The Rich Fool

August 27, 2013      

Be rich in God, not in goods

Luke 12:13-21     

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”  16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 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. 19 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.”’ 20 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?’  21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Commentary:

In the above parable, the rich fool had accumulated much crops (wealth). In fact, he had so much crops that he had to build bigger barns to store those crops.  Then he told himself that he is set for life.  He can stop working, and just eat, drink and be happy for he has enough crops to last for life.    But little did he know that his life will end on that very night.  Who then will get all the wealth that he has accumulate over the years?  How foolish of him who lays up treasure for himself but is not rich towards God?  

Do you know people who are always buying stuff?  They buy things and accumulate things in their homes.  Others work two jobs, maybe three jobs so that they can make more money so that they can buy more stuff.  America has a need to get more and more.  They are never satisfied with what they have.  Malls are packed with people all the time.  It has become a global phenomenon.  People will camp out overnight right outside the department store just before Black Friday so that they can be the first ones in the store the next day and get the stuff they want.  A number of years ago, a man who worked in Walmart got ran over by masses of people running into the store for deals and he died.  And all for what?  Stuff.     

In America, instead of we owning our things, our things own us.    And the devil is having a heyday when he can get you and me to take our eyes off of what is truly important in life and put it on “stuff.”    

And what is truly important to you?  

Money? Status?  Power? Pleasure?  Stuff?

Or is it the Lord Jesus Christ?

It is amazing to see the things that man will do for money that they will never do for God.  

People will work 12 hours a day at their business to make money.  But seldom do we find people who will work 12 hours a day to do God’s work.  

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21, NKJV)

The reason why people value money and stuff more than God is that they simply love money more than God.   Money and stuff makes people (their flesh) happy.  For these people, their money is their god.  And that is why they cannot let go of it.  It is what they worship.  

Things like wisdom, holiness and righteousness, love, humility are things that makes God happy because He values these things.  As true believers, we ought to love and value these things also because God values them.   Therefore, we seek to be more humble, to love more, to seek for more wisdom and to give more.

If God has blessed you with a lot of money and you are well-to-do, what are you doing with your wealth?  Are you putting your resources to use for the extension of God’s kingdom or are you hoping to just eat, drink and be merry the rest of your life?   Are you helping a widow in need or are you more interested in buying the next new car?  

What does it mean to be rich towards God?

The emphasis is on the emptying of our “storehouses,” which God promises to fill to overflowing. Isaiah 58:10 promises, “If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in darkness, and your night will become like the noonday . . . he will satisfy your need in a sun-scorched land.” You will be made complete and satisfied—not by running after and hoarding what you believe is wealth, but in being rich toward God, holding all you have as funds available for Kingdom work. (Godby)

You may be someone with gifts and talents such as singing, playing an instrument, speaking, encouraging, teaching or bringing edification to others. What are you doing with these gifts and talents?   If you have any of these gifts, being rich towards God would mean that you use these gifts to further God’s kingdom.  Some would just sit on these gifts and do nothing with it.  Others will make a living using these gifts and talents.  However, when you use these gifts and talent for God, you are being rich towards God.  When you empty yourself by giving to God all of the gifts and talents that He has blessed you with, you are RICH…..towards God.

So having alot of money and stuff in itself is not wrong.  It is what you do with it that counts.  Help the poor.  Feed the hungry.  Minister to the least one of these.  Dedicate all these things for godly usage.  

If you have to accumulate wealth, do it for God, not for self. I have a ministry where I collect bags of clothes and I distribute it to people who really need it. I accumulate these clothes for the purpose of helping the least one of these.

Amazing when you think about it.  We are rich in God when we give away things ( money, stuff, gifts, talents, skills)  The world says get more and more and more so you can be rich.  God says give, give and give and then you will be rich in ME.  

Luke 16:13, NKJV

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.  

Choose your master.  You can serve your God or you can serve your money.  But you can’t serve both.

Conclusion:

The way to be rich towards God is to use all your resources, gifts and talents for God.    So give yourself away completely to God.  Share your resources with the poor.  Feed the needy.  Help the least one of these -- the widows and the orphans.  Encourage your brother.  Sing for the seniors at the nursing home.  Teach little children Bible stories.  Give! Give! Give!  

Poem:

A person who values the things of this world

like money and cars and all of that stuff

is really in bondage to the devil himself

because he can never say, “enough is enough.”

He works and works so he can be rich

Accumulating more is what fills his time

Putting all of his energy in earthly treasures

for greediness is what consumes his mind

But the person who shares his goods with others

refuses to hoard for he knows his part

to further God’s kingdom with all of his goods

for Jesus Christ is Lord of his heart

So may we remember the lesson today

that when we are blessed, its because of God’s love

to be good stewards of all that we have

for the good things are given to us straight from above

Byword:   Either you own your stuff or your stuff owns you.   

Aldwin Naruse

The Body of Christ Jesus Fellowship

Makaha, HI USA

Work Cited

Godby, Beverly, Rich Towards God, http://www.thehighcalling.org/work/rich-toward-god#.Uh5NWdL2aDo