Luke 12 – The Rich Fool
Story parts.
- Who is the character
- What do they want
- Problem- can’t have
- what is at stake if they don’t get it
- who comes along to help
- How do they get what they wanted
- How are they changed as a result
—————————
A. Apply story outline to MOVIE :____________________
B. Apply story outline to Rich man’s story
C. Apply story outline to the LUKE 12 text .
LUKE 12:13-21
CHARACTER
13 Someone in the crowd said to him,
PROBLEM
“Teacher, tell my brother to divide
WHAT IS AT STAKE
the inheritance with me.”
WHO COMES ALONG TO HELP
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
15 Then he said to them,
“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;
life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
HOW DO THEY GET WHAT THEY WANTED
16 And he told them this parable:
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.
17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.
19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
HOW ARE THEY CHANGED AS A RESULT
D. Apply story outline to us (hearer of Jesus’ parable )
Story parts.
- Who is the character
- What do I want
- Problem- can’t have
- what is at stake if I don’t get it
- who comes along to help
- How do I get what they wanted
- How am I changed as a result
———-
Like both men, I tend to compartmentalize my life into convenient “secular” and “sacred” realms, such that loving my brother (or sister, or neighbor) as myself has little bearing on my totally reasonable legal pursuits, and contemplating my mortality doesn’t require me to compromise my 401K. Again, Jesus sees things differently. Where I see in part, Jesus sees the whole. Where I see what’s pressing along the surfaces of my life, Jesus sees the depths of my heart. Where I obsess over the temporal, Jesus fights hard for the eternal.
Jesus looks at the man embroiled in a family feud over money, and sees that his obsessive need for a fair share is twisting, gnarling, and embittering his heart. In the heat of his pursuit, he’s not able to discern that his inner life is in trouble. He can’t see his own brother as anything more than an obstacle or a competitor. He’s so concerned about possible scarcity that he doesn’t even notice actual abundance (Jesus) standing right next to him.
https://www.journeywithjesus.net/essays/2291-rich-toward-god
A man enamored of his own power.
A man oblivious to his own mortality.
Notice the narcissism of his inner dialogue: “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, and be merry.’”
Ecclesiastes ? Eat drink and be merry.
The rich fool seems to be quoting Ecclesiastes 8:15, but he twists it into a cover for his recklessly blithe attitude