Luke 12:13–21; Philippians 1:21–26

Bible Studies for Life
Chair and Armstrong Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Samford University

Life in Light of Eternity
Luke 12:13–21; Philippians 1:21–26
In his book “The Way of the Modern World,” Craig Gay commented that worldliness is to “go about our daily business in the world without giving God much thought.” Our contemporary culture, which is dominated by the importance of the immediate, with little thought for the future, brings Jesus’ challenge in this parable to make sure that we do not merely “store up treasures for ourselves and are not rich towards God.”

What Life Is Not (Luke 12:13–15)
This particular parable comes between sayings of Jesus that warn against compromising our faith in the face of persecution and worrying unnecessarily about the future. Although there is nothing wrong in taking due care and being cautious about living in this world, the opposite danger is to be so obsessed with the things of this world that we forget that our “citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20).

Jesus teaches us that life does not consist of the abundance of possessions. If this is the be-all and end-all of living, then we have missed out on what life is all about. In the context of a dispute over a family inheritance that Jesus was asked to comment on, He ignored the specifics of the case and reminded His hearers that “all kinds of greed” can consume their attention to the detriment of their spiritual lives. The term “greed” really refers to any insatiable desire, although the context here is that of seeking to acquire more and more possessions. The danger of such an attitude is that it assumes that this will truly enrich a person’s life. This insatiable desire for a higher standard of living is widespread in the modern world and for many people, is the equivalent of the American Dream. Such a dream will inevitably be frustrated because no one is ever satisfied if they continue to be consumed with “things” rather than God.

A Lose-lose Situation (Luke 12:16–21)
The parable Jesus told illustrates the case of someone who is taken up with a consumerist mentality toward life. The fact that this man was rich is not wrong in and of itself. He was also productive in his business, and his land was economically viable, probably supporting many families in employment opportunities. The suggestion in the parable is that becoming richer began to consume the man’s whole life. There was no recognition in his achievements of the way in which God had blessed him. Indeed God was given no consideration at all. His only concern was to grow his business, which he spoke about as “my crops … my barns … my grain and my goods … (even) my soul.”

Ecclesiastes 5:10 warns that “he who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth with gain; this also is vanity.” One further indication of this man’s self-absorbed attitude is that he was pictured in the parable as “thinking to himself.” He didn’t take anybody else into consideration. There was no mention of his family, friends, religious community or God. Jesus’ conclusion was that he was a fool. He thought that life was all about people “enjoying themselves.” The word that Luke used is a colorful word that has links to the term “euphoria.” Into a situation that would appear to be filled with fun and fulfillment, God’s voice thundered, “This night, your soul will be required of you. … The things that you have prepared, whose will they be?” In the words of the proverb, “there are no pockets in a shroud.” This man, who had lived to himself alone, would die alone, without the God he neglected throughout his life.

A Win-win Situation (Phil. 1:21–26)
The opposite attitude to this “rich fool” is that of Paul. Paul was in prison, wondering what the future held for him. He wasn’t worried. He had learned to be content in his circumstances. The motto of his life was so different from the previous parable — “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” Paul didn’t hate his life, but he was not consumed by earthly living. His whole life was lived in the conviction that God was in control and that He could be relied upon that whatever happened, it would be part and parcel of His will for his life.