A Fool’s View of Things
Devotions for Growing Christians
A Fool’s View of Things
Luke 12:18-20 - And he said, "This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, `Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.'" But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you prepared?"
Read Luke 12:16-21.
Do you like being called a fool? Would you like being called a fool because of the things you own? Would you like to be called a fool by God because of the things you own? Is it possible that God is calling you a fool?
One way to find out if we qualify for God's "list of fools" is to compare ourselves with the fool in Luke 12. God called him a fool simply because he had a wrong view of his things. If we view our things in the same way as the foolish man of Luke 12, there’s no question that God is looking in our direction, shaking His head, and exclaiming, "You fool"!
What do we mean by "the things we own"? Basically, our possessions. Our cars, our homes, our clothes, our TVs, our furniture, our computers, our heirlooms, our collections, our sports equipment, etc., etc. Obviously, none of these things is evil in itself, and possessing these things doesn’t automatically make one a fool. But the wrong attitude towards these things can very quickly get us into the fool category.
In the Luke 12 parable, the rich farmer had more crops than his barns could handle, so he planned to build bigger barns to store his crops. What's wrong with that? Sounds like good common sense! What's so foolish about protecting investments and planning ahead?
Nothing is wrong or foolish with planning ahead - if we have a biblical view of our “things.”
The farmer's problem wasn’t his abundant harvest, and it wasn’t that he owned many things, and it wasn’t even that he built bigger barns to preserve his possessions. Several Proverbs in the Bible indicate that looking carefully to the future is commendable! So why did God call him a fool? The farmer's problem was that he had the wrong attitude towards the things he owned. Why was his view of things wrong? And how can we avoid being labeled a fool by God?
He wasn’t thankful
First of all, the rich farmer was not thankful for the things he owned. He never paused to thank the Lord for his possessions, or for the blessing of an abundant harvest. Do we thank the Lord for the things we own - or do we take them for granted? What about the time-saving machines and electronics we've accumulated? With our high standard of living, we feel we have the right to have these things. Because of our outsized expectations, often we’re not thankful for what God has given us. Do we thank the Lord for our fans and air conditioners in the summer - or do we just complain about the heat? Or do we feel it’s just our “right” to have these things? Ingratitude. It’s the sign of a fool.
Maybe we have some things we don't feel good about owning. Or maybe we have way more than we really need. If we possess anything for which we can’t honestly and comfortably thank the Lord, then we should get rid of it - now! We should only own the things for which we can openly thank the Lord with a clear conscience. In fact, a clear conscience is one of the best guidelines for our possessions. Don’t judge by the biased opinions of Christians who measure spirituality on the basis of what we do (or do not) own.
At the same time, however, the viewpoint of the Christian community around us does matter, and it can be a helpful guideline to us. We need guidelines, because it’s very easy for us to become desensitized, and rationalize possessing things that we’d much be better off not owning. Thankfulness for the things we can own with a clear conscience is a sign of a wise Christian. Again, ingratitude is a sign of a fool.
He didn’t acknowledge God
Another mistake was that the rich man didn’t recognize the source of his things. He actually thought that he got all his stuff by his own effort. He looked at his things and himself - and not at God.
In verses 17-19, notice the great emphasis on "I" and "my.” Little did the rich farmer realize or recognize the fact that he had received everything from God: his health, his strength, his mental capacity to plan for his selfish future - and all his material possessions!
Do we recognize and acknowledge that everything we possess was given to us by God? 1 Corinthians 4:7 says, "What do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"
God the source of everything we possess! We may think that my smart planning and my hard work are the sources of all that I own - but that’s the way fools think! Whether it’s the things we earn (like good grades or good salaries), or things we win (like first place trophies), or things we buy (like sailboats or sailboards) - everything has been given to us by God.
Only fools believe and boast that they themselves are the source of their intellectual or athletic talents, or their ability to work hard. Have any of us have made the “fools list” lately?
He trusted in “things’ for his security
A third problem was that the rich fool was placing his security in his things. He really believed that he would have many years of problem-free life because of what he had hoarded in his large barns (v19). How foolish!
But are we not guilty of the same wrong view of things? Are we really trusting the Lord for our security? If so, why do we get upset when the stock market falls? And why do we lose sleep when some we lose some of our things through fire, flood, accident or theft? Jesus said that we should seek first the kingdom of God, and then God will take care of all the things that we really need (Matthew 6:33). Do we really believe this biblical promise? Or do we just think we believe it?
Trusting in the Lord rather than money for our security doesn’t mean that we should have no concern at all for material things. Christians should be careful users of the things God has given us - not careless squanderers or selfish hoarders! Furthermore, trusting in the Lord does not mean that we don’t plan ahead. The implication of 2 Corinthians 12:14 is that we should consider the security of the next generation.
Where does the dividing line come between fools and responsible planners? Listen to the words of James 4:13-15: "Come now, you who say, `Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, `If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.'"
The dividing line between foolish hoarding and wise planning is perspective. The fool says, "My life is in my own hands and therefore I will make my own decisions..." The wise person says, “My life is in God's hands, so if the Lord wills, then I plan to..." How clearly drawn is this line in your life?
His priorities were selfish
A fourth and final mistake was the rich farmer’s priority on the selfish enjoyment of his things. Eating, drinking and making merry was his number one priority (v19). His mistake was not his enjoyment of things, but his selfish enjoyment of those things!
In 1 Timothy 6:17, the Bible assures us that "God richly supplies us with all things to enjoy." But the Bible also teaches that selfish enjoyment of the things we possess is wrong. Notice, for example, the context of 1 Timothy 6:17. We are to focus on God - not our things (17a), and then we are to generously share with others (v18). This is a key secret of enjoying the things we own.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that we must give money to every irresponsible free-loader who comes along. But most of us could do a little more sharing of our things than we're presently doing - especially with those who are less fortunate than we are. The rich man of Luke 12 was unwilling to share his possessions with others. Rather than giving some of his grain to those who had little to eat, he stockpiled it away in bigger barns! He was called a fool for his selfish, self-centered attitude. Are we wise sharers - or selfish fools?
Verse 21 states an unsettling truth. We are told that "anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God" will suffer the same fate as this foolish man. What could be worse than wearing God’s label of “Fool” as we go into eternity? How much better to enter eternity as "rich toward God" - because we had the right view of our things during this lifetime!
- Dave Reid