The Rich Fool

"The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, "I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' But God said to him, "Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Luke 12:16-21

This parable has a very perturbing quality about it because of the picture it paints of this shrewd, successful and a visionary farmer. It is too real. It seems uncomfortably close to our own thoughts. Had it not been for verse 21, we might have not found very much fault with this apparently very respectable successful farmer.

But the Lord uses words that He expressly prohibits us under a penalty to use against each other. “Thou Fool” says the Lord about him. Surely the Lord does not call him a fool for merely being rich. Yes the Bible warns of the dangers of wealth, but I don’t see it putting a premium on poverty. Nor does the Lord call him a fool for dishonest gain. “The ground yielded plentifully” it says. And, surely the Lord is not calling him a fool because he wants to save for the future. The Lord spoke of stewardship, He told His disciples to even gather the leftovers after He fed the five thousand. So why, does the Lord call this successful rich farmer a fool?

I suspect the answer is found not in this man’s doing but in this man’s thinking. This man thinks as if God does not exist. No matter what his creed or personal theology, he is a practical atheist! He uses the pronouns I, My, Mine over nine times in two thoughts – this is the grammar of atheism, and therefore the vocabulary of a fool. In a sentence, he lives without a sense of obligation. Specifically without a sense of obligation to God. Actually he lives without a sense of obligation to anyone but himself. He has come to this mistaken yet very popular belief that he is a man of his own making. He is his own master! He deserves his rights, his freedom. His thoughts think very richly towards himself, but not richly toward God.

Of all the subtle dangers of the desensitization of the human heart, I think the one that does the greatest harm is the subtle erosion of this sense of obligation to the Creator. We have confused possession with ownership. Pride, lack of thankfulness, and eventually discontent take the place. One of the distinctions of humanity that seperates us from animals is this sense of obligation to the Creator, that wonder of the created universe that so marvelously sustains us.

In his book Folk Psalms of Faith, Ray Stedman tells of an experience H.A. Ironside had in a crowded restaurant. Just as Ironside was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. Ironside invited his to have a seat. Then, as was his custom, Ironside bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, "Do you have a headache?" Ironside replied, "No, I don't." The other man asked, "Well, is there something wrong with your food?" Ironside replied, "No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat."
The man said, "Oh, you're one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don't have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!" Ironside said, "Yes, you're just like my dog. That's what he does too!"

I pray that God restores to us today that sense of obligation, that richness toward God!

1. Ray Stedman, Folk Psalms of Faith.