The Parable of the Rich Fool
by Monte Lewis — August 3, 2025
A Dispute Over Inheritance
In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus is teaching when a man in the crowd interrupts him and asks him to arbitrate a dispute between himself and his brother. The dispute is over the division of their inheritance. This may sound strange to us, but in Jesus’ time the religious leaders and teachers were often called upon to interpret the law, as there was no separation of religious and secular law. Instead of acting as arbitrator, Jesus tells a story, the story often referred to as the Parable of the Rich Fool.
So now, you’re probably thinking, wait? What? We’re talking about money and wealth?... in church? In our culture, it is often considered impolite to talk about money in church… great, why didn’t somebody tell me this was going to be Stewardship Sunday! I mean we all know we don’t talk about money in church, unless it’s stewardship time! Let me just say, it’s okay – Jesus often talked about money; it was one of His more common topics.
Okay, that’s not quite true. He often talked about wealth, and more importantly about our relationship with it. So, we’re not going to be talking about material stewardship, we’ll save that for another Sunday.
What Makes the Rich Man a Fool?
In the parable, Jesus never says that the man in the story is a bad person. He never says he was a thief, or he swindled anybody or acquired his wealth through any wrong ways. In fact, the man is a farmer, a hard worker, and the crops came from sweat and hard labor. Jesus doesn’t say that building larger storage barns isn’t a good idea, or that saving something for your family or your future is a bad thing. Nothing about the accumulated wealth is a bad thing. Saving for a rainy day is probably a good idea and Jesus doesn’t say anything against it.
Isn’t this what we all try to do? Work hard and try to save for the future, make our lives and the lives of our families better? So why does God call him a Fool?
Let’s go back and look at what the Parable said:
“The land of the rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you shall have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him; ‘You Fool! This night your life is being demanded of you. And all the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.”
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
As we look at what was actually said, the problem becomes quite obvious. The rich man worships the god of wealth, the god of materialism… look how many times he refers to the unholy trinity of: me, myself and I. Never is there a mention of family, friends, co-workers and definitely no mention of God.
The rich man actually believes that all the wealth he has accumulated is through his own ability, his own talent and his own skills. There is no thanksgiving to God for all the benefits he has received from the Father. It is as though it is simply the “luck of the draw” that he has been able to accomplish these things.
Biblical Wisdom on Wealth and Calling
As a Jew, he would have known from the teaching of Ecclesiastes 2:18:
“I hated all my toil that I toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those that come after me.”
We are reminded by Paul in 1 Corinthians, that the “Holy Spirit distributes gifts to the believers according to their talent for the benefit of the entire body of Christ.” Paul also tells us in Ephesians 4:1–3:
“I… beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
In the Gospel of Matthew 25:14–30, Jesus uses the Parable of the Talents to illustrate that God entrusts gifts to individuals and expects them to be used according to their ability.
So, the rich man is a fool, not because he accumulated wealth or because he wanted to store it, but because he placed his faith in material things. He lives and plans as if tomorrow is guaranteed, not realizing that we all must die and that death will come at its own time…
Rich Toward God
But really, who doesn’t want to be rich? Who doesn’t want to be part of the 1%? Isn’t that why we go to the best schools, study hard, work hard and become successful? All so we can become rich… but will we become like the rich fool? Or will we become rich toward God?
What God Will—and Won’t—Ask
The following has been around the internet for a long time, but it captures what Jesus said in today’s Gospel.
Things God won’t ask:
God won’t ask what kind of a car you drove. He will ask how many people you gave a ride to that didn’t have any transportation.
God won’t ask how large your home was. He will ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
God won’t ask you about the clothes you had. He will ask you how many people you helped clothe.
God won’t ask you about how much money you made. He will ask you if you compromised your integrity to obtain it.
God won’t ask you what your job title was. He will ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.
God won’t ask you how many friends you had. He will ask you how many people you made sure that you were a friend to.
God won’t ask you what neighborhood you lived in. He will ask you how you treated and behaved towards your neighbors.
A Life of Thanksgiving and Trust
We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:18:
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ.”
We are also reminded in the lesson from Hosea and the Psalm today, that we owe everything—including unceasing thanksgivings—to our Mighty and Merciful God. It is clear that we are to give thanks to the Father always, in all circumstances.
So when you awoke this morning, did you thank God for all the blessings you have been given? Did you thank Him for the hard times as well as for the good?
We can never expect to understand why we have been given the path we have been given to follow, for we can never understand God’s plan for us while we are on this earth. We must trust in the Lord our God.
The Apostles’ Creed
I am going to ask you to turn to page 96 in your Book of Common Prayer. Please bow your heads and join me in saying the Apostles’ Creed.
“I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit And born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, And is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, The holy catholic Church, The communion of saints, The forgiveness of sins, The resurrection of the body, And the life everlasting.”
Two Questions to Take Home
So when you get home today, find a quiet place and ask yourself these two questions:
How is my spiritual 401k?
Am I planning on living forever?
Do these seem to be strange questions?
They shouldn’t be…
The Apostles’ Creed is also our creed, these are our beliefs… and we always live our lives with the knowledge and belief that we will live an eternal life.
Amen
