Luke 12:13-14

"Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me" (Luke 12:13). Jesus responded with "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" (Luke 12:14). Jesus would not be drawn into settling domestic accounts, especially one where a covetous spirit was one's motivation.

Jesus then goes from addressing this "man" and addresses the crowd. "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed" (Luke 12:15). "Greed" or "covetousness" means the lust to have more than one's fair share (cf. Exod. 20:17; Prov. 21:26; Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5). So, Jesus warned the "inheritor" and everyone else about material greed. Such a pursuit is a dead-end road (Eccl. 5:10; 1 Tim. 6:10). In essence, "a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15).

Jesus then tells the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21). The rich man was a farmer representing all humanity seduced by "all kinds of greed" (Luke 12:16). Some, having a false sense of security because of financial success, fall prey to some foolish reasoning. "He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what Ill do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry" (Luke 12:17-19). While there is no sin in building barns, there is a problem of not sharing and lack of biblical stewardship. There is a problem when the rich (and everyone else) do not think of the poor, the sick, and those without food, clothing, and shelter (cf. Matt. 25:40-45).

Selfishness is a sin (note that the word "my" occurs 4 times and the word "I" occurs 8 times). Hedonism (eat, drink and be merry) is a sin (cf. Eccl. 8:15; Isa. 22:13). Living like there is no God - thus no accountability, no judgment - is foolish (Psa. 14:1; cf. Prov. 1:7; 9:10; Luke 12:4-5). Someone once said, "When it comes to wealth, thinking of only 'me,' 'myself,' and 'I' is like giving your finger to the Trinity and at the same time holding out your hands for yet more." Many say to God in their attitudes, "talk to the hand, the face is not listening," (or, "I am enjoying my ignorance. Please do not ruin it by discussing facts or logic with me") but in the end they will stand before God face to face in judgment. This is a damnable lifestyle.

Jesus, the wisdom of God, says to all: "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:20-21). The rich can hoard, hoard, hoard, amassing fortunes, but in the end they lose it all - including their own soul (Mark 8:36). Or, the rich can love and give, and be rich towards God. The way to become rich toward God is to invest in Christ - in the lives of his people. We can be rich toward God because we give and give and give. Invest in an everlasting Kingdom. Be rich towards God.