One of the multitude said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” Luke 12:13-14 WEB
These verses from Luke’s gospel precede Jesus’ parable of the rich fool. In the parable, Jesus addresses the sin of covetousness. In doing so, Jesus teaches that a man’s life does not consist of an abundance of possessions. Rather than seeking the perishable things of this world, the Lord leads the crowd to humbly seek God. As Jesus says in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. WEB”
To covet is to want what belongs to someone else. In response to the covetous request that Jesus tell a brother to divide the inheritance he received, Christ teaches the parable of the rich fool. It is a metaphorical account of a man who plans to build bigger barns to store an abundant harvest. He does this in order to live at ease for many years.
Jesus concludes the parable saying in Luke 12:20, “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. WEB” Jesus proceeds to teach that life is more than food and clothing. Worrying about these things leads to focus on material rather than the material maker that is our God. Instead we should trust God to provide for our needs and seek him first.
Two Masters
As Christins, we do not place ambition for material wealth ahead of devotion to God. As Jesus taught in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon. WEB” Addressing worry over acquiring material necessities, Jesus taught in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. WEB”
The foolish man’s worldly celebration of his wealth was premature and naive. Excited for his abundant harvest of grain he lost sight of the larger importance of eternal satisfaction in heaven. As Jesus answered Satan in Matthew 4:4 when tempted to turn stone to bread, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth. WEB”
Jesus’ answer to Satan relied completely on the word of God. It is a reference to scripture from Deuteronomy 8:3 which reads, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. NIV” Likewise, Jesus’ parable of the rich fool teaches that those who focus on building wealth rather than humbling themselves before God do so in vain arrogance.
Joint Heirs in the Kingdom
Responding to the man’s request that he tell his brother to divide the inheritance, Jesus taught the crowd to humbly rely on God rather than seek worldly wealth. Therefore, we do not appeal to God to compel our brothers to divide the inheritance of earthly wealth. Rather, we put our faith in God and Christ trusting that we share fully in the inheritance of heaven as joint heirs of the kingdom with Jesus. As we read in Romans 8:17, we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ in the kingdom of heaven.
Prayer: “Father God, thank you for the wisdom of your holy word. Thank you for the teaching we receive from your Son, Jesus Christ. Lead me away from the foolish temptation to sin. Guide me to do your will with the life you have given me. In Jesus name – Amen“
Yesterday’s Devotional: Tender Mercies
