Luke 12

 

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

¹⁴ Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" ¹⁵ Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."

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 those who store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God."

  

 

I don't think any of us are surprised at these and other statements Jesus made challenging selfishness and unchecked materialism. The rich man in this parable is a "fool" not because he is rich but rather because he is selfish with his wealth; he is focused only on himself, on getting more wealth, on increasing his material possessions.

 

I want to be clear that Jesus never condemned wealth or material possessions in and of themselves. What he condemned was wealth and material things becoming the priority of our lives; so much so that one is reticent to share with others. He made it clear that when one is given much, God expects much from that person --and that's true of assets in our lives beyond our financial resources (Luke 12:48).

 

The truth is God calls each of us to use our strengths and resources for the building up of Christ's Church and for helping this world become all God desires. Where one has extra time to give, much time should be given to the Kingdom. Where one has a special talent, that talent must be applied to God's good work. Where one has the gift of words, that person should find a way to use her gift to advance Christ's work in the world. Where one has a learned skill, some of that skill must be applied to assisting God's causes. I think you get the picture.

 

Will we be held accountable for the much we've been given (whatever that is)? Yes! Is God expecting much when we have much? Absolutely!

 

I invite you on an intentional and prayerful journey to determine that which God is calling you to use. Is there some part of your life which could be used for God's good work and you're sitting on that gift or that talent or those resources or that skill? Unleashing what we have for God's Kingdom does far more than keep us faithful - it helps us find inner satisfaction and deep spiritual joy!