Luke 12:13-21
Parable of the Rich Fool
TEXT:
Luke 12:13-21
(New Revised Standard Version)
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”
And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable:
“The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
REFLECTIONS:
It's easy to believe that the good life is achieved with bigger bank accounts and more stuff to play with. But when wealth is our goal, we'll use people however we need to get what we're after. People become means to an end, and those with power around us can quickly become vehicles of coercion.
But all is dust in the end. Including us. And our wealth won't save us.
The goal then is to make abundance about today, not tomorrow. And the easiest way to do that is to make people our goal, and to use what wealth we have to bless those around us.
Here. Now. Today.
PRACTICE:
Outward Mindset Application Imagine how your boss would like you to work today, and work in that way.
Pathways Toward Centeredness Naturalism (Loving the world outdoors):
Find a plant near your home that you find beautiful. Spend 2 minutes each day this week studying its peculiarities: it's shape, it's edges, it's color, how it moves in a breeze, etc.
Questions for Consideration What is your most prized possession?
What is one thing you own that you should really throw out?