207B – The Rich Fool
Luke 12:13-31
A man in the crowd spoke up, “Teacher, talk to my brother and tell him to divide the inheritance with me.”
Jesus looked at him and said, “God has not made me a judge between the two of you.” He then said to the crowd, “Watch out! Greed wants to take over your life. Understand what I am saying. Life doesn’t consist in an abundance of possessions.”
It’s like a rich man whose land produced a large harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What am I going to do? I don’t have enough storage for my harvest. Ah, I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my smaller barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll be able to get it all in. With this, I’ll be able to say to my soul, “Soul, you have it made! There is enough here for many years to come. Relax — eat, drink, and be merry.”
But God said to him. “You are a fool! Tonight, I will require you to give up your soul! Now what will happen to all these things you have hoarded? Who will have them and what will they do with them?
Jesus then focused on his disciples. “Don’t be like this man who was rich with earthly goods but was not rich toward God. Live a different life. Don’t be concerned about things like food, clothes, and your body. Life is more than these things.
“Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t build storehouses. No, God feeds them. Don’t you think you are much more valuable to God than birds! Listen. Your fear and anxiety can’t add a single hour to your life. If you can’t do a simple thing like that, why even bother about the rest?
“Consider the lilies. Look how they grow. They don’t worry how they look, and they don’t work at making nicer clothes, yet (you know it’s true) even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. So if God does all this for grass, which is in the field today, and in the oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you?
“O people of small faith! Don’t be enslaved by fears for earthy things like food and drink. Everybody else lets worry dominate their hearts. Don’t you do it. Your Father knows what you need. Therefore, seek his kingdom, and allow him to provide you what you need.”
