PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL

By Thomas E. Durst

Luke 12:13-21 (New Living Translation)

Parable of the Rich Fool

13 Then someone called from the crowd, "Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father's estate with me." 14 Jesus replied, "Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?" 15 Then he said, "Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own."
16 Then he told them a story: "A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, 'What should I do? I don't have room for all my crops.' 18 Then he said, 'I know! I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I'll sit back and say to myself, "My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!"'

20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?'

21 "Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."

This parable speaks to the heart of the problem of the human ego (alias carnal mind, mortal mind, sinful nature, etc.). The ego never is satisfied when it comes to the world of matter. It is more pains and pleasures of the body, bigger and better homes, more and more possessions and a lot of them aren't even being used or appreciated, bigger and better cars, addictions of all kinds, etc. Television and the media in general feed this mass hypnotism of seeking more possessions and bodily pleasures and the great multitudes of humanity fully buy into it.

Our life is totally in God and satisfaction can ONLY be found in Him and nowhere else (see Acts 17:28). Until we learn to live within our God-center we set ourselves up for endless pain and suffering.

This article was written in August of 2008.
tomdurst1@msn.com

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