Jesus was well known for His parables, earthly stories with heavenly meanings. Jesus used farmers, thieves, religious men, coins, seeds, trees, money, and many other things to represent spiritual lessons.
Jesus used these stories to answer the religious leaders when they tried to trick Him, but He used them mostly to teach His disciples valuable lessons about everyday living.
In the book of Luke we find the story referred to as the parable of the rich fool. Luke gives this account:
“The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said unto him, ‘Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?’” (Luke 12:16-20 KJV)
Here was a man that had the best of this world’s goods. He had more than enough for his own comfort. His greatest concern was not how he could use his excess for the good of others but rather where he was going to store his crops.
He decided that he would have to build bigger barns to hold his crops. His reasoning was that he had plenty to last him for many years, and he could “eat, drink, and be merry.”
God had a different plan for him. He told him that he would die that very night, and then He asked this question: “Then whose shall those things be?”
At the end of the parable, Jesus told His disciples, “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (verse 21).
When I read this story, I am reminded of an Old Testament story found in Genesis 41. Pharaoh had two dreams, and none of his wise men could interpret the dream for him. Joseph was still in prison, having been falsely accused of being inappropriate toward Potiphar’s wife. One of the prisoners who had been in prison with Joseph had been released, and he told Pharaoh that Joseph might be able to interpret his dreams.
Joseph did interpret the dreams and told Pharaoh that there would be seven good years of crops, but seven bad years would follow. Pharaoh gave Joseph the responsibility of gathering grain during the seven good years to store for the seven bad years.
Joseph did just that, but he did not keep everything for the land of Egypt. Joseph supervised the selling of grain to all nations, because everyone was suffering from the famine.
Pharaoh called Joseph discreet and wise. He recognized that Joseph had mapped out a plan to allow not only Egypt, but also every nation to survive the famine.
Think what this rich man could have done with the extra grain. He could have given some to the poor. He could have sold his grain to those able to buy. He was condemned, not because he had much, but because he had no feeling for anyone else.
Remember this passage in I John 4:17
“But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
In the end, whose will our possessions be?
Sandra Oliver