ATTENTION: Please pray! Many of you know that April 20, six of us will be leaving for India to begin a work with the unreached and unengaged Mapilla people. They are a people group of 10 million who have no church, no missionary, and no Christian witness. We sent off for our Visas on Monday, which are absolutely necessary for us to have to get into India. Please pray pray pray that our Visas are granted. Also, please pray that God would begin preparing and awakening the Mapilla people so that they will be ready for the Gospel when we arrive. Please pray!
Now, for the rich fool…
Last time, we introduced the situation surrounding the parable of the rich fool. Search the archives and catch up if you haven't read it. It is critical to understanding this parable, that today, we are diving into. The parable is found in verses 16-20 of Luke 12.
And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' 18 And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'
The land of a rich man produced plentifully. This man was already rich at the beginning of the story. It's not like all of a sudden, his ship came in. It's been in and getting bigger! And he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' He had just reaped a bumper harvest. He had had crops before, but not like this. He didn't have enough room to store it all! What to do? And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. He could just sell it all and make some money. But if you flood the market, prices go down. You need to keep the prices up, so what do you do? You restrict supply by building bigger barns and storing the grain until it is in short supply. Then you put it up for sale and multiply your gains still more. By the way, he didn't just store his grain there, he stored his goods there as well. This guy's got a lot of other stuff he's storing up. He definitely isn't thinking of anyone else. He is clearly self centered and selfish. It's about my barns, my fruits, and my goods. In three verses he uses 6 I's and 6 my's.
And I will say to my soul, Soul…This guy was so greedy, he didn't even have time for family or friends. He is talking to himself. I will say to my soul, soul you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' All you have to do is control the spout at the bottom of the silo and let out only as much as you want and control the price and you are fixed. You are set for life! Take your ease. Your best life is now! You have arrived! He misunderstood the goal! He measured success in terms of what he read in his bankbook and on his balance sheet rather than by what he read in his Bible. And some of us need to be reminded that success is NOT being able to retire comfortably. Success is not living the American dream. Success is pleasing God!
This man that asked Jesus this question and is listening attentively to the story is drooling! How he would love to be that man! And then comes the surprise. But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you. He assured himself that he had many years, but he was going to be dead before daybreak. He was unaware of James 4:13-14, "Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." Even as he was gloating over his fortune and his future looking again and again at his bankbook and balance sheet, the voice of God rang forth. God had been looking at the balance sheet that He was keeping of this man's life. He wrote across the whole thing one word—Bankrupt!
Not only would his soul be required of him, but he would be leaving behind everything he so greatly valued, and to who. The things you have prepared, whose will they be? Who will own them now, since it is just you and your stuff?
Eccl 2:18-23 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me,and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
He was rich, but he was a fool. He was a fool because he pursued that which would rust, rot, and be robbed away, rather than what would last for eternity. He put all of his energies and efforts into prosperity, possessions, and material things, and when his life abruptly came to a halt and he stood before his God, he was bankrupt! I wonder how many of us would be in the same shape if we died right now. That's something to ponder until next time.
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