Luke 12:13-21 (NRSV)
Read Luke 12:13-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." Verse 14But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" Verse 15And 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." Verse 16Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. Verse 17And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' Verse 18Then 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. Verse 19And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' Verse 20But 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?' Verse 21So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."
Devotion
My parents planted the idea of financial planning in the very core of my being. As products of the Great Depression, they knew the value of saving, of limiting debt and of planning for retirement. I consider my parents wise.
How, then, can we fault the farmer in Jesus’ story for wanting to save his bumper crop and retire in wealth and leisure?
The wisdom of Jesus’ parable of the rich fool is in understanding that if we hoard as an attempt to secure life and the future, we are fools. The person who relies on the created instead of the Creator misses life. True riches that secure life and the future are found only in God, the author and giver of life.
Prayer
Thank you, God, for making us rich in you, through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.