The S Word # 7

THE PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL
By Douglas Hambidge #7

Please read St. Luke Chapter 12 verses 13-21
We are not always told why Jesus chose a particular story or parable, but this one is an exception. Its thesis is a warning against greed, because there is more to life than one’s possessions.

The parable is a three scene drama.

SCENE 1

A rich man is looking out over his fields, congratulating himself that he has done so well. His pressing concern is that he has so much he doesn’t know where to store it all. He has a plan to solve his problem. He will build large store houses, and store all his wealth safely.

SCENE 2

The rich man is in his counting house. He can hardly believe his good fortune. We over-hear his self-congratulatory conversation. His long-term plans are secure. He has enough and more besides, for as far into the future as he can imagine. He is secure for years to come, with more food and drink than he could possibly consume. He has every reason to be merry.

SCENE 3

We are in the judgement hall of God, and hear God declare that for all his wealth and possessions, the rich man is a fool. While he is planning ahead for years to come, God is speaking about “this night.” While he is congratulating himself on his possessions, God is speaking about his “soul”.

Jesus sums up the parable,
“So it is with those who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
What is Jesus getting at in this parable? Is he saying that being wealthy is a bad thing? Is there any suggestion that the rich man was a villain? On the contrary, I infer that here was a hard-working farmer whose efforts and skill had paid off handsomely. So what is the problem?

The rich man’s single-mindedness had failed to take into account his own true nature as a creature of God, made in the image of God and intended to live in relationship with God. He could see no further than the bottom line of his balance sheet. Jesus insists that there’s more to life than that. He was a man who was owned by his possessions, and who would stand before God in abject poverty because his possessions were no longer there to support him.

What has this to do with stewardship, or with the previous story, the parable of the slaves? The two are related. Both are insisting that God has to be taken into account in the whole of life. Both are asking the question.

“What is God getting out of your life; what benefit is there for God in your life?’