City Life Starter

The Word: Luke 12:13-21 (NLT)

Parable of the Rich Fool

Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Reflection Questions

What would you say is the most important thing in your life?
What do you feel you work the hardest for? (job, marriage, family, etc.)
What keeps you going when you are going through a difficult time? How do you stay encouraged?

I think the only way we can truly be socially responsible with time is to view our time here on earth from an eternal perspective.

Today’s verses are very sobering. I think it’s interesting the story starts with a man coming to Jesus and asking Him to help him in getting a share of his father’s estate. What’s interesting to me is Jesus’ response: “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Jesus’ response helps to illustrate that although God is omnipotent, He gives us stewardship over certain things like finances, time, relationships, etc. He warns this guy to guard against every kind of greed before sharing the eye-opening parable of the rich fool.

In the story, the rich fool appeared to be prosperous and fruitful; however at the end of his life he was spiritually bankrupt. Coming from a world that idolizes achievement, at first it’s hard for me not to sympathize with this man. Afterall, he was working towards a goal and achieved it. Isn’t that something to be applauded?

Oftentimes, busyness and achieving goals can be mistaken for productivity when really they are just masking our deep underlying need for our Savior. That’s why it can sometimes be difficult to evangelize to wealthy people. Because they are financially stable, people who are very wealthy think they are somehow insulated from God’s final judgment. That is what is referred to in scripture as the “deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 13:22).

In this parable, I think the rich fool’s fatal flaw is that his motives were all wrong. He wanted to work very hard so he could sit back and relax in this life, giving no thought to the next. He basically wanted to live for himself and cut God out of the equation. Jesus concludes with an eye-opening statement: “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

C.S. Lewis puts it so eloquently in a chapter called “Hope” in his timeless classic Mere Christianity:

Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”: aim at earth and you will get neither. (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

God has been monumentally gracious to us in giving us the opportunity not only to know Him here on earth, but also to know and worship Him throughout eternity. Death, for the believer, is not something to dread. Especially in times of mourning and loss, it is a true comfort to know that our loved ones who have placed their faith in Christ are not gone, but are in our future. The only way to fully appreciate our time here on earth is to consider that it will one day come to an end.

Prayer

Father, I want to thank You for awakening me to Your Truth more and more every day. Thank You for placing eternity in my heart. I want to live right now and every moment hereafter for your Glory. Please help me to live this new day with eternity in mind. I want to leave a lasting legacy of faith. In Jesus Name, Amen.