Lessons from the Rich Fool

In the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21, NIV), Jesus Christ tells the story of a rich ruler, harshly calling him a fool because this man had a YOLO attitude.

In Luke 12:19 (NIV), the man says to himself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” Unfortunately, this is the same mindset of many people today.

Jesus Christ shows moral truths behind this parable. Here are some lessons you can learn from the story:

Give God the glory for physical blessings. The rich man selfishly harvested his crop without acknowledging the Lord as the source of his blessings. In James 1:17 (NIV), the Bible says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Every gift, whether they are material blessings or otherwise, comes only from the Lord. Acknowledging His faithfulness, His goodness and His generosity is giving Him all the Glory.

God sees life not in physical increase but on spiritual. At the start of the parable, Jesus says “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15, NIV). This statement not only serves as a warning but shows the mindset of Jesus Christ that whatever you have in this life does not count for eternity. What matters most is what you store up in heaven. The rich fool didn’t seem to understand this perspective since all his actions and thoughts demonstrated his goal of keeping his wealth on earth without pondering on his eternal wellbeing.

Covetousness is a grave sin. God hates greed and covetousness which is why He included it in the Ten Commandments. From the start, the Lord says to Moses vividly in Exodus 20:17, NIV “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” The rich man valued his own goods more instead of using them to give God the glory or to help his neighbors who are in need. He only used them for his own selfish desires.

Work hard for the right reasons. Many people work because they want to travel, earn for their families or even purchase personal stuff. Nothing wrong with that but keep in mind the real purpose for work – not because of earthly things but to give God the honor and the praise. First Corinthians 10:31 (NIV) says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

With such lessons, should you-live-only-once and do what you want or should you do what is really important and essential? Should you eat, drink and be merry or should you make your life count for the Lord? The answer should be easy. Let’s live with eternity in our hearts, and extending God’s kingdom as our driving passion.