Author : Keith Sharp
Text : Luke 12:13-21
Years ago a young man asked me, “Keith, how much is your dad worth?” What do you mean how much is he worth? How much was he worth to me? How could I put a monetary value on that? How much is his soul worth? More than the entire world (Matthew 16:26). How much were his worldly possessions worth? Not much.
And isn’t that how most people determine a person’s value? If they are wealthy, they feel important. If an acquaintance has a large income, they want to be his friend and will boast about knowing him. How many people brag about knowing the school janitor?
But the Master teaches that to measure life or personal worth by a monetary standard is to be guilty of covetousness. “And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). Life is more than things.
The church is to withdraw from covetous people (1 Corinthians 5:9-11), and they will be eternally lost unless they repent (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Ephesians 5:5). God declares that a covetous man is a fool! (Luke 12:20) How might we be guilty of covetousness?
The Greek lexicon defines it as “greediness, insatiableness, avarice” (673). The New American Standard Bible translates it as “greed.” Covetousness is a form of idolatry (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5). Thus, it is putting material things ahead of God. The apostle Paul admonishes us to be content with the necessities of life and warns us against the desire to be rich, the love of money, and greediness (1 Timothy 6:6-10).
There is a popular belief that covetousness is limited to such desire for wealth that we would commit crimes or act dishonestly to obtain what we crave. But the rich farmer Jesus used to illustrate covetousness obtained his wealth honestly (Luke 12:15). For all we know he was simply a sterling example of hard work and prudent management. Now one who would cheat, steal, lie, or swindle to become wealthy is certainly covetous, for he puts wealth ahead of God, but we may be perfectly honest and legal in obtaining things we crave and still be covetous.
Jesus’ warning about covetousness was precipitated by the plea of a man from the audience as the Master was teaching vital spiritual truth pertaining to eternal salvation. “Then one from the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me’” (Luke 12:13). Under Jewish law the eldest son received a double portion of his father’s inheritance in return for the obligation of caring for the family (cf. Deuteronomy 21:15-17; Genesis 48:3-5; 50:15-21). But the younger brothers also had an inheritance coming (Luke 15:11-12). The man appeared to be a younger brother, and he implicitly accused his elder brother of misusing the power of his birthright to refuse to divide the inheritance.
Again, for all we know, the man’s claim was just, and he was a victim of injustice. But that wasn’t the Lord’s concern! Christ was teaching people how to inherit eternal life, and all this man got out of it was the idea, Here’s an influential man who can persuade my brother to give me the property I have coming. In the midst pf a marvelous lesson about heavenly values, his concern was earthly riches. He was covetous.
The Lord emphatically refused to be drawn into this family squabble over finances. He rhetorically asked, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” (Luke 12:14) The King James Version renders the word “arbitrator” by its literal meaning of “divider.” Our counterpart would be the executor of the estate. He wanted Christ to act as a magistrate to arbitrate a legal and financial issue. But that totally corrupts the nature of the Lord’s kingdom. He declared to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36). Paul observed, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). The kingdom of Christ is a heavenly rule involving spiritual blessings. He would not interfere in civil affairs but was concerned with eternal, spiritual issues.
Rather, He grasped the opportunity to teach a great lesson. “And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). A popular bumper sticker once claimed, “The one who dies with the most toys wins!” Many Americans live that way. It reminds me of the fellow watching a retired couple drive into town in a large motor home towing a car and a boat and carrying two bicycles. He observed to his friend, “I don’t reckon they plan to walk much.” There’s more to life than the accumulation of things. Wealth doesn’t determine a man’s worth. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)
The Master told a short parable that vividly pictures the problem of greed. Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ (Luke 12:16-20)
To see the point of the parable, let’s inquire, Why did the Lord call the rich farmer a fool?
Well it certainly wasn’t because he was a bad farmer or businessman, nor was it because he failed to save for the future. He produced enough crops in one year to more than meet his needs for many years, and he planned to save as much as possible for future, earthly needs.
But all he saw were his own worldly needs and desires. The only one he thought of was himself. Six times in verses seventeen through nineteen he uses the pronoun “I”; five times he says “my.” He never thought of God or his poor brothers and neighbors. He thought his wealth belonged to him and was entirely for him. He was completely selfish.
He trusted wealth to bring him many years of happiness and security (verse 19).
He forgot true joy. He thought his stomach was his soul! “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry'” (verse 19). He thought a life of ease with plenty of good food was the key to joy.
He forgot God. Not once did he thank God for providing the sunshine, rain, and productive soil to provide his wealth (cf. Acts 14:17;1 Thessalonians 5:18). He did not determine to return to the service of the Lord any of the bountiful harvest the Lord had provided him (2 Corinthians 9:6). There was no place in his life for his Creator and Sustainer.
And he forgot death. He looked forward to “many years” of earthly pleasure (verse 19). God declared, “This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?”(Verse 20) We plan for years of pleasant retirement. But who knows if death will come before tomorrow? Then who will own that amassed wealth that could have been used to spread the gospel and help the poor? “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7).
The rich farmer was a fool because he was covetous.
What is the lesson? “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21). It’s not wrong to save (2 Corinthians 12:14). It took two things to make the rich farmer a fool, and it takes two things for us. It’s not just laying up treasure here. It’s that plus the failure to be rich toward God. “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
Work Cited
Arndt, W.F., and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
