“One’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
—Luke 12:15 NKJV
You have heard it said that the eyes are a window to the soul. Most of us can take one good look at our loved ones, and from their eyes quickly discern how they may be doing mentally or emotionally. This is especially true for parents, who seemingly have a knack for knowing what’s happening in the hearts of their children simply through their eyes.
But that’s not all. Not only can the eyes give us away, so can the tone of our voice. To this day, my mother has a knack for knowing how I’m doing when she hears my voice on the phone long before I’ve told her anything substantial. It’s as if mothers have this supernatural sense of what is going on in their children’s souls. And it’s not fair. We can’t hide anything!
With this in mind, how much more does the Maker of our souls have the ability to read and know our hearts? The apostle Paul tells us God is the one who “examines” (1 Thessalonians 2:4) and “searches” (Romans 8:27) the heart. God himself, through the prophet Jeremiah, emphatically stated, “I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind” (Jeremiah 17:10 ESV). Nothing can be hidden from God, as he knows the secrets of our hearts (Psalm 44:21).
When God came to earth in the form of Jesus Christ, this ability to know and read the hearts of all people was uniquely put on display. Even before he met Nathanael, Jesus knew the heart of this future disciple and said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” (John 1:47 ESV).
Further, Jesus knew the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees (Luke 5:21–22), as well as those who were seemingly trusting in him as a result of seeing the signs he performed. In fact, he knew the hearts of all he encountered (John 2:23–25; Matthew 9:4; Luke 9:47; 11:17). Even the disciples were quick to see this (John 16:30; 21:17).
When it comes to the cries, burdens, or even the sins of our hearts, Jesus is fully aware of each one of them, which can either be comforting or disconcerting. He knows what we need, and he knows where we fall short. Thankfully, he is abundantly gracious.
Even so, Jesus is unafraid to point out areas of people’s lives where change is needed. In Bible times, whether it was the scribes and Pharisees, the rich young ruler, or the people in his hometown who rejected him, Jesus could see weaknesses and blind spots that humans don’t always see.
All of this leads to the Bible story known as the parable of the rich fool, which Jesus told after a man asked him to help settle a family dispute over an inheritance. Jesus knew the real reason why the man approached him.
Our story is found only in the book of Luke, and one of the major themes of this particular gospel is Luke’s emphasis on the danger of riches. The Bible never says it is a sin to be wealthy or abundantly successful in business. One look at Abraham, or even Job, in the Old Testament and we see two extremely wealthy men whose hearts both pleased the Lord as they walked in faith.1 But the Bible does warn us about the inherent dangers of loving money more than the things of God. Paul warned Timothy, telling him that the “love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10), and that by craving it many people have brought much grief to their lives.
The problem is not in owning money, it’s allowing that money to own you, or in other words, to consume your soul. Both the poor and the rich alike can be guilty of lusting after money. Jesus, elsewhere in Luke, warned against being mastered by money:
No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
16:13 ESV
When Jesus was asked to intervene on an inheritance issue, he knew it was merely a smoke screen for the hidden motive of the man’s heart: a lust for money. And the parable Jesus told in order to expose the real issue has the potential to be widely misunderstood.
Here’s the context for our story: Jesus had been warning the crowds about the dangers of fake religion, hypocrisy, and even blasphemy, when a man interrupted his teaching.
Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
“Friend,” He said to him, “who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
Luke 12:13–14
Nothing in the immediate context suggests that Jesus is talking about money issues, so apparently the impatient man wanted to change the subject so they could talk about him. It was a blunt interruption. At first glance it might seem that Jesus was a little snarky toward the man, but this was not the case. Jesus was simply putting up a boundary around a bold demand, whereby he was able to recognize the true motive behind it.
It was a traditional role for rabbis of that day to settle disputes and civil matters, and seeing Jesus’ popularity and inherent authority, the man addressed Jesus as Rabbi or Teacher. Indeed, Jesus was a teacher, but not the formal, legally ordained kind of rabbi that would come much later in Jewish tradition.
We are not told any more details about the dispute between these brothers, but it doesn’t make much difference to Jesus. He didn’t come to earth to settle these kinds of disputes, and he knew the man didn’t really want arbitration, but rather wanted Jesus to “decide against his brother.”2 He saw completely through it, and decided to deal with the motive instead of the matter at hand: “He then told them, ‘Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions’” (Luke 12:15).3
Mercy! Jesus doesn’t mess around. He has a way about him, doesn’t he? He immediately puts his finger on the real issue. The man’s problem was greed, surfacing in a battle over an inheritance. He wasn’t truly interested in justice; rather, he was lusting after “stuff.” And Jesus knew it. He could see that the man’s security and identity were wrapped up in the pursuit of wealth, the love of money.
To illustrate his warning in a poignant fashion, Jesus turned to what he did best, storytelling. So he pulled out a parable that told a story with a spiritual punch.
Then He told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive. He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’”
Luke 12:16–20
Taking this story out of the aforementioned context could easily lead someone to draw different conclusions about what Jesus was actually saying. It has the potential to be misunderstood. Some may fear that Jesus is discouraging anyone from saving money or allowing themselves to enjoy the abundant fruit that comes from their labors. But to draw those conclusions would be a mistake.
First, as previously mentioned, there is nothing inherently wrong with being rich or even having land that produces an abundance of crops. In fact, this man was truly blessed. All the factors that need to come together for a farmer to have a bumper crop have fallen in place for this man.
But issues surface when blessings come, and this is always the case when someone is confronted with the “burden” of success. What’s the man’s next move? Either he could be thankful and share generously with others less fortunate, or he could decide to keep it all to himself, pad his pocket even more, and live a selfish life of indulgence.
Clearly, in this story, the rich man chose the second option. His inward thoughts brought him to the point where he was willing to spend money tearing down the old just so he could spend even more money building something bigger. And once that was accomplished, he planned to prop his feet up and throw himself a party. With blessing there is always responsibility, but this man embraced an arrogant, selfish, and completely irresponsible way of life.
He made a killing and then gorged himself on the spoils instead of expressing his gratitude to God by being generous to those around him. It is always a good idea to remember that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away (Job 1:21), and with that principle in mind, when we choose to give generously out of what God has given us, we can rest assured that God always has a bigger shovel and can generously resupply as we continue to give generously and sacrificially in faith. It all comes from him and ultimately belongs to him.
But this mentality was not a part of the lifestyle of this rich farmer. Rather, he was full of greed, and what he didn’t realize is that his time on earth was up. “Just when the man imagined himself to be set for life, God took his life . . . he had foolishly forgotten God (cf. Psalm 14:1; 53:1), as well as his own mortality.”4
Instead of storing up treasure in heaven (by thanking God and generously sharing some of this earthly treasure), the man decided to indulge in his treasure here and now. He traded the eternal for the temporal, which sadly, so many people in this life choose to do. And just when he thought his life was as good as it gets, his life was over. Gone. Finished.
Then what does he have to show for his life? A life of greed that will not be rewarded. As the old saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.” You’ve probably heard the joke that there aren’t too many armored cars that follow hearses these days.
It reminds me of a modern-day story of a woman whose selfish and greedy husband passed away. Just before they sealed his coffin for burial, she took out their checkbook and wrote him a check for the entire amount in the account and placed it in the coffin with him. Good luck cashing that check!
As Jesus said, “You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20). In the end, the goods of the greedy husband belonged to the scorned and overlooked wife. Justice was done.
In the rich farmer’s story, we don’t know who will enjoy the spoils, which makes it even more tragic. What a fool indeed.
Unfortunately, we don’t see the rest of the story or find out what happens to the man who was demanding justice concerning an inheritance either, but Luke doesn’t leave any doubt as to what Jesus wanted us to learn.
It is often the case that the main point of a parable comes at the very end, and Jesus makes his point abundantly clear here: “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).
Jesus makes it clear that the riches that matter are not material in nature, but spiritual. Paul asked, “What do you have that you didn’t receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). In other words, all that we are and all that we have are dependent upon God above. The very breath and health we enjoy and the ability to use our gifts, talents, and skills to make money or to have any measure of success completely depend on the grace of God.
Therefore, what room is there for boasting or indulgence or self-congratulations when it comes to the ways we are blessed? Does it not all come from God? And will it not all stay behind here on earth long after we’re gone?
The story of the rich fool gets to the heart of why we do the things we do and what it is we long for and why. Life, according to the book of James, is but a vapor, here one day and gone the next. The longer you live, the more you understand how fast life goes. And we have a choice to make: Are we going to live for the moment and the glory of self, or are we going to live for the glory of God, the benefit of others, and the eternal rewards of heaven?
All of this boils down to matters of the heart, and the one to whom we will give an account is Jesus, the One who sees and knows the heart. He didn’t come to earth the first time to judge trivial matters or family disputes, but we will one day stand before him as Judge when he comes again. And it will be to the delight of the one whose heart is upright in these matters to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
There is nothing wrong with being wealthy or successful, but with great blessing comes great responsibility. And for those who use their blessing to bless others, there is even greater reward—both in this life and in the life to come. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34).