The Foolish Rich Man

The Scripture

Luke 12:16-21

¹⁶And [Jesus] told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷He 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. ¹⁹And 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." (NIV)

Textual Context

The setting begins with Jesus teaching to an audience of only his Disciples. Fresh off an interaction with the Pharisees in the previous chapter, He emphasizes they all should avoid hypocrisy in their own lives, unlike the behavior of the Pharisees. He continues by stating that all secrets (i.e. secrets hypocrites keep in the their lives) will one day be revealed, and even more than that, they will be shouted from roof tops so everyone will know.

Jesus then says the Disciples should not fear Earthly power, that is power that can only put them to death, but they should fear God, whose power goes beyond death and continues with judgment of their very souls. He emphasizes that God knows all that happens on Earth, including every bird that is sold for pennies and every hair on their heads. Jesus also makes clear though, that the Disciples are in fact worth much more than birds.

With startling clarity, Jesus says further that whoever acknowledges Him to others publicly, Jesus will also acknowledge them before the angles. Further, even if someone fails at this, Jesus’s Gospel can still forgive them and He will still acknowledge them with forgiveness when the time comes. Chillingly, He states only those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven.

Jesus then commands them not to worry when they are called to account for their faith, even before people of power. At that time, when they need it, the Holy Spirit will in fact teach them what they need to say.

With this, someone in the crowd around them interrupts this private lesson, demanding Jesus to set right an “injustice” he was facing. Apparently, the man’s brother was denying him a portion of the inheritance he believed he was owed. Jesus replies by asking the man who has made Jesus the one responsible for deciding their problem. Jesus then states, apparently to the whole crowd, they should be on guard against greed of all kinds and life is more than possessions. Next, He shared the Parable.

Parable Summary

The parable begins with a rich man reflecting on what to do with a bumper crop his land has yielded him. The harvest is reportedly so large, he decides the only way to store it for himself properly is to tear down his current barns and build all new ones. Remarking to himself, he believes then he can sit back and rest assured in the riches he has accumulated, drinking and being merry.

God, however, has a different plan, and tells the man he will die that very night. The man will not enjoy any of the large harvest he planned to hoard for himself.

Jesus concludes by stating this is the fate for all those who store up riches selfishly and don’t recognize God.

Interpretation

Here the bountiful yield is actually a gift to the rich man from God, who is symbolized by the ground. Notice, nothing the man did produced the ground, it was purely a gift to the rich man and the harvest a further gift. Examining the harvest, it appears God has given him a gift so grand he cannot even handle it with the resources God has already given him (i.e. existing barns).

Here, I believe the man was supposed to take pause and realize the bumper harvest was clearly a special gift from God. A gift in fact meant for more than just himself. If this were a gift intended solely for the rich man to enjoy, God would have further provided what he needed to handle it. Instead, in his greed, the rich man assumed because “his” land had produced such a harvest it was his to enjoy. Just like the man who assumed his father’s death meant he was entitled to a portion of the inheritance, we should all be on guard in our lives for greed. Especially the kinds of greed where we feel entitled to the gifts we receive from God.

Continuing as an example of the warning Jesus gave above, the rich man is rejected by God due to his failure to acknowledge God in his life (i.e. the wonderful gift of excess harvest and the opportunity to share it). When the rich man was intending to actually enjoy the hoard he was selfishly stashing, God denied him the most crucial gift he had ever received, that of his very life. This is what happens sooner or later when we continue to deny God, he eventually denies us when we really are in need. Perhaps this denial isn’t even in this life we are living now, but is in the next, see verse 5 of chapter 16.

The main take away is this: We should acknowledge all things in our lives as gifts from God, especially the things to which we believe we are entitled. If we don’t acknowledge God when it is due (i.e. at all times and places in our lives), then God will not acknowledge us when we really need Him. This is a summary of the Gospel message: that all can be forgiven if we only acknowledge our need for forgiveness from God. The only thing that cannot be forgiven is the very act of believing one doesn’t need forgiveness, that is the rejection of God himself, who makes himself known to us through the Holy Spirit.

Another take away: If you are unsure of whether to keep a gift or give it away, perhaps you should look with an honest eye at your current station in life, that is your barns. Are you prepared to handle such a gift? Do you have the wisdom and resources to manage it? If not, perhaps God has in fact given you the gift of being charitable in this instance. Perhaps His real gift to you is the relationship you will foster by giving the gift to someone else. Remember, as Jesus said, life is more than possessions. One great way to get those other things (e.g. friendships) is to help those out around you, with the things God has given you.

Be cautious in your greed to not mistake the gift of re-gifting, with the gift meant to be re-gifted.