By JR Hudberg
As is often the case, Jesus takes advantage of a social situation to offer some words of wisdom and instruction. With a gathered crowd intently hanging on his words, Jesus is interrupted by a man looking to get his situation set right (read the account in Luke 12:13–21).
Ostensibly asking for justice, the man’s request for Jesus to serve as an estate judge is at first rebuffed and then met with a parable. However, the irony of the scenario is that it is unclear to whom the parable is addressed. Jesus takes the opportunity to warn about the destructive power of greed, but, in a sense, both the brothers involved were being greedy.
The brother refusing to divvy up the inheritance into fair portions is the easier one to point the greedy finger at. However, the text doesn’t actually indicate that the other brother was in the crowd to hear Jesus’s pronouncement on the matter. The brother who was there, and the one to whom Jesus responds, is the one who was, at a simplistic glance, asking for his fair share of his father’s estate.
Understanding the recipient of the warning not as a hoarder of the inheritance but simply looking for what is rightfully his helps us understand the parable and what follows.
In the parable, Jesus paints the picture of a man who is successful beyond his wildest dreams. His harvest exceeds his ability to house it. He has more than enough.
Instead of expressing gratitude and sharing his plenty, the successful farmer doubles down on his own independence. He sees this windfall as a sign that he is self-sufficient. In his mind, he has all he needs and nothing to worry about.
But God calls him to account for where he rests his confidence. His confidence in his wealth is misplaced. Though he may have all that he needs to live his days in ease and luxury, that wealth does not bring life. There are no guaranteed correlations between wealth and long life. Success in business does not promise a single extra day. In fact, Jesus says this perspective is the root of the problem. The offense of the successful farmer is that he is so consumed with earthly goods that he is “not rich toward God.”
Perhaps surprisingly, we hear Jesus saying that money itself is not the problem. Affluence does not equal problems. It is our attitude toward our assets that reveals a dangerous, harmful, and autonomous mindset, one that leaves God out of the picture entirely. An obsession with money and a reliance on it as the ultimate means of provision are what Jesus warns against. A view of money that pushes God out of the picture and doesn’t recognize him as the source of the good gifts we receive is a sign that the declaration of independence uttered by our primordial parents still whispers in our minds.
As if the warning of accountability was not enough, and to underscore that God is indeed the provider, Jesus moves directly into a discussion of worry and provision (see Luke 12:22–34). This is not a simple change of subject. Jesus ties the parable, with its point about love of and reliance on assets to God’s goodness and a recognition of him as the extravagant provider.
God is the one who provides for all of his creation, including the sparrows sold for pennies, which are not as valuable as we are (see Luke 12:6–7). Jesus builds to his point of telling his followers that being rich toward God means seeking his kingdom and pursuing the things of God before everything else. Jesus, however, is not done.
In perhaps a last reference to the foolish rich man, Jesus calls his followers to radical commitment to and dependence on God by saying, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (vv. 33–34).
Are we looking to snatch up what’s ours, or are we seeking to stock up on God’s eternal goods?
—J.R. Hudberg
