The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21)

In the twelfth chapter of Luke, Jesus is instructing a large group of people made up of thousands (ver. 1). Since Jesus was the greatest teacher the world had ever seen, we would expect that the multitude of people who were now listening to Him would be hanging on every word that He uttered. However, there was at least one man who was not paying much attention to Him. He focused his mind, instead, on his own earthly wealth. As Jesus was teaching, this man interrupted Him with a demand. He wanted Jesus to tell his brother to divide their father’s inheritance with him (ver. 13). What a testimony on the power of materialism. This man’s priorities were way out of whack. He is standing before the Savior of the world, and all he can think about is earthly wealth. Jesus saw the man’s demand for what it was—a manifestation of a self-absorbed and materialistic mindset, and so, He took the occasion to teach the important lesson that one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (ver. 15).

This is a lesson for all of us. We live in a society that determines the value of a person by his earthly wealth. When a person is financially successful, all of a sudden he or she becomes an expert to whom people want to listen. His judgment is now sought on everything from politics to religion. Sadly, too many Christians have bought into this false idea. They determine their own self-worth by how they are doing financially. This false notion leads to covetousness or having an inordinate desire for money and what it will buy. It causes people to crave material things because they have fooled themselves into believing that the success of their life depends on the abundance of their posses-sions. That attitude, in turn, leads to selfishness. Consider the farmer in the parable. The first flaw that stands out with him is that his whole focus is on himself. In three short verses (vers. 17-19), he uses the word “I” five times. His focus is in storing up riches for himself. Forget about helping the poor with his abundance. The thought of sharing never even enters his mind. For this, Jesus calls him a fool (ver. 20). He could have planned to do so much good with the resources that he had, but instead, his plan was to store up his riches for himself, obsessed with a future that he would never see.

Do you play the role of the farmer in this parable? If you are laying up treasure for yourself and are not rich toward God, you are the foolish farmer. It is a sign that you are too attached to your earthly possessions and have lost track of what is important in life, that is, being rich toward God. This is done by being rich in the good work of sharing wealth with others (1 Timothy 6:17-19). It is not saving for the future that is wrong, but rather, storing up more than you need while others around you are hurting. That is a sign of selfishness. That selfishness is often a by-product of thinking that one’s life consists of the abundance of his possessions. Do not make that mistake. You are so much more than your physical possessions. Focus your life on obtaining the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8), being rich in good works, and sharing your earthly wealth with those who are in need. As you wind down for the night, think on these things.