Parable of the rich fool

Part ii

The Holy Bible says “…….Because I live, you also will live. (John 14:19)

For earlier part click here

Again the Holy Bible mentions, “Give generously to anyone who faithfully obeys God. If you are stingy in giving to the poor, God will be stingy in giving to you. Give according to what you have. The more you have, the more you should give. Even if you have only little, be sure to give something. This is as good as money saved. You will have your reward in a time of trouble. Taking care of the poor is a kind of offering that pleases God in Heaven. Do this, and you will be kept safe from the dark world of the dead.” (Tobit 4:8-11)

It is sheer foolishness to dream about our future life and the many pleasures that life has to offer.

 Jesus the Origin of Life, teaches us to question our self, “Suppose tonight you have to give back your life to God, who is going to enjoy all this.?

Never consider this perishable world and its fleeting pleasures as your life.  Run away from all the greed, boasting, influences, addictions and everything that enslaves you and keeps you away from the Word and Will of God.

The letter of St. James wonderfully describes and warns us against ‘boasting’.  “You don’t even know what your life tomorrow will be!  You are like a puff of smoke, which appears for a moment and disappears. What you should say is this : “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this and that.”  But now you are proud, and you boast; all such boasting is wrong.”  (Jam 4 : 14 -16)

Finally, the parable sums up teaching that it is not his richness in wealth that defines a man, but his loving acts of kindness towards mankind that makes him a true human. Our prime purpose of life is to live in God’s love and a life in union with Him to serve Him. 

The Holy Bible says (Mt 16 : 26) – “Will a person gain anything if he wins the whole world, but loses his life.  Of course not there is nothing he can give to regain his life.”

Lord Jesus concluded that life is more important than everything and also your body.  So your Heavenly Father knows that you need all those things. Be concerned with His Kingdom and He will provide  His blessings to each one accordingly.

A person who gets rich without sinfully chasing after his money, is fortunate and he deserves his wealth and everyone will praise him for his generosity.

If you need to focus on the Lord and His Will your heart is to be filled with His promises. When your heart is full of His promises, it will certainly be blessed with His joy and hope which can lead you to peace.

Prayer :   Gracious Father, thank You for the insight You gave through this parable.  May You be my greatest Richness throughout my life. You have said “ your heart will always be where your riches are”   The richness that I gathered without even offering alms, ignoring the needy ones who stand in front of me, has made me restless and sleepless.  Give me the alertness to realize that death is always knocking at my door.  Grant me, I pray, a generous heart to move towards the needy ones, even if they are my enemies, so that I can open an account in Your Bank where there is no fear of thief or moth.  In every decision give me the grace to seek Your Will and accept it – be it loss or gain.  Let our children also adopt these virtues.  This we pray in, Lord Jesus’ Name. Amen.

PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL

Part 1

The Holy Bible says “…….Because I live, you also will live. (John 14:19)

One day Lord Jesus was teaching the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law.

A man from the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”

Jesus knew there were some in the crowd who were looking for a trap to catch Him as they were displeased about the truth in every message He had spoke and conveyed.

Since His time had not yet come to be handed over to His enemies, Christ said that He had not been given the authority to judge or divide their property.

“My Kingdom does not belong to this world” clears the above statement ; and Jesus took this apt opportunity to explain to the people about greed and false refuge on the worldly richness on the pretext of a better future as He went on to say, “Watch out and guard yourself from every kind of greed.”

Then Jesus told them this parable:  “There was once a rich one who had land which bore good crops.  He began to think to himself, ‘I haven’t anywhere to keep my crops.  What can I do?  This is what I will do.’ he told himself.  ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store my corn and all my other goods.  Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years.  Take life easy, eat, drink and enjoy yourself!  But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?”

And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God’s sight.”  (Luke 12 :16–21)

This parable indicates a man who loses his peace and becomes restless due to his great riches; as he is unable to find a place to keep all his crops safe.

Sovereign Lord says, “I am angry with them, because of their greed…..” (Isaiah 57)

Worrying about money will lead to loss of health and sleep. One who loves this wealth, cannot be judged innocent as his efforts to get rich have led him astray to sin. The greed to possessions has been cause of ruin and disasters to many. The charm of excess money is a trap that every fool falls into.

Here too the rich man forgot about God and his co-brothers, when his land produced good harvest.

The Sovereign Lord says, “Each year bring to the house of the Lord your God the first corn that you harvest.” (Exodus 23:19)

Again His Holy Law commands, “Set aside a tithe --  a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.” (Deuteronomy 14:22)

Therefore it is our duty to use our wealth as the Most High commands, as it will do more good than accumulating it for ourselves.

The words, “All my crops” clearly indicates the selfishness of the rich man. It is evident that he had no intention of presenting an offering to God or selflessly giving to the poor.

You may claim that it is your hard work and it is you yourself  who deserve the fruit of your labor.

Without God’s approval and assistance can we gain anything in this world? Without the co-operation and the timely support of your family members, how many days can you continue your work?

The Holy Words reminds us that there is nothing that you can claim for yourselves. Didn’t God give you everything you have?  Well, then how can you boast as if what you have were not a gift.” (1 Cor 4)

Remember then, that like the rich man of this parable, if you also boast and forget your loved ones who supported you, the moment salary/ profits reaches you; then you are not far from the road that lead you to misfortune and God’s light will not shine through your hard work.

If you have faith in Christ, you ought to follow His righteous teaching in the interest of your own benefit. Be sure to utilize your wealth accordingly to the Will of God.

“Honor the Lord by making Him an offering from the best of all that your land produces.” (Prov. 3:9)

The rich man in the parable had decided to take life easy with his richness leading him to laziness – eat, drink and enjoy.  When God provides you opportunities like health, skills, talents, to work hard throughout your life, you can earn and help others who are sick and are not able to work even for their daily needs. 

Despise those who are lazy and who lavish their lives in foolish manner.

God teaches us that by sharing a part of wealth to those needy around us; we accumulate riches in heaven.

Whenever possible  do good to those who need it the most. “Giving to the poor can make up for sin, just as water can put out blazing fire. Anyone who responds to others with acts of kindness is thinking of the future, because he will find help if ever he falls on hard times. (Sirach 3:30)

                                                                                       (to be continued)

With Love filled Blessings

Your Sister In Christ