I have read this story many times with my children as it appears with comical pictures in their children’s Bible! And it does feel a bit silly, doesn’t it? A man who already has more than enough keeps working hard for more things he doesn’t need, which in the end he doesn’t get to enjoy properly because he dies before he can ‘take life easy’ and enjoy them (vs 16–20). 

Notice how much the man is focused on himself: there are lots of ‘I will do this…’ and ‘my crops’, ‘my barns’ and ‘my grain’ (vs 17,18). His life is centred on himself, not God – and God says to him, ‘You fool!’ (v 20).

Could this be us too? It’s certainly not easy to step outside the materialistic world in which we live, but Jesus reminds us of our eternal destiny, where our earthly possessions simply will not matter or be significant. Let us seek God rather than the distractions and arguments about our possessions (v 13).

‘Take my silver and my gold, / not a mite would I withhold.’¹

On the surface, this parable is about amassing wealth and relying too much on it. Almost a cliché, ‘eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die’ has entered our consciousness in literature and language. This seemingly simple story, however, is far from simplistic. The answers to the question, ‘What was the rich man’s folly?’ are many and complex – and they still pervade human society.² Preoccupation with possessions. Until God interrupts the fool’s self-congratulatory musings, there is nothing to the story but the man and his possessions. When his materialistic life was laid bare before God, however, it was actually empty. His possessions possessed him. Security in self-sufficiency. The fool comes across as deluded, thinking he needs no one else. His wealth will take care of him. He feels no need of the security of family, friends or community. He does not even need God. The grasp of greed. The fool’s deepest thoughts reveal no compulsion to use his wealth to help those in need. Greed has eaten away at any compassion he may once have had. The futility of pleasure-seeking. The fool’s dream is to spend his life gratifying his whims and pleasures. The greatest good he can imagine is his own self-indulgence.

Sadly, this attitude is only too common today, an approach to life which has been called ‘practical atheism’.³ The rich fool, a first-century Jew, believed in the existence of God but, in practice, lived as if there were no God, particularly a God who might make demands of him. The rich fool’s dreams sound surprisingly like many people’s retirement plans! Among Australians, seventy per cent believe God exists, whereas only seventeen per cent actually attend a place of worship. Even practising Christians can spend too much time and energy on their material lives and their future comfort and security. 

Lord of my future, help me to use my resources responsibly in this world, conscious of the needs of others. Thank you that my future is secure with you.

¹ Frances Havergal, 1836–79, ‘Take my life’  ² RA Culpepper, 1995, p257 ³ Peter Jones, The Teaching of the Parables, Broadman, 1982, p127–141