Luke 12:13-21
Rich toward God
Read the passage
13Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?”
15And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
16Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance.
17So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’
18Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods.
19Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
21This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Someone in the crowd asks Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance with him. Jesus refuses to act as a judge over their property dispute and warns everyone to be on guard against covetousness.
Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. Jesus tells of a rich man whose land produces plentifully. The man has nowhere to store his crops, so he decides to tear down his barns and build larger ones.
He plans to store enough goods for many years and says to his soul, “Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!” But God calls him a fool because his soul is required that very night. The things he prepared will belong to someone else.
Jesus ends by saying this is how it is with the person who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. The man has counted his crops and planned his buildings, but he has treated the years ahead as if they belonged to him. His barns can keep grain; they cannot keep him alive. God's question exposes the difference between possessing many things and having a life that is rich toward him.
Questions
1 What does the person in the crowd ask Jesus to do?
AnswerHe asks Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance with him. Jesus refuses to become their property judge.
2 What does Jesus warn against?
AnswerHe warns against covetousness, because a person's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.
3 Why does the rich man build larger barns?
AnswerHis land produces so much that his existing barns cannot hold the crops. He wants storage sufficient for years of ease.
4 What makes him a fool in God's eyes?
AnswerHe prepares treasure for himself but is not rich toward God. His plans never account for the fact that his life may end that night.
What This Means for Us
The harvest itself is good. The danger comes when having enough stored away becomes our reason to believe we are secure. We still depend on God for the life in which we use it. That dependence belongs in our plans as much as the money does.
Families can save responsibly and still practice generosity. Ask what your household's resources are for, who benefits from them, and whether the desire for more has crowded out gratitude or mercy.
Prayer
God, free us from making possessions our refuge. Give our household wisdom to provide responsibly, generosity to share, and a life rich toward You rather than closed inside our own plans. Amen.