Nov 19, The Parable of the Rich Fool, Luke 12:16-21
The only safe place for riches is in heaven. But, one might say, that is ridiculous, there are no earthly riches in heaven. Exactly! Burial shrouds have no pockets. Armored cars do not follow hearses.
Two things stand out for me in this parable. The context is a man asking Jesus to tell his brother to divide his inheritance with me. Jesus refuses to tell the brother anything, rather He warns the man and us about the dangers of riches. I am also reminded of the time Jesus’ good friend Martha asked Jesus to tell her sister, Mary, to help her with the chores. Jesus didn’t do that either (Luke 10:40). We often want Jesus to tell others to act the way we want them to, but Jesus never seems to do so. Another time at the shore of the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection, Peter asked Jesus what was going to happen to John. Jesus replied, “What is that to you, you follow me” (John 21:22). How I act is more than enough for me to worry about.
The second thing is where to put our riches. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that we should not store our treasures on earth where they rust, are destroyed, and are stolen but to store them in heaven where they will be safe. Besides, where your treasure resides is where your heart will be (Matthew 6:19-21). Immediately following this parable (Luke 12:22-34), Jesus gives this exact application. At another time, Jesus told the rich young man to sell all he had, give it to the poor, and come follow Him. Jesus said the man would have riches in heaven (Luke 18:22). It appears, the more we give away the more treasure we have in heaven. Where is your treasure? Where is your heart?
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “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. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “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?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”—Luke 12:16-21
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