Summary: Luke 12:13-34, Someone asks Jesus “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” Jesus says he won't get involved and says beware of greed/covetousness, then tells the parable of the "Rich fool" who sees that he has enough to retire and then dies that night. The parable is then followed by 14 verses of Jesus' commentary.
I've seen some people take away as the lesson that you shouldn't have too much savings (where the threshold is unspecified). Some people say you shouldn't save for the future, including retirement.
Looking at commentaries, they list many ways the rich man was in the wrong, with varying degrees of support from the text (anxious, self-centered, ungenerous, didn't add "Lord willing" to his statement of his plans, didn't thank God, delaying gratification, overconfidence in his savings, only thinking of sensual appetite). I'm not sure any of these are very satisfying to me as being obviously what Jesus is saying here.
If someone read just this passage of the NT, it seems the most straightforward takeaway would be that Jesus is saying that you should sell all your possessions, give it all to charity (v. 33), and don't even work for food and clothes (v. 27, 29), let alone save money, but trust that God will provide everything for you each day, like he provides for the lilies (v 27), or perhaps like God provided manna in the wilderness that lasted only one day, so you couldn't save any, but had to rely on God to provide your sustenance each day. So instead, you focus on seeking His kingdom, and treasure in heaven.
But that understanding seems to conflict with some other teachings in the NT, like those who don't work don't eat. Or Paul talking about working (tent-making) so that he can provide his own way on his journeys, and doesn't live off the charity of the churches he forms/visits.
Some other notes:
Jesus prefaces the parable saying beware of greed/covetousness, and then tells the parable which is not about someone who is seeking more wealth, but about a man deciding he has enough, is going to stop seeking more wealth, and retire. So the warning seems aimed at those who have not yet reached that point, perhaps saying: if you save for something over time, you might die on the day you've finally reached your savings goal, and so don't get to enjoy the fruit of it. But then I'm not sure what the takeaway is. The possible consequences of not saving/planning are often worse, as pointed out e.g. in the Proverbs.
"...for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions...[The parable is told.] ...So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
So maybe the lesson is that you may save for the future, but don't put your ultimate trust in it. Don't think that benefiting from it is your ultimate goal, and make sure you still put God first? But then, again the following verses of commentary seem to say: don't plan for material things, sell your possessions and give it away.
So how do you understand all this, putting it all together?
What is the Rich man's folly in the parable? What should he have done differently?
What does it mean to be "rich toward God" (v. 21)?
I've seen some people take away as the lesson that you shouldn't have too much savings (where the threshold is unspecified). Some people say you shouldn't save for the future, including retirement.
Looking at commentaries, they list many ways the rich man was in the wrong, with varying degrees of support from the text (anxious, self-centered, ungenerous, didn't add "Lord willing" to his statement of his plans, didn't thank God, delaying gratification, overconfidence in his savings, only thinking of sensual appetite). I'm not sure any of these are very satisfying to me as being obviously what Jesus is saying here.
If someone read just this passage of the NT, it seems the most straightforward takeaway would be that Jesus is saying that you should sell all your possessions, give it all to charity (v. 33), and don't even work for food and clothes (v. 27, 29), let alone save money, but trust that God will provide everything for you each day, like he provides for the lilies (v 27), or perhaps like God provided manna in the wilderness that lasted only one day, so you couldn't save any, but had to rely on God to provide your sustenance each day. So instead, you focus on seeking His kingdom, and treasure in heaven.
But that understanding seems to conflict with some other teachings in the NT, like those who don't work don't eat. Or Paul talking about working (tent-making) so that he can provide his own way on his journeys, and doesn't live off the charity of the churches he forms/visits.
Some other notes:
Jesus prefaces the parable saying beware of greed/covetousness, and then tells the parable which is not about someone who is seeking more wealth, but about a man deciding he has enough, is going to stop seeking more wealth, and retire. So the warning seems aimed at those who have not yet reached that point, perhaps saying: if you save for something over time, you might die on the day you've finally reached your savings goal, and so don't get to enjoy the fruit of it. But then I'm not sure what the takeaway is. The possible consequences of not saving/planning are often worse, as pointed out e.g. in the Proverbs.
"...for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions...[The parable is told.] ...So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
So maybe the lesson is that you may save for the future, but don't put your ultimate trust in it. Don't think that benefiting from it is your ultimate goal, and make sure you still put God first? But then, again the following verses of commentary seem to say: don't plan for material things, sell your possessions and give it away.
So how do you understand all this, putting it all together?
What is the Rich man's folly in the parable? What should he have done differently?
What does it mean to be "rich toward God" (v. 21)?
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