“Parable of the Rich Fool”
Then He
spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded
plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I
do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I
will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops
and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for
many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and
be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will
be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So
is he who lays up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God.” (v.16-21)
It seems to
me rather contradictory that Jesus, who was so gentle at times (Matt. 19:13-15),
would call some people fools. Yet, as recorded in the Gospels a number of
times, our Lord used this derogatory term to describe those He spoke
about—especially the Pharisees (see Matt. 23:17-19; Luke 11:39-40).
Jesus also
used the word fool concerning the man in the parable before us. What made him foolish is not the fact that he built bigger barns to
store his abundant harvest (vv.16-18). It would have been more foolish of him
to leave it out in the fields where inclement weather would spoil it. Nor was
he foolish because of his thought that this unexpected windfall was enough to
last him a long time (v.19). After all, we are urged to follow the example of
the ant in “storing up” the harvest (Prov. 6:6-8).
What made
the man foolish? He left God out of the picture. He was called a fool because
he failed to realize that his life was in God’s hands. While he was planning
carefully for his comfortable life on earth, he failed to plan for eternity and
store up treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:20).
Jesus challenges us all with
these words: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not
consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). To be rich
in God is far better than to be rich in goods.
The Truth
“He who
trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like
foliage.” (Proverbs 11:28)
