Luke 12:20, commentary and pictures

Jesus speaks the sentence of God upon the rich man in His parable, that a life is not measured by abundance of possessions and that laying up treasure for self without being rich toward God ends in this ruin. The man is called a fool because he claims his life and wealth as his own and plans years of ease apart from God, hoarding His blessing for himself while neglecting spiritual things, the poor, and the honor of God. That very night God requires his soul, overturning all expectation of many years, and his stores pass beyond his control to heirs he does not know, while money cannot buy delay or save him. All abundance belongs to God and is entrusted as steward to test character, adding value only when used to glorify Him, bless others, and lay up treasure in heaven, while hoarding proves untrustworthiness for eternal riches and brings judgment. Death ends the chance to repent and prepare, so today is the urgent time to improve probation, serve others, and stand ready for account at a moment's notice.

Parable Context and Wording

Jesus spoke these words in a parable that strikes at the root of the quarrel over property brought to Him and of all similar disputes. The parable teaches that a person's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. It declares that everyone who lays up treasure for himself without being rich toward God comes to this end, called a fool by God because his life ends that very night and his provided goods pass to others. This parable of the foolish rich man was given before the teaching about the lilies of the field.

The chapter where the words stand warns those blessed with great light not to remain tame and listless in religious interest. It calls them to put the whole heart into Christ's service, not only claiming to believe the truth but living and practicing it through daily prayer and watchfulness and earnest seeking of the Lord. The same divine words were spoken to Nabal in the midst of his rejoicing and making merry. His folly had brought him near to sudden death and left him smitten with paralysis and sunk in helpless insensibility from horror and fear of revenge, the life God had given him having been only a curse to the world, and after ten days he died.

The Creator counts a person with wealth but without riches toward God, heavenly treasure, and divine wisdom a fool, for earthly wealth cannot make anyone wise or secure before God. The rich man of the parable is held up as a fool whose example true wisdom will not follow. True wisdom is revealed in seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness under Christ's banner, while joining political parties and their strife for worldly advantage follows that foolish example.

The Fool's Mistake

The man is a fool because he stores up treasure for himself and plans years of ease and comfort while neglecting spiritual things and his relationship with God, failing to be rich toward God. His abundance came from God, who made him a steward meant to help the needy and glorify God and relieve the poor, but he gave no thought to their need and planned to keep his goods for his own ease and pleasure. His abundance was a test that showed he could not be trusted with eternal riches, and his confidence that he could enjoy his wealth for many years is foolish because earthly possessions cannot secure life or become a lasting inheritance. His life and possessions were not secure, for God required his soul that very night, and the wealth he had stored would pass to someone else whom he could not keep or control.

He treats his life, wealth, and the means by which he gained them as his own, without recognizing God as owner and giver. His wealth and the means by which he gained it belonged to God and were only entrusted to him, yet he depended on God for every breath while planning in an independent will apart from God. His tangible abundance brought him no gratitude to God; he treated heaven's gifts as his own and used them without regard for the Giver, forgot God, failed to thank Him, and even let love of gain rule his mind until he gave his blessings his worship. Those who treat God's goods as their own and store up treasure selfishly must answer to the Giver, and must use entrusted resources faithfully for God's work rather than for selfishness and self-glorification.

He keeps God's blessed abundance for his own ease and pleasure and ignores the poor and needy, giving no thought to relieving them or using his goods to bless others and honor God. Calling him a fool exposes the folly of treating earthly goods as secure and living for personal comfort while forgetting God and one's duty to help the needy. He hoarded God's blessings for himself instead of using them to help others and honor God, and trusted in earthly wealth rather than seeking true riches and immortal life. Receiving abundance brings responsibility, for earthly possessions are temporary and wealth is entrusted by God to test and develop character.

He trusts his stores and extensive fortune to secure many years, wrongly measures his worth by increased wealth, and shows that earthly possessions do not determine the length or happiness of life. His blessings increase his responsibility and accountability, and what he receives from God adds to his character's value only when he uses it as a wise steward for the Lord. His abundance does not make him better or increase his worth before God; his character is measured by how he uses what he has received, his dependence on God is shown by sharing his goods with people in need, and if he glorifies God by doing this good work he proves fit to be entrusted with more. He had been prospered by God but failed to give God what was due, choosing worldly treasure over eternal riches, and worldly possessions cannot be kept beyond the end of life.

His folly is covetousness and self-seeking, including greed, unfair dealing, fraud, extortion, serving self rather than loving God and neighbor, withholding the tenth belonging to God, and worshiping farms, money, and worldly success instead of serving God. Covetousness and storing up riches for oneself cannot make one rich toward God or provide lasting security, and covetousness and self-seeking cut a person off from life. Wealth amassed through covetousness and without mercy or love for God cannot provide lasting security or heavenly treasure, and wealth gained through greed, unfair dealing, or neglect of the needy cannot secure lasting treasure. The warning applies to people who gain wealth through fraud, extortion, and covetousness, using resources meant to help humanity for their own enrichment; their apparent prosperity does not spare them from God's judgment. Worshiping farms and money and using one's abilities for worldly gain instead of serving God makes a person foolish before God.

The same folly is seen in vain, thoughtless lives of fashion, frivolity, and sensual pleasure that dwarf the intellect, consume time, and bear no fruit to God's glory. God may say to young people who are unready because they live such lives that this night their folly shall end, and may permit mortal sickness to come upon those who have borne no fruit to His glory while absorbed in fashion and sensual pleasure. While facing the realities of eternity they begin to realize the value of time and the life they have lost, and gain some sense of the worth of the soul. They see that their lives have not glorified God in lighting the path of others to heaven but have lived to glorify self, and reviewing their past lives they cry out in remorse that they have done nothing for Jesus who did everything for them and that their life has been a terrible failure. When racked with pain and anguish of soul they cannot have clear conceptions of eternal things.

Death Ends Earthly Security

A person's life is not in his own control but remains under God's authority, held in God's hands and dependent on Him for every breath. The abundance enjoyed and the means by which it was gained belong to God and are only entrusted, so plans to keep and enjoy them for self apart from God cannot secure their future ownership. To treat heaven's gifts as one's own and use them without gratitude or regard for the Giver, planning in an independent will, is exposed as folly when life can be required that very night.

God requires the soul that very night, suddenly overturning the expectation of many years of ease and enjoyment with a far different plan. Confidence in future years and earthly plans cannot secure what has been accumulated, for life and possessions are not secure when stored up for self without being rich toward God. The man who stores goods for his own comfort is therefore called a fool, because his life ends that night and his provisions pass to others. His abundance, which could have glorified God and relieved the poor, was kept without thought of their need, showing he could not be trusted with eternal riches.

Earthly wealth cannot secure life or become a lasting inheritance, for money cannot buy a reprieve or delay the demand. At death what was spent a lifetime securing becomes worthless and useless to its owner and cannot save him, with fields and stores passing out of his control. This stands in contrast to the helpless sinner who came to Christ believing and was forgiven and healed, while the possessor of amassed, covetous wealth without mercy or love for God finds it provides no lasting security or heavenly treasure.

The stored provisions then belong to someone else, passing beyond the owner's control to heirs he does not know and cannot choose. He does not know who will inherit or gather them, and they will be gathered without his knowing who it will be. What was kept for personal ease and pleasure is thus left to another, proving that a life does not consist in abundance of possessions.

Stewardship Tested and Judged

The abundant harvest and all wealth, possessions, abilities, and means of gain come through God's blessing and belong to God, entrusted to the person only as steward. The person's life itself is not in his own control but remains under God's authority, dependent on God for every breath, and may be required that very night. Wealth so entrusted is given to test and develop character, not to secure God's favor or protect from death. The rich man's folly lay in treating abundance as his own and planning only for his own comfort, forgetting God, failing to thank and acknowledge Him as giver, and failing to recognize accountability to the Giver. His plans to enjoy and keep God's goods for himself therefore could not secure their future ownership, for when life is required that night the stored wealth passes to someone else.

What is received adds to character value only when used as a wise steward for the Lord. Such faithful use means glorifying God, blessing others, relieving the poor, supporting God's work and the spread of the gospel, and laying up treasure in heaven. The abundance entrusted to the rich man could have glorified God and relieved the poor, but he gave no thought to their need, ignored them, hoarded God's blessings for himself, and trusted in earthly wealth rather than seeking true riches and immortal life. Sharing shows dependence on God and proves fitness to be entrusted with more, while storing treasure for self instead of becoming rich toward God is foolish. Receiving abundance therefore brings responsibility, for earthly possessions are temporary and life and possessions are not secure.

Hoarding wealth for self withholds from God the tenth that belongs to Him and fails to use abundance to help needy people, since such accumulation comes from serving self rather than loving God and neighbor. Holding resources idle also hinders the spread of the gospel, and unnecessary property should be sold and its means used to help others and lay up treasure in heaven. Generosity lays up treasure in heaven, for wealth is a trust from God to be used for good, while riches accumulated for selfish purposes cannot provide lasting security or benefit and at death the hoarder must leave them behind. The same judgment falls on those professing to look for Christ's coming who acquire means and add to possessions yet do comparatively nothing they might do, withholding offerings and robbing God because they fear coming to want and dare not trust Him. They put into His treasury in the same grudging, hard-hearted way that lovers of the world grudgingly pay the small sum earned by hard toil to poor men dependent on their labor.

Storing treasure only for self shows the abundance was a test that proved untrustworthiness for eternal riches. Instead of using goods to help people in need, the rich man planned to keep them for his own ease and pleasure, let love of gain rule his mind, treated wealth as his own achievement, gave his blessings his worship, and ignored the poor and needy. His life was fruitless and could benefit no one, and his separation from God left him unfit for life and for seeking immortality and eternal life. Earthly treasure hoarded instead of used to benefit others reveals that hearts and interests are fixed on earth, and God calls such storers fools whose life is required that very night leaving possessions to someone else.

Covetous accumulation ends in divine judgment on a selfish, worldly life, for God cuts short the unprofitable life of the man who had not where to bestow his goods. A person may be called to account before God at death, which may come that very night, and if life ends without loving God supremely and neighbor as oneself, the person is weighed by God's standard and found wanting, and the life is recorded in heaven as a failure. Those who gain wealth through fraud, extortion, and covetousness, using resources meant to help humanity for their own enrichment, cannot secure possessions or life by apparent prosperity, for God may require the soul that very night and what was accumulated will pass to someone else. God will deal with many covetous lovers of the world in the same way He dealt with the man in the parable. How difficult it is in this corrupt age to keep from growing worldly and selfish and ungrateful to the Giver of all mercies, and how great watchfulness and much prayer are needed to keep the soul.

Call to Ready Faithful Living

Death can come suddenly, before readiness to meet God, and when the soul is required that night there is no time afterward to repent, receive pardon, or prepare for immortal life. Today is therefore the urgent opportunity to speak and act faithfully and to be ready before judgments fall upon the ungodly. That readiness is personal and searching: one who has not been converted and taken position on the Lord's side could not, if death came, be commended as a faithful servant or welcomed into the joy of the Lord.

Life is uncertain, and every moment belongs to God and must be improved to His glory, with a strict account to be rendered. Only a few days of probation remain to prepare for eternity, to form character for immortal life, and to prepare for the searching judgment. For that reason there is no time to waste on selfish pleasure or indulgence of sin, but a call to stand ready for service at a moment's notice, because every moment is precious and freighted with eternal consequences.

The same urgency presses toward others now, sharing the message with people nearby and speaking the word of life to a needy soul. The opportunity may never come again, and neglect may leave another soul unready when God requires it, bringing guilt in the great judgment day. Worshiping farms and money and using abilities for worldly gain and success instead of serving God and His work leaves a person foolish before God and unprepared to answer for neglected time, influence, and resources that should have helped save others.

No one can safely assume time to secure the future and postpone submission to God until debts are paid and a reliable income is gained, because death may come suddenly and earthly plans cannot control what happens next. Nor should the proper disposal of property be delayed, since life may end suddenly or reason may fail before arrangements are made, leaving property to be distributed in a way the owner would not have chosen. Such delay and neglect is unfaithfulness in stewardship.

The Lord's money must not be spent on needless adornment or unnecessary wants, but invested in the Lord's work to lay up treasure in heaven. A house of worship should be neat, tasteful, appropriate, and in harmony with faith, rather than a cathedral, for God's people are pilgrims and strangers whose citizenship is above and whose life and possessions are not secure. Holding resources and unnecessary property idle hinders the spread of the gospel, so such property should be sold and its means used to help others and lay up heavenly treasure. True wisdom does not follow the rich man's foolish example by joining political parties and their strife for worldly advantage, but is revealed in seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The warning reaches young people unready in vain and thoughtless lives of fashion and frivolity, dwarfing the intellect to dress and consuming time in sensual pleasure, and reaches anyone absorbed in fashion, sensual pleasure, and worldly gain. Mortal sickness may be permitted to come upon those who have borne no fruit to God's glory, ending folly that very night. Only when facing the realities of eternity do they begin to realize the value of time and the worth of the soul, seeing that their lives did not glorify God in lighting the path of others to heaven but lived to glorify self. Then, racked with pain and anguish of soul and unable to have clear conceptions of eternal things, they review the past and cry out in remorse that they have done nothing for Jesus who did everything for them and that life has been a terrible failure.