Luke 12:20 (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?’ 

Let me be clear about something at the very beginning of this blog—being rich is never condemned in the Bible.  It is not riches in themselves that are evil, but the attitude toward riches that causes so many problems, and that is what this parable is about.  Jesus gave this parable to warn people about covetousness.  Covetousness is not a problem with riches per se; it is a problem with one’s attitude.  It has to do with being too attached to things that we want or even already have.

A thirty-eight-year-old man was walking to his job at a warehouse in Rosemont, Illinois, when he tried to get there by cutting across eight lanes of traffic.  After he crossed the four northbound lanes, the wind blew off his hat.  He was so attached to that hat that, without thinking, he chased it back into oncoming traffic and was struck by a semi-truck, killing him instantly.  What is the lesson we learn from this foolish act?  A person can lose everything by chasing after nothing.

In the parable of the rich fool, the main character is a farmer.  His foolishness is seen in his covetousness that is highlighted by selfishness.  The repeated use of the personal pronouns is the evidence of this rich man’s selfishness, showing that he was so self-centered that the thought of using his abundance to help the less fortunate never crossed his mind.  To use our wealth and riches selfishly is to allow them to rule our lives.  Someone has said that riches make for a  great servant but a lousy master.  The fool does not realize when he has gone from a master to a slave, thinking he is still in charge, while his riches are running his life.   More importantly, we should know that if we hoard our riches for ourselves now, we will lose any hope of a reward later (1 Timothy 6:17-19). 

Another trap that the foolish rich man fell into was forgetting that both he and his riches were temporary.  In the parable of our Lord, God asked a serious question of the rich farmer—a question that all who put too much trust in material things should answer.

Luke 12:20 (NKJV)
²⁰  But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

The farmer thought his prospects for the future were good, but God knew differently.  He said, “I will,” but God said he would not.  The farmer gave God no recognition regarding the great harvest he had or the future that he planned.  So, “God said unto him, thou fool.”  The word translated “fool” in this text means “senseless” (Vincent), and what the farmer was planning fell into that category.  He was going to build, and then he was going to party (v. 19).  He said, “I will take my ease, eat, drink and be merry.”  I know that the world would think that was a wise plan and praise the farmer, but God called him a fool.

What is your attitude toward your riches, or riches in general?  Is it foolish or wise?  If it is selfish, and if you do not give God any credit for them, nor do you consider the poor of this world, you are following the path of the rich foolish farmer, and at some point, your soul will be required of you.   

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.