“Let us also pursue, acquire, and use all that we have now for the sake of fostering life-giving relationships with God and with others. Anything else is foolishness.”
“You fool; this night your life will be demanded of you” (Luke 12:13-21).
Jesus spoke these words in the parable about the rich man in the Gospel of Luke. This man had received a bountiful harvest, and all he did was to tear down his old barns and build larger ones to accumulate his surplus wealth.
In our age of unbridled consumerism, where we too face the constant temptation to amass earthly wealth, it is very helpful for us to understand five ways in which this man truly deserved the epithet “foolish” that Jesus applied to him.
Understanding these five ways of foolishness in dealing with our possessions, we can also reflect on the ways of being wise in our attitude to material wealth and so avoid the rich fool’s sad destiny.
Firstly, the man is truly foolish because he seeks direction from himself and not from God.
When his land produced a bountiful harvest, we are told that “he asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest.’” You can just sense the self-centeredness and self-reliance in his words.
He did not see the hand of divine providence in his abundant harvest. It did not occur to him that God had given him all his wealth and knowledge for a purpose. He made up his own purpose and did not bother to ask God how He wanted him to make use of all his blessings.
We too fall into that foolishness when we use our wealth the way that we want to make use of it, without seeking to know how we can give greater glory to God through our possessions. We are also foolish when our wealth makes us less dependent on God.
St. Ignatius of Loyola gives us valuable teaching on how God wants us to make use of all that we have when he wrote: “All the other things on the face of the earth are given to us to praise, reverence, and serve God and, by so doing, to save our soul.” Wise use of wealth means using it all to serve, worship, and praise God for our eternal salvation.
Secondly, the man is truly foolish because he has no sense of relationship with God and with others.
He does not offer thanks to God for his abundant wealth. He makes no attempt to know and love the God who has blessed Him so abundantly. He does not see his wealth as a call to humble repentance as Jesus demands of the cities where He had done great miracles, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sack cloths and ashes.”(Lk 10:13)
The man also has no sense of relationship with others. He does not ask how he can use his wealth to benefit his neighbors and those who are less privileged. He does not heed the warning of Jesus to use wealth for the sake of fostering lasting relationships with others, “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails, they may receive you into eternal habitations.”(Lk 16:9)
We are foolish when we seek earthly property without any plans about how to use it to grow in our relationship with God and with others. When Jesus asks us to be “rich in what matters to God,” He is asking us to be rich in life-giving relationships with God and others. We give in to foolishness when we amass wealth and ignore the call to solidarity and reconciliation with others.
Our God is a God of relationships who sent His Son Jesus into the world to bring us into relationship with Him as His beloved children. He knows all our needs even before we ask Him. But He asks us to seek for true relationship with Him before and above possessions, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be yours as well.”(Mt 6:33)
Thirdly, the man is foolish because he sees his wealth as his own, to do with as he wills.
He does not realize that what he has today will belong to another person after his death. Listen to the author of Ecclesiastes: “Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must leave property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune.”(Eccl 2:21)
We are foolish too when we forget that we are only stewards of God’s gifts who must leave our wealth to others and give account to God of how we have made use of them all in this life. Thus, Jesus’ question should ring in our hearts always, “The things that you have prepared, to whom will they belong?”
We avoid this type of foolishness by practicing detachment from our possessions now in this life and by giving generously to those in need.
Fourthly, the man is foolish because he dispenses himself from all effort and struggle in this life,
“Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years; rest, eat, drink, be merry!” He does not have to worry about lacking things anymore. He thinks of a future devoid of any dependence on God or discomfort from others.
We fall into this type of foolishness when we imagine a life of perfect security from our possessions alone. We are foolish too when we imagine a life of independence from God, personal struggles, and inconvenience because of our amassed property.
We avoid this foolishness by heeding the words of Jesus, “Though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Our possessions alone do not guarantee us fullness of life and peace. We will always be dependent on God and struggling to love Him and others more with His gifts.
Lastly, the man is foolish because he does not think about death and the judgment that would follow it.
He had spent his entire life “storing up treasures for himself” and enjoying them while neglecting the destiny of his immortal soul.
We become foolish when we are focused on acquiring, accumulating, and enjoying the things of this life while we ignore the hunger and desires of our souls for divine love and grace.
We can avoid this foolishness by heeding the words of St. Paul, “If you are raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”(Col 3:1-2) Our eternal destiny depends on how we deal with our earthly possessions.
Jesus, our Eucharistic Lord, could have gained all the possessions and power in His earthly ministry. He did not give in to that temptation but freely chose to use everything that He had to bring us into a life-giving relationship with His Father. He even uses His precious body and blood to nourish us in each Holy Mass. He has prepared for us a place in heaven with Him, a state of perfect and unending relationship.
Let us also pursue, acquire, and use all that we have now for the sake of fostering life-giving relationships with God and with others. Anything else is foolishness.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Eccl 1;2, 2:21-23; Col 3:1-5, 9-11; Lk 12:13-21
Image credit: Parable of the Rich Fool | Rembrandt, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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About the author:
Fr. Nnamdi Moneme, OMV, is a Roman Catholic priest and religious of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary currently serving in the Philippines. He teaches theology and is a seminary formator for candidates to the priesthood and religious life. Father also gives Ignatian retreats and serves as spiritual director to many of the lay, religious, and clergy in the area.
He earned his first degree in Physics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. Ordained in 2009, he studied at St. John’s seminary, in Brighton, Massachusetts. Father has an STL/MA in Moral Theology from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines.
Father Moneme blogs at https://toquenchhisthirst.wordpress.com/.
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