Luke 12:13-21
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." 14 But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15 And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 16 Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly, 17 And he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' 18 Then 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. 19 And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20 But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."
|
MUSINGS
The Parable of the Rich Fool
If I didn't already know that this Scripture reading was from the Bible, I could easily believe it was written yesterday. The same mentality that plagued the people of Jesus' time is still very much present and active today. Clearly greed is present, but also a sense of entitlement and an unwillingness to be kind or generous to neighbor or even family. Sound familiar? I have heard it said that this current generation of youth is known as the "Entitled Generation" but I think this lesson proves that this trend is nothing new.
The lesson begins with a man asking Jesus to make his brother share. Maybe it's because I'm around 7-year olds, but I picture the man whining when he requests help from Jesus. So many things are going on here. The man clearly feels entitled, he wants what he feels is his fair share of an inheritance (money that he did nothing to earn, to point out the obvious). He is overly concerned with a sense of his perceived slighting and feels he is getting the short end of the stick. I imagine him whining, "But Jesus, it's just not fair. I want my half of the free money!" Maybe he throws in a foot stomp for added effect. Jesus, like most adults when talking to whiny children, says he will not get in the middle of it. Then he warns against the dangers of greed and reminds the man that life is made up of more than the value of our belongings. In other scripture lessons, Jesus is always quick to help those who are being taken advantage and to instill a sense of fairness. It says a lot that Jesus is not willing to get involved in this family dispute.
Except that he doesn't leave it there. Jesus continues talking and tells the parable of the rich man. The rich man, the builder of big barns to store his grain and amassed wealth, has a sense of entitlement as well. He feels that since he has set himself up well financially, that he can sit back and just enjoy his wealth. He feels he deserves this respite from the rigors of life, though I doubt he worked a day in the fields, or dismantled the small barns or had a hand in building the big barns (other than supervisory, of course). He did not give thanks for fair weather and a good crop. Nor did he share any of his wealth with those around him who maybe could have used some grain to simply survive. It says something about a person who can be content with the fact that they have so much while others have so little. I'm no farmer, and I didn't research this, but wouldn't enough grain to last for three years rot before it is used? Hmmmm.
In the parable, God tells the rich man that he is fool, because he when he dies, his possessions will be meaningless to him. "You can't take it with you when you go" as they say. For a while I worked for a company that assisted older folks with downsizing, packing and moving from their homes to retirement apartments. You can imagine how emotionally stressful this process can be for everyone involved. But one thing that stands out to me was the mindset of most of the clientele. Most of them felt that sorting through possessions was the perfect opportunity to give belongings to their family members immediately, or donating home goods to charity, or selling items and donating that money to charity. They understood the lesson Jesus was teaching. They all said they wished they had done this sooner.
In 1999, there was a wine campaign with the slogan: "Wine. What are you saving it for?" The idea was not to wait for a special occasion to enjoy wine, but instead to make any occasion special. Wine aside though - the question remains: What are you saving it for? What will amassing possessions do for you when you are no longer here? Can you be content with having while others are going without?
|
|
