The parable of the rich fool examines how greed, wealth and possessions are all acts of violence against the kingdom of God.
This the second case study which is part of the bible study: The 3 Kinds of Violence In The Kingdom of Heaven
Micah 6:12 – Your rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
The rich man is full of violence. He justifies the keeping of his wealth and possessions through manipulating the words of Jesus. He has convinced himself that he can keep his wealth and possessions and still enter the kingdom of heaven. This is a violent act and the only person he is fooling is himself.
The Parable of the Rich Fool
Luke 12:13-34 Commentary The Parable Of The Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Jesus is explaining that there are many forms of greed. In this case, both brothers are exhibiting different forms of greed. One is hating and resenting his brother for not receiving his due inheritance. The other brother is greedy due to not giving his sibling the money he is entitled to. Through this parable, Jesus teaches us to be more concerned with the philosophical fact of greed than of money itself.
Then Jesus goes on to tell a parable which explains how money and possessions are of no importance in the grand scheme of things (kingdom of God). When looking at the ‘big picture’ which is the age to come, Jesus tells this parable in the hopes to bring these men’s priorities in line with the kingdom of God’s priorities.
Luke 12:16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
Instead of giving away his wealth to help the poor or others, this rich man thought of better ways to keep his wealth. According to the ways of the world, this is a normal, logical thing to do. But through this story, Jesus is showing us that this way of thinking is in contradiction to the kingdom of heaven which is wrong/sinful.
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
This man is choosing to trust in his wealth instead of God. This is what inevitably happens when we reject the commandment of Jesus, which is to give away our earthly possessions and wealth to help the poor. We end up trusting in our wealth instead of God.
20 “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?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
This will be the demise of the rich man. Though he was wise in this world, he is a fool in the kingdom of heaven. He invested in the things of this world; things that are temporary and passing away. He had invested nothing in the eternal kingdom of God such as his faith. The rich are of little faith as they put their trust in their money and not God.
Luke 12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
If we focus on the spiritual side of our lives, God will take care of the physical for us as well as provide spiritually. Amen.
Read Next:
Case Study #1: Churches Teaching Compromise Is Violence Against The Kingdom Of God
