“Jesus told a story about a rich man who made a fool of himself by the way he handled his money…Luke 12:16-21…
The first mistake a fool makes with his money is relying on man’s reason and not God’s revelation. Verse 17 tells us the man “began reasoning to himself.” He looked around at his bumper crop and began considering what he should do with his excess. I give him credit for asking the question, “What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?” The problem is that he never sought the wisdom and counsel of God on the matter…
The second mistake a fool makes with his money is hoarding his surplus rather than sharing it with others. The most surprising twist in the parable comes when the prosperous landowner decides to implode his old grain silos and build new and bigger ones to make room for his surplus. Maybe he thought it was good business to tear down the old and build new and bigger barns…Good business decision or not, greed motivated the man’s actions in Jesus’ story…
The third mistake a fool makes with his money is acting like an owner and not a steward. Read Luke 12:17-19 again. This time circle the words “I”, “me”, and “mine”. Now count the number of times the man uses one of those personal pronouns. If your math is like mine, you will come up with eleven times in three sentences. Whew! Have you ever seen the likes of somebody whose whole world revolves around himself? The overuse of personal pronouns is always a dead giveaway to this malady…
The fourth mistake a fool makes with his money is living with time and not eternity in view. The rich man in this parable boasts about living the Epicurean lifestyle of instant gratification. “Soul,” he says with unbridled confidence, “you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry” (v. 19). Tragically, what he did not factor into his self-centered, materialistic philosophy of life was the “for tomorrow you die” part…It is too easy to live your life and spend what you think is your money with no reference or thought of eternity.”
Ron L. Jones in Jesus, Money, and Me: Discovering the Link Between Your Money and Your Faith (Lincoln: iUniverse, 2004) 8-13.
In 2015 and beyond, let us be sure not to make the four mistakes fools make. Instead may we seek God’s wisdom on handling money, share financial surplus with others in need, act like stewards, and live with eternity in view.
I am off to Florida today to share thoughts like these with fellow believers. I am meeting with leaders and friends of Alpha South Florida. Undoubtedly, some of them think I am coming to talk about fundraising.
On the contrary, my aim is to aid them as stewards to avoid making foolish decisions, and instead, use what they have to participate in God’s work while rallying others to join them…not because of what they want from them, but what they want for them.