It is not that the rich man was a fool for sowing and harvesting.  He wasn’t a fool for the amount that he collected.  He did not redistribute his wealth.  He did not invest it in the poor.  It is the selfishness of the farmer that Jesus condemned.  This was in reply to someone who asked Jesus to plead his case with a brother over the inheritance.  We may think that it was wise for someone to get Jesus on his side.  However, the man wanted selfish gain and Jesus wouldn’t play his game.  Are you hoarding when you could support God’s work?

Luke 12:13-21

 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.”

 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.’

   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.”’

   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.”

Questions

1. What does life not consist of?
2. What did God say to the farmer in Jesus parable?
3. How is a person rich toward God?
4. How does the prospect of gain entice you?
5. How are you getting richer toward God?