A Fool and His Money

Luke 12:13-21

A Sermon by Reverend Beverly Weinhold

A well worn phrase says that “a fool and his money are not easily parted.” Comedian Jack Benny did a skit that illustrated this same point. Benny is walking down the street when suddenly he is approached by an armed robber. “You’re money or your life,” the robber demands. Benny pauses, stares in the distance and says nothing. Getting impatient the robber queries again, “Well, what will it be?” To which Benny replies, “Don’t rush me I’m still thinking it over!” Hopefully those of us here this morning would choose our life over our money…but not necessarily.

The rich fool in our parable chose his money. The context of our Scripture lesson this morning is Jesus teaching to hoards of people in Galilee. In the middle of his speech a man from the crowd called out, “Rabbi tell my brother to divide our inheritance with me!” Now Jewish law was clear that at the death of a father the eldest son received two-thirds the estate and the younger son one third. Perhaps this was the younger son wanting a fairer shake. But Jesus refused to get in the middle of a family squabble. Instead he was interested in the bigger principle that the question pointed to: How much stuff is enough?

“Beware of greed” Jesus warned, for life is more than our possessions. The sum total of your life is worth more than your financial portfolio. Continuing, he told a parable of a man with many possessions. This man became so prosperous that his barns couldn’t contain his wealth. His solution to this problem was to build bigger barns to accommodate even more. Then with his financial security sewn up he could sit back, eat, drink and be merry. Truth be told, many of us sitting here this Sunday are admiring this man. I’m admiring this man. He’s financially successful and his future seems secure. He’s obviously wise and savvy. “Not so,” says Jesus. He then concludes the story by calling him a “fool.”

The question before us is “why?” What did this man do wrong? First, its important to say that this parable is not primarily about money. Money in itself is not a bad thing. It provides comfortable homes for our families, education for our children, health care and the necessities of life. No, this parable is not about money, it’s about priorities and values. It’s about what’s important in life. Let me suggest two things that made this man a fool: He became greedy and insensitive to the needs of others. Secondly, he relied on his own resources to the exclusion of God. It made him untouchable. It made him invulnerable. The net result was full barns and an empty heart.

I.

First, the rich man in Jesus parable was greedy. Greed according to Webster’s dictionary is a “ravenous desire for more than anyone needs.” “Greed” someone once said, “is the logical result of the belief that there is no life after death. We grab what we can while we can however we can and hold onto it hard.” Clearly the rich fool was holding on hard. But so was

Gordon Gecko played by Michael Douglas in a popular 80’s film entitled “Wall Street.” No doubt some of you have seen it. In the movie’s most famous scene, Gecko addresses a stockholder’s meeting at Teldar Paper, a company he has just taken over. Listen to what Gecko says about greed:

Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies. Greed cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed in all its forms has marked the upward surge of mankind and greed, you mark my words will not only save Teldar Paper but that other malfunctioning corporation called the United States of America.

The sad irony of this movie called “Wall Street” is that Gordon Gecko was supposed to be a villain. But instead he became a hero to countless numbers of investment bankers around the world. Some have said that “Wall Street” became a wildly effective recruitment tool for investment banking and many young bankers wanted to become just like Gordon Gecko.

But according to Jesus’ words in our parable today, Gecko like the rich fool was dead wrong. Greed is bad. Greed is wrong. It confuses our priorities and clouds our sensibilities. Even though this man had more than he ever needed it never entered his head to give any of it away. Instead he amassed it to himself. He would have done better to be like the woman written about by St. Jerome in the 5^th century “who preferred to store her money in the stomachs of the needy instead of her own purse.” May God give every one of us grace to be more like the poor woman rather than the rich man. May we too store our money in the stomachs of the hungry, the minds of the uneducated, the bodies of the sick and the spirits of the oppressed. Then we will become rich toward God.

II.

Jesus called this rich man a fool because he was so greedy that he became insensitive to the needs of others. And secondly, he called him a fool because he relied on his own resources and didn’t need God. It’s important to realize that the man in this parable was not a fool because he was wealthy. He was a fool because he was self-centered and self-sufficient to boot. He was so narcissistic he couldn’t see beyond his own nose. There is no parable like this one which is so full of the words, I, me, my and mine. In 4 short verses 16-19, this man uses the words “I” and “my” 10 times. He was blinded by his money, much like Henry Ford felt a new employee could be. To illustrate his point he cut the lenses out of a pair of glasses and substituted them with silver dollars. He then asked the employee to put them on. “What do you see?” Ford asked. “I can’t see anything,” the man said, “I’m blinded by the dollars.”

Famous writer Tolstoy tells a similar tale of a peasant farmer who was never satisfied and wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch was that he had to be back to the starting point before sundown. Early next morning he started walking at a fast pace. By midday he was tired but he kept going. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him well past his starting point. He quickened his pace as the sun began to sink low in the sky knowing that if he didn’t make it back by sundown the opportunity to be an even bigger land owner would be lost. As the sun sank below the horizon he finally saw the finish line. Calling upon every bit of strength had left he staggered across the starting line just before the sun disappeared. Immediately he collapsed and in minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug him a grave that was 6 feet by 3 feet. The title of Tolstoy’s story is “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” In the end Tolstoy suggests that all a man really needs is a 6 by 3 foot piece of earth, so we are better off putting our security elsewhere. Jesus like Tolstoy is warning us not to put our trust in treasure for if we do we will be sadly disappointed. After all, how much barn does one man need? How much money does one person need? Only God can satisfy our deepest longing. God and God alone can be our sanity and our security; not a mutual fund.

Summary

Back to the beginning…a well worn saying says a fool and his money are soon parted. Adlai Stevenson, two time Democratic candidate for President once modified this saying with these words: “there was a time when a fool and his money were soon parted, but now it happens to everybody.”

Jesus said “Beware of greed.” And Paul in a letter to Timothy said:

For we have brought nothing into this world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all evil, and some by being greedy for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many a pang.

So, how about you? In the words of the armed robber to Jack Benny, “Which will it be? Your money or your life?” Amen.