12 Dec 2023

Besides the parable of the Sower, the parable of the rich fool is one of those well known to believers.

I find this parable the Lord Jesus shared so very relevant and ‘alive’ in its teaching and application today; for what plagued the people in Jesus’s time also are problematic today – and sadly, the issues also affect us believers in the church negatively – firstly, in our superficial indifferent response to what the Lord seeks to impress upon us, and secondly not recognising that we, the believers, are actually behaving like fools, advocating and accepting the ways of the world and thus affecting the quality of our discipleship.

No one likes to be called a fool; particularly those who are seen by society as being successful, prosperous in their careers and wealth.

But this is exactly what the Lord Jesus called the rich man in this parable. But we may be wondering why the rich man was called a fool; is it because he was astute in his ‘business’, is it because he was careful in his savings and also his ‘retirement fund and resources’? There surely must be a proper case for being careful in our savings and preparation for the future and retirement – but what is the essential point in the parable?

This is revealed in verses 20 and 21:
“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?’ This is how it will be with those who store up things for themselves but are not rich towards God.”

The rich man is a fool for assuming that his life belongs to him; he forgets that he is the created, the finite – God is the Creator and the infinite – God holds his life and breath in His hand and at His word, his life is over.

He is also called a fool for storing up things for themselves but is not rich towards God.

But we may quickly dismiss the fact that the Lord may also be addressing us, the believers, as well.

Is it not true that, like non-believers, we focus on this life and also on the preparation, the things, the funds, the careers, the houses, the cars – we concentrate on accumulating them, and like this rich fool, when we have ample resources laid aside, we will say like the fool, “I have plenty ..laid up for many years..I can take life easy, eat, drink, and be merry”.

Some others might concentrate on their children – the children doing well in exams with promising careers, their financial support, the prestige they give to our lives – in that sense, we think we have done well, and we can rest secure for the future – and also we can relax and “enjoy life”.

We forget that the Lord Jesus also told us not to lay up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. In other words, treasure on earth does not last – it will not contribute to our eternal well-being in that sense. Why so? “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”, said the Lord (Matt. 6: 21). If our focus, our priorities and our heart are on the treasure on earth, like the treasure – these will not last – they will fade away.

Verse 22 of Luke 12 crystallises this truth and principle: The end of the rich fool will be how it will be for those who store up things for themselves but are not rich towards God! The rich fool may seem to be wise from the human point of view but he is considered a fool from God’s point of view.

The fool has no eternal perspective and is not concerned for his eternal destiny. The fool and his treasures would perish, but those who are rich towards God have an eternal perspective and a glorious eternal destiny in Christ. Jesus also said elsewhere that ‘what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?’

But some of us believers might console ourselves by saying that after all, even though we have prepared adequately for our families and our retirement, we are still serving God – but when things go wrong with the stock market, when our investments ‘collapse’, when things do not appear as ‘rosy’ as before, we hold back and ‘abandon’ being rich towards God. Imagine Apostle Paul, who shared that he endured nights of burdens for the churches, how he learned to persevere in hunger and in plenty, how he did not receive a positive reply to his request, several times, to God to take away the ‘thorn’ in his life – then decided to give up being a servant of God. The then known world would not have received the gospel if Paul concentrated only on preparation for himself and decided not to be rich towards God. But we may say we are not the Apostle. But there are many contemporary examples of those who laid down their lives for God and persevered to the end, despite persecutions, sufferings and pain/

Are we rich towards God? Are we considered ‘fools’ in the eyes of God??