The Rich Fool is the parable Jesus told when a man in the crowd said,
Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.
The land of a rich man produced plentifully.
He said, I will tear down my barns and build larger ones,
and I will say to my soul,
Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;
relax, eat, drink, be merry.
God said to him, Fool!
This night your soul is required of you,
and the things you have prepared,
whose will they be?
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.
A family fight over a will walked into Jesus’ hearing. He refused the bench. Who made Me a judge or arbitrator over you? Then He warned the whole crowd: Watch out for all covetousness. Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. Then the story.
The ground did well. That is gift, not genius only. The man’s inner speech never leaves the first person: my crops, my barns, my grain, my soul. He plans years. God names a night. Required is a word of demand, not of scheduling. The barns are full. The man is empty toward God. Fool in Scripture is not a slip of manners. It is the person who says in his heart there is no tomorrow with God in it.
Jesus turns from the story to the disciples: do not be anxious; consider the ravens and the lilies; sell your possessions and give to the needy; provide purses that do not grow old; where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The rich fool is the anti-picture of seek first the kingdom. He sought first the addition and called it a soul’s rest. The soul was not his to keep that night.
- Jesus will not be hired to win your inheritance fight.
- Life is not the pile. Covetousness lies about that.
- The land produced. Thanksgiving never enters the soliloquy.
- My soul is treated like a barn he owns. It is required.
- Many years is a plan God can cancel before dawn.
- Rich toward God is the opposite of laid up for myself.
- Whose will they be is the last audit the barns cannot answer.
- The Dispute – Tell my brother to divide the inheritance.
- The Warning – Be on guard against all covetousness.
- The Bumper Crop – Plenty that never becomes praise.
- Bigger Barns – The only future he can imagine.
- Speech to the Soul – Relax, eat, drink, be merry.
- This Night – The soul required; the goods unclaimed.
- Rich toward God – The missing wealth.
- Luke 12:13-15 – “Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’”
- Luke 12:16-21 – “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: 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 ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
- Luke 12:22-34 – Do not be anxious about your life. Consider the ravens. Consider the lilies. Seek His kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Psalm 49:16-17 – Be not afraid when a man becomes rich… for when he dies he will carry nothing away.
- Psalm 39:6 – Man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather.
- Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 – I hated all my toil… because I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool.
- James 4:13-15 – Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go… you do not know what tomorrow will bring. You are a mist. You ought to say, If the Lord wills.
- James 5:1-3 – Your riches have rotted; your gold and silver have corroded; their corrosion will be evidence against you.
- 1 Timothy 6:7-10, 17-19 – We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. Those who are rich in this present age… are to be rich in good works, generous, ready to share, storing up treasure as a good foundation for the future.
- Matthew 6:19-21, 24, 33 – Do not lay up treasures on earth. You cannot serve God and money. Seek first the kingdom.
- Luke 16:19-31 – The rich man and Lazarus; a gulf after death the barns cannot bridge.
- Proverbs 11:4, 28 – Riches do not profit in the day of wrath. Whoever trusts in his riches will fall.
- Proverbs 27:1 – Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
- Psalm 14:1 – The fool says in his heart, There is no God.
- Revelation 3:17 – You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
- Mark 8:36 – What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness. Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.
I will build larger barns. Soul, you have ample goods for many years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry.
Fool! This night your soul is required of you. The things you have prepared, whose will they be?
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.
Seek His kingdom. Provide moneybags that do not grow old. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
You are a mist. If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.
Do not name your soul as if it were a barn you own. Be rich toward God. Give. Seek first. The night can come before the new walls are dry.
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