Fool!
Luke 12:20 NKJV — “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
Luke 12:33 NKJV — “Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
Who is a Fool?
The person who says that there is no God or perhaps thinks that there is a God but doesn’t want to be subject to Him is a fool. See Psalm 14:1 which might be translated “no God for me!” Or perhaps the Psalmist is simply saying “no” to God. A fool is one who makes bad decisions. Often those bad decisions are clearly bad when looking backward, but those decisions may have “seemed right” at the time. Some would say the person who is a fool lacks intelligence and some would call that person stupid.
God and Fools
Now it is not generally considered wise in our society to call someone a fool, but God has no problem calling bad decisions foolish. One bad decision has to do with planning for retirement and not for the day when we cross over to the other side to meet the God who created us. I find it interesting that most of our preachers in “mega churches” have laid up a lot of treasure on earth. But before I get too critical, how many of us have “sold what we have and have given it to the poor?” That is what the Lord tells us to do in this passage. It seems to me that the way the Lord asks us to handle money is completely contrary to our natural thinking (and our finance courses in higher education.)
Are we Given Any Guidance in the Epistles?
Obviously, communal living did not work in Acts 4 and 5. At that time the new Christians seemed to be carrying out this command of the Lord. Annanias and Saphira died because they lied about the value that they had gotten for a piece of property. Peter seems to agree that the property was theirs to do with as they pleased, but lying to God about the sale and their desire to keep part of the proceeds, was a real “no-no”.
Covetousness is definitely a sin as far as the new testament writers are concerned (see Romans 13:9). However, recognizing our limitations as Christians, Paul still says that we should give in such a way that there is an equality between the rich and the poor.
2 Corinthians 8:13-14 says, “For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality (NKJV).
This statement doesn’t seem to imply that Christians should sell ALL and give to the poor, but it does require us to give more to the poor (particularly poor Christians) than most of us are willing to give.
Conclusion
It is the fool who says no to God. It is the fool who is more concerned with preparing for retirement than preparing for eternity.
But what about Christ followers? Do we handle money the way the Lord has asked us to handle it? The way we handle money is a great indicator of our Christian character. It is a good thing that we get to go to heaven based on what Christ has done for us rather than on what we are doing for Christ. We have faith that Christ died for our sins, but do we have faith that if we sell all and give to the poor that the Lord will take care of us like He does the birds when it comes to eating and like the lilies when it comes to clothing?
Do we have that kind of faith? Probably not! I wonder what would happen if we really did have enough faith in the promises of the Lord to sell all and give it to the poor!
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the weeks of April 7, 2024