Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Comment: It is seems to me that the bit highlighted in red above is pretty easily worked out concept-wise, but not always easy to accept when faced with putting ‘natural tendencies’ behind you. The guy worked hard and successfully but then thought only of himself. He took a blessing and allowed himself to become narcissistic! Generosity is better than selfishness! I’m sure that there were plenty of needy people within his area who could have done with a helping hand. Laziness and self-indulgence is no substitute for vision and diligence. I don’t get the idea that he was an old man but a selfish man. And even if he was at retirement age (a thing not talked about in the Bible!) then it is time to think of ‘re-tyre-ment’! The father-in-law of one of my children’s spouse has just retired as a senior High Court Judge to do pro-bono work for his local community. I know about sickness etc and there may be good reasons why people withdraw but that isn’t the same as narcissism! God has us on the planet for service! When God says ‘This night’ it may not be within 24 hours, but the future is coming!
As far as the first part of the passage is concerned in trying to assess the story it would be helpful to know why this gentleman didn’t get any of the inheritance! I presume that he came to Jesus as a religious leader. In those days religious leaders were expected to give wise advice/judgements particularly from the Mosaic Law and a complex of lesser things that had worked out by the ‘Rabbis’ in the years following Moses. Did Jesus by saying, “who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” tell him that he should accept the rules of inheritance? Before telling the parable, Jesus taught and gave a stern warning about covetousness and what a mistake it is to make possessions your goal in life. This is a core lesson to learn in life but a lesson which is being swept aside in much thinking in our day and age!
Proverbs 28: 5&6 – Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.
Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
Prayer: Thank You for teaching us the secrets of pleasing You, Lord Jesus.
As I read it! 