is that their houses are
forever and their dwelling places to all generations; they have called their
lands after their own names. But man in
his pomp will not endure; he is like the beasts that perish" (Ps. 49:11-12).
C.
Rather than being
foolish like this rich man, let us follow the Lord's directions in Matthew
6:19-21 -- "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and
rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in
or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
