Parable of the Rich Fool

“Give Them Away, And No One Can Rob You”

Little boy giving a gift to his grandma who is sitting on a park bench smiling.

Parable of the Rich Fool, Part 5

This Week's Bible Reading:
Luke 12:13-21 (focus on verse 21)
Supporting Passage:
Luke 16:1-13

If you want to divide a roomful of people, just throw out this question: What is your favorite movie version of A Christmas Carol?

My favorite is sort of an obscure one: the 1962 animated special Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. I find it funny that the character of Mr. Magoo plays the character of Scrooge. And the icing on the cake? It is a musical with some pretty fantastic songs.

At the beginning of the movie, Scrooge sings these lyrics as he joyfully counts his money:

Ringle, ringle, coins when they mingle
Make such a lovely sound
Guineas and tuppence
And thruppence and bob
Make my ears tingle
And keep my heart throbbing

Money is the only thing that makes Scrooge smile. It seems the more his bank account grows, the more his heart shrinks. By the end of his life, he is a miserable old man who shut out everyone around him. He's about to die without ever having fully lived.

Like Scrooge, the rich fool in Jesus' parable shows us the danger of placing wealth above everything else. As we close out our time with this parable, I want to look at the way Jesus summed it up.

We've seen that Jesus told this tale because a young man wanted him to solve a family financial dispute. After delivering the dramatic final line (see v. 20), I imagine Jesus looking at the man as he says these words:

"This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:21, NIV)

Does Jesus mean all greedy people will die an untimely death like the rich fool? As I said last week, I don't think that's the lesson. Jesus loved the man who came to him with this financial burden. He knew the man's heart was being led astray by mammon. And Jesus didn't want him to miss out on the joy of God's Kingdom right in front of him.

Jesus tells this man to be "rich toward God." But what does that mean? We might find a clue by turning to another one of Jesus' stories—the parable of the Dishonest Manager. Let’s take a brief look at it.

The Dishonest Manager is one of Jesus' strangest tales. (It is our supporting passage this week, so take a moment to read it.) The story centers on a man who mismanages his employer's finances. When he's about to be fired, he thinks fast and comes up with a plan. He meets with the people who owe his employer money and cooks the books in their favor. This guarantees he'll have some friends when he becomes jobless. Unbelievably, when his employer learns of this scheme, he is not mad. He pats the man on the back for being shrewd!

At first glance, it seems like Jesus is saying it's okay to be dishonest if it benefits you in some way. But we know that message is not consistent with his overall Kingdom message. We don't have the space to unpack all the details of this parable, but Tim Mackie nicely sums up Jesus' main point like this:

If the [dishonest manager] used his employer's resources to build relationships for himself, how much more should we use God's resources to build God's Kingdom and seek another person's wellbeing? God wants us to be aggressively generous with his money. (Emphasis mine)

The dishonest manager saw money as a tool and used it to benefit himself. As citizens of God's Kingdom, we should also view money as a tool. But rather than use it to build our own little kingdoms, we can use it to build his Kingdom. I believe this is what it means to be rich toward God.

So, back to the parable of the Rich Fool. The time has come to ask the question we've been asking of every parable...

What does this parable teach us about how to live out God's Kingdom in a messy, broken world?

The Rich Fool is a simple tale, but it has the ability to hit uncomfortably close to home. It has challenged me to view my possessions in a new light. Here is what it has taught me:

As citizens of God's Kingdom, we recognize that all our resources come from God, no matter how smart or talented we may be.

In this broken world, mammon (money) will fight for our complete devotion. It promises us security if we serve it, but true security is found in serving Jesus.

And, in God's Kingdom, hoarding our resources leads to a life of emptiness. But giving recklessly leads to abundant life.

It took him a lifetime, but good old Scrooge discovered this paradox to be true. At the end of Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, Scrooge is singing the same tune but with a twist:

Ringle, ringle, coins when they jingle
Make such a lovely sound
Guineas and tuppence
And thruppence and bob
Give them away
And nobody can rob you

That last line always brings a tear to my eye. As Scrooge throws coins around recklessly, he experiences a profound freedom. Some would label him a fool. But in God's Kingdom, he is wise.

So let's embrace this upside-down nature of the Kingdom and choose to live lives of richness toward God. It may make us look foolish by the world's standards. And if that's the case, well...

May we all be rich fools!

Questions to Ponder:

What do you think it means to be "rich toward God"? What insights about this topic do you find in the parable of the Dishonest Manager?

Do you know anyone whose generosity amazes you? What can you learn from the way they view the world?

What are some ways you can use your resources—however much or little you have—to build God's Kingdom?

What did the parable of the Rich Fool teach you about how to live out God's kingdom in a messy, broken world?

What is your favorite movie version of A Christmas Carol? (Just kidding. But feel free to answer!)


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False Security

Parable of the Rich Fool, Part 4

This Week's Bible Reading:
Luke 12:13-21 (focus on verse 20)
Supporting Passages:
Matthew 6:19-34

One of the most sobering things in life is knowing that death can occur at any moment. It is not fun to ponder this reality. But paradoxically, considering our death helps us live life more fully. It forces us to examine our priorities and focus on what is most important.

The rich man in Jesus' parable valued his wealth above everything else. He had life all figured out—the treasure he built on earth would give him security. This was all well and good until he received some unexpected news:

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?" (Luke 12:20, NIV)

We've all received a piece of unexpected news that hit us like a ton of bricks. Maybe it was a scary health diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, or the end of a relationship. In those situations, money may provide a bit of comfort. But it can't fix things completely.

In the rich man's case, the news was grim: Death would come knocking on his door that night. Money and possessions were useless to him now. And the person who delivered this message was none other than God himself. (Here's a cool little piece of Bible trivia you can use at the next party you attend: The Rich Fool is the only one of Jesus' parables where God enters the story as a character!)

At first glance, it might seem like God is taking vengeance against the rich man. But I don't think the man's death is a punishment. God doesn't say, "You have been greedy, so now I will strike you down! Take that!" The fact is, death comes for us all. God is lamenting that this man spent his entire life focused on the wrong thing. Now that death is near, what good are his possessions to him?

It's easy to read the parable of the Rich Fool and conclude that the man's problem was that he had too much. But like most things, the real issue lies deeper. The man's wealth gave him a false sense of control. Instead of seeing money as a tool to build God's Kingdom, he saw it as a way to become invincible.

A lot has changed over 2000 years, but human nature hasn't. The people who lived in the first century lost sleep when they had a bad harvest. In the same way, my stress levels rise when I log in to my bank account and see it depleting. I want to trust God, yet the pull to trust money for my security is real. It feels like there is a battle raging in my heart.

Have you ever felt this way? If so, I'm not surprised. Jesus spoke about this battle in the Sermon on the Mount:

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24, NIV)

Jesus' words might sound overdramatic. But the competition between God and money is fiercer than we think. In the above verse, the Hebrew word translated as "money" is mammon. Many scholars believe mammon is a form of the word amen. When we say "Amen!" after a prayer, we are agreeing that what was just said is trustworthy. And so mammon—or money—is something we trust in. (Highly ironic when we think of the phrase printed on our dollar bills!)

Scholar Pieter van der Horst describes the power of money this way:

Mammon is personified as some kind of superhuman power that stands in competition to God and, by possessing people, can even keep them from being devoted to God and make them hate him.

The tragedy of the parable of the Rich Fool is not that the man died. The tragedy is how he lived. He trusted in the god of mammon for his security rather than the God of heaven. And mammon is a cruel master. It demands loyalty and doesn't care who you neglect as you serve it. It tempts you to turn your back on family, friends, and those in need. It promises safety and comfort. But when death comes, mammon is silent. It doesn't have an answer.

A couple of months ago, I had a scary experience. It was the hottest part of summer in Orlando, and I was getting lunch with a friend when I passed out in his car. The paramedics think I suffered a bout of heat exhaustion. (I hadn't eaten much yet and probably didn't drink enough water!)

I am okay, but the ordeal has led me to be a bit more contemplative. My death, like the rich man's, can come at any moment. No matter how much stuff I own, I can't control when death will happen. But I want to spend whatever time I have left serving God instead of mammon.

Some days, I'll get that right. On other days, I'll get it wrong. As always, there is grace for us messy, broken people.

My prayer for all of us is to use what we have to build God's Kingdom. It is the only place "where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal" (Matthew 6:20, NLT).

Now that sounds like the true security we all long for.

Questions to Ponder:

Think about a time when you've received unexpected news. How did it change the way you viewed temporary things like wealth or possessions?

How did the rich man's possessions give him a false sense of security? When are you most tempted to trust in mammon instead of God?

In what ways is mammon a cruel master? How does serving God instead of mammon lead to a richer, freer life?


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Bigger Barns ≠ More Generosity

Parable of the Rich Fool, Part 3

This Week's Bible Reading:
Luke 12:13-21 (focus on verses 18-19)
Supporting Passages:
1 Corinthians 15:12-34; Isaiah 22:1-14

There is a subtle lie about money that is easy to believe. It goes something like this: If we have more money, we will become more generous. But the parable of the Rich Fool is a warning that the opposite is true. The more money we have, the more we are tempted to stockpile it.

Last week, we saw how the rich man's abundant harvest led him to trust in himself. And now he has a problem. The ground has given him such a surplus that he has nowhere to store all the extra crops. I'm sure the people listening to Jesus' story wished they had that problem!

The man thinks fast and comes up with a solution:

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. And I'll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’” (Luke 12:18–19, NIV)

The man's first reaction to abundance was to build bigger barns. Having more resources didn't automatically make him more generous. It turned him inward and led him to hoard the gifts God gave him. And this seems like the most practical thing to do. We even have a more diplomatic way of phrasing it: We don't hoard our wealth; we build it.

In the eyes of the world, this man isn't a fool. He is wise. And you know what? It's hard for me not to see this man as wise, too! I want to save for the future and make sure my family has enough. Is that really so bad, Jesus?

This is why it's important to remember the context of the parable. A young man came to Jesus worried about money. His main concern was about getting his share of the family inheritance. He thought it would be smooth sailing once got his piece of the pie. And I can relate to that. So often, I believe things would be better if I had a little bit more money. But Jesus wants us to see that in God's kingdom, unexpected freedom comes when we live life with an open hand.

The rich man in the parable had a plan set for the rest of his life. He was going to "eat, drink, and be merry." It sounds like a lot of fun! But there is something ominous about that phrase. When used elsewhere in scripture, it gives a sense of foreboding despair rather than joy.

In the book of Isaiah, the phrase paints a picture of how God's people celebrate when they should be mourning their sin. And in the New Testament, Paul uses it to describe how empty life would be if there were no hope of a future resurrection:

If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." (1 Corinthians 15:32, NIV)

In Jesus' parable, the phrase echoes this same feeling of hollowness. The man thought his stuff would make him free. But it came at a high cost. He had to build bigger barns to protect all he had accumulated. And what would it give him in return? At best, a few short years of luxury. (And, as we'll soon see, he didn't even get that!) Meanwhile, he missed out on participating in the hope of God's present and future kingdom. He missed out on seeing all the beautiful ways God wanted to work through him to bless others. To use language from the previous parable we explored, he buried his talent.

I don't want to wait to have a bigger barn to become more generous. But generosity isn’t always easy. That’s why I need to practice it.

There is an exit off the highway that my wife and I take to get home after church. As we roll to a stop at the light, I usually see a man standing by the side of the road. He is holding a sign asking for help. At that moment, I think, "I really need to make little baggies of food, water, and toiletries to give to people I see who are in need."

I am not proud to admit I have not done this yet.

Here's the honest truth: I don't need more money or resources to do this small act. Having more stuff won't make me more generous. If I am not doing it now, I won't do it no matter how much I have.

It's easy to feel guilty about this. But as I said at the start of this series, there is no shame with Jesus. He came to free us from the shackles of greed and anxiety and show us a better way to live.

And even if we’ve failed at this way of life a million times before, Jesus is gracious. He gives us new opportunities each day to blow the doors off our barn and be generous with God’s gifts.

Questions to Ponder:

What do you think of the man's plan to build bigger barns and enjoy life? How are his actions wise in the eyes of the world?

Take a moment to read this week's supporting passages. What meaning do they bring to the phrase "eat, drink, and be merry"?

Have you ever believed that having more money would make you more generous? What small ways can you practice generosity this week without needing a bigger barn?


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A Self-Made Fool

Parable of the Rich Fool, Part 2

This Week's Bible Reading:
Luke 12:13-21 (focus on verses 16-17)
Supporting Passage:
Colossians 1:15-23

Parables are an effective way to approach a topic indirectly. Jesus often used money as a stand-in to talk about something else. 

In the parable of the Vineyard Workers, Jesus uses wages to talk about God's generosity to people who enter his kingdom. In the parable of the Unforgiving Servant, financial debt describes our sin. And in the parable of the Talents, bars of gold become opportunities to extend God's kingdom to the world. By speaking indirectly, Jesus gives his audience space to think about these topics.

But Jesus doesn’t always follow this formula. There are a handful of parables where Jesus takes on a topic directly. The Rich Fool falls into this category. The man's abundant harvest is not a metaphor for something "deeper." (It might be more comfortable if it were!) In this tale, Jesus addresses our relationship with money and possessions head-on.

The Rich Fool is one of Jesus' shorter parables, but he packs a lot of information into each line. Let's take a look at the introduction of the story and see what we discover:

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' (Luke 12:16–17, NIV)

From this brief amount of information, two things stand out to me.

The first is that the man was already rich before this particular crop. He had hit the "jackpot" harvest before. Maybe many times.

The second is that the man has quite an ego. He seems proud of himself for his good fortune. Every time he opens his mouth, it's to talk about himself!

As I researched this parable, I came across an insight that made me chuckle. Jesus emphasizes that the ground did all the hard work to produce the harvest. And yet, the man pats himself on the back as if he were the sole reason for his prosperity.

Success can be dangerous if we forget how much we depend on God and others. Maybe the first time this man had an abundant harvest, he thanked God for it. He probably had servants who worked the land, and maybe he thanked them, too. Maybe he gave his surplus to those in need.

But as the ground kept producing for him, he began to take things for granted. He saw himself as the main reason for his success. Everything became about my crops, my barns, and my grain. He bought into the lie that he was a "self-made man."

In our culture, the illusion of the self-made man or woman is alive and well. We all love a good rags-to-riches story. It's inspiring to hear about someone who built a business out of their garage. After years of pouring in sweat equity, they are now reaping the rewards of their hard work. It's why Shark Tank is one of my favorite shows! Determination is a worthy quality to have.

But no matter how hard I work, it's impossible—literally!—to be self-made. God created and breathed life into me. He provided me with parents who fed me and clothed me when I was a fragile child. There are no self-made babies. Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk wouldn't be here today if no one had changed their diapers!

More than that, God placed us where we are in this moment of history. A pastor I knew used to talk a lot about the myth of being "self-made." He would quip, "You could have been born a beet farmer in medieval times." If you were born a serf in that time and place, no amount of "bootstrapping" would make you rich. Personally, I feel blessed to have been born in this era of technology. It has given me opportunities that a person with a disability might not have had even a generation ago.

So, how do we avoid the mistake of the Rich Fool? Well, when we take our focus off God, we grow bigger in our own eyes. But when we focus on God, we realize he is the source of all good gifts. It reminds me of one of my favorite Bible passages:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15–17, NIV, emphasis mine)

God is the one who sustains us. He holds every molecule of this wondrous universe together. And yes, it is good to work hard in life and do our best. But if we're not careful, success can make us self-reliant and blind to the generosity of God.

The first step to using our money and resources well is to recognize that it all comes as a gift from God. If I think I've achieved it myself, I become like the man in Jesus' parable.

I become a self-made fool.

Questions to Ponder:

What information do you gather about the rich man from Luke 12:16–17?

Why is it easy to lose sight of God in times of abundance and blessing? How can you remind yourself of his generosity during these times?

Why is the allure of the "self-made man or woman" so prevalent in our culture? What are some ways God has provided for you in your life?


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Money Makes The World Go Round

Parable of the Rich Fool, Part 1

This Week's Bible Reading:
Luke 12:13-21
Supporting Passage: Luke 11:37-12:12

There are a lot of songs about our desire for money and stuff. The most honest one I've ever heard is the late '80s hit "I Wanna Be Rich." It gets right to the heart of the matter, doesn't it? As another song ("Money" from the musical Cabaret) puts it, money makes the world go round.

Maybe this is why Jesus talked a lot about money. There are many things in this world we can choose to trust in other than God. But for most of us, money is near the top of the list. In the parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus confronts the power that money and possessions have over us.

The parable of the Rich Fool is about a man who puts all his eggs in one "wealth" basket. He hoards his resources, thinking they will lead to a life of luxury and security. But when death sneaks up on him one night, he realizes he has put his trust in something that is now worthless to him. Today, we'll explore the context of this parable.

The gospel of Luke includes many of Jesus' teachings about money and how to treat the most vulnerable among us. One chapter before this parable, in Luke 11, Jesus gives a series of warnings to the religious leaders. One of these warnings is about how they use their wealth. Although they appear to be generous, they are not reflecting God's love into the world.

"What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things." (Luke 11:42, NLT)

The Pharisees were using their resources to check a box on their “God To-Do List.” It is easy for me to think like this, too. If I just give 10% of my money to the church, God will be happy, and I can do whatever I want with the rest. Jesus wants to untangle our hearts from this way of thinking.

Then, in Luke 12, Jesus tells a crowd of people not to worry because God cares about them deeply. God cares about every sparrow in the sky, and we are worth more than sparrows. As Jesus is in the middle of this speech about not worrying, a man comes to him with a request:

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

Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" 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."
(Luke 12:13–15, NIV)

This scene is kind of funny to imagine. A young man elbows his way to the front of the crowd and says, "Yeah, yeah, Jesus, we get it. 'Don't worry.' Okay, sure. Now, please tell my brother to give me what's mine!"

This man probably had a legitimate gripe with his brother. Most likely, their father had died, and now they were arguing about who gets what. The man may have been the younger son, and his older brother was refusing to divide the land. I can't blame him for wanting what he thinks is rightfully his. We all want Jesus to take our side on whatever issue we are arguing about!

Rather than get involved in the family drama, Jesus tells the parable of the Rich Fool. I'm sure this surprised the man. He wanted vindication, not storytime with Jesus. But remember—Jesus loved this man. He wanted to open him up to the generosity found in God's kingdom. And he wants to do the same thing for us.

As we explore this parable, I want to acknowledge that money can be a hard topic to discuss. If money talk makes you uncomfortable, don't worry. I get it!

There is a lot of shame around money. It has the power to cut to our deepest core. Our identity can get wrapped up in it. No matter how much or how little we have, most of us have regrets about finances. We wish we had saved more. We wish we would have stuck to the budget better. And sometimes, having "a lot" can make us feel guilty, and having "too little" can make us feel worthless.

But there is no shame with Jesus. He wants to free us from the worry and anxiety we have about money. And I need my attitudes about money reshaped, too. That's why I'm excited to dive into this parable with you.

Like the Pharisees, I would love to have an exact equation for money. But Jesus does not give us an Excel spreadsheet of a God-approved personal budget. (Or an envelope system, if you want to go old school!) He doesn't say, "Save this much and give away this much." Instead, Jesus uses the parable of the Rich Fool to challenge our imaginations about how God's kingdom operates.

Money may make the kingdom of the world go round, but not the kingdom of God.

Questions to Ponder:

Take some time to read the parable of the Rich Fool and write down any initial thoughts you have.

What are some ways "money makes the world go round?" Why is it so easy to put our trust in money instead of God?

What emotions bubble up in you when you think about money? Before we explore this parable further, take some time to give any negative feelings you have to God. Ask him to free you of any shame and help you focus on Jesus' love and forgiveness.


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