Episode 97 - Parable of the Rich Fool

Are we more worried about our retirement accounts than our investment in our eternal prosperity ?

Luke 12 :13 - 21 

Transcript

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This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Hello and welcome to Shine. I am your host, Nicole Florence. As you've noticed, I'm a little hoarse this week. Um, I think my grandson got me a little sick. So I apologize for the uh deep hoarseness. Um today's parable I want to talk about is the parable of the rich fool. Rich fool, right? I don't know if we see many stories um in the Bible that talk about the rich wise man, but if there is one, let me know, because I'm still learning and and reading. The parable of the rich fool is in Luke chapter 12, um, about uh verse 13, and it starts with someone shouting from the crowd, um, asking Jesus, well actually telling Jesus, um, hey, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me. And I love how this starts, because first off, we have to understand that an inheritance is truly something that we have been given as a gift, and really nothing we have earned by our own merit, yet this person feels that they are entitled to uh an inheritance that was not designated for them, apparently. And so he demands um Jesus, tell him to give me what I have not earned, what I have not um deserved, but I still feel is mine. And I love the answer, of course, where the Lord says, watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one's life is not in the abundance of his possessions. And he goes on to tell the story of the rich fool who apparently um you know was doing very well with his crops. Um, in fact, his store uh barns, storage barns, were so full he decides to tear them down, uh built bigger ones, with his plan being to store more and more so that at some point he can just kind of be on Easy Street and just yes, it literally says that he is just going to um eat uh and drink and just you know hang out, I guess. And God responds to him that you do not realize that today is the day that I am taking you, and literally, how have you prepared for that day? How have you spent the days of your life when you're not even going to enjoy or or reap any uh of that quote-unquote prosperity that you have worked so hard for? Because let's face it, we don't know what day is written for us in the book. And I thought about this parable for several reasons. First, yes, I get my 401k statements and 403B, all this stuff, right? Where it is my hope to prepare for a retirement. And I think about what I'm gonna need. Um, you know, you get all the this is how much you need to retire, this is how you need to prepare even for the day that you are no longer here, so your family can be comfortable. And I thought about that as I was kind of going through um all my numbers and paperwork, that truly none of that is possibly gonna be there for me to quote unquote enjoy, to be on easy street, to um, yes, I am not working day to day, but yet I am preparing for that. And I think we concentrate so much on our nest egg, on our um accounts, how much is in there? Um, how big of a house do we have? What um cars do we have? All of these possessions that we feel are going to make our lives easier and more comfortable, um, not only for ourselves, but hopefully for our loved ones if we are no longer there. But how much are we truly preparing our soul? You know, how much do I think or pray each day that Lord are you guiding me? Am I walking in the way that you want me to, that I will receive eternal prosperity with you? Am I walking in a way that my loved ones will be guided closer to you, a relationship with you, that they will also receive eternal prosperity with you? And as much as I am keeping track of you know investments and accounts, and hey, when's my retirement date? And let's face it, I I may not make it. Um how am I also keeping an accountability of my investment in my relationship with God? And even better yet, the treasures that I do have, am I using those to be generous to those around me? What good is it to store everything you have in a house, a barn, and an account, um, if you aren't um sharing and being generous to the ones you love who are in need. You know what good does any of that do for you? But you know, that's what we're taught, right? That the possessions and the money that we have quote unquote earned is ours, but truly it's not. It's by God's grace that we have the ability to do the things we do to earn what we have, and it's also our responsibility to be generous and to give to those who have not. So I hope as many of you like me are checking your you know bank accounts and your paycheck and your 401ks and investments and looking at um how we are preparing for possibly a day of retirement or a day of quote-unquote prosperity. I hope that we are also preparing our souls and looking at that investment account in our relationship with God for eternal prosperity. And you know, not to mention when you have someone who has the ability to leave a legacy of wealth and to um have the ability for their loved ones to have an inheritance, how often do we hear that their loved ones are frustrated they didn't get this or this person got that? Um, all the things instead of concentrating on the fact that hopefully their loved one is in that relationship with God in heaven and has received eternal prosperity, and that that's what they also need to work towards instead of concentrating on an inheritance that they may not really deserve nor earned. I will end with the last two verses where but God said to him, You fool, this very night your life has demanded of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? That's how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.