Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders
Do you love learning? Jesus, our Lord, was a master class teacher. And, as we read through the Bible, we’ll find him teaching us, in practical ways, how to approach life. A modern saying declares that a good preacher is never without a sermon in his back pocket. (Of course, that saying erroneously presumes a number of things…).
In Luke 12:13-21, a passage which is commonly titled The Rich Fool, Jesus is asked to arbitrate between two brothers, one of whom is presumably cheating the other out his heritance. Rabbi Jesus is parable-ready. But this no yeshiva-trained rabbi. This is Jesus, the omniscient Son of God, speaking to the crowd, and to us today, about what counts most in life.
Jesus starts out by saying: “Don't be greedy! Owning a lot of things won't make your life safe” (Luke 12:15, CEV).
He was talking to the crowd at that time, but he is also talking to us today. Jesus knows all about our struggles with the proper use of wealth and the fact that it can easily draw us away from true worship.
In a world and culture where we are largely trained to value abundance, where more is never enough, and where success is underscored by self-effort and by using any means necessary to get ahead (or get over), this parable is timely.
Jesus’ largely agrarian audience could visualize his story of a rich landowner’s barns bursting at the seams with grain. Today, we can imagine foreign laborers picking an abundance of fruit in the sweltering sun on a produce farm down south. Or perhaps, we can visualize a “savvy” investor making billions by unloading or buying stock or cryptocurrency after a hot insider tip.
Whatever our visual, Jesus adds another brushstroke:
The rich man says, “Now I know what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I can store all my grain and other goods. Then I'll say to myself, ‘You have stored up enough good things to last for years to come. Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself ’ ” (vv. 18-19, CEV).
There is nothing wrong with winding down, or preparing for the proverbial “rainy day.” But do you detect an infestation of the “me/myself/and I” syndrome? Can we see any instance of faulty thinking? How do we discern what God expects of us? If we truly live in community with our neighbors, how do we show that we care for them?
Over and over, the Bible tells us to care for the poor, the underserved, the foreigner in the land, those who are “the least of these.” The Bible also tells us that the type of wealth that lasts is that which is intangible—that moth and rust cannot get at—these are spiritual treasures we get from God. Too often we pay more attention to working the 9-5, or the 24/7, without pausing to meditate on God’s Word, utter prayers of thanksgiving, or kneeling in humility before the God who gives us all good gifts.
Jesus does not condemn wealth because it can be a tool used to help others, and thus glorify God. But he does point the finger when we are so wrapped up in self and self- preservation that we forget that it is God who gives seed to the sower. It is God who gives us the power to get wealth, and it is God who supplies our every need according to his riches, by Christ Jesus.
So here comes a startling warning to the rich landowner:
God said to him, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?”
“This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God.” (vv. 20-21, CEV).
You have heard the parable. What will you do differently today, tonight, tomorrow?
PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for teaching me the value of loving you and my neighbor more than the riches that can so easily help to make me stumble. Open my eyes to opportunities whereby I can lift someone up, or point them to you using the talents and resources you have given me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
©M©dytations 2025
by Dorette Saunders
Do you love learning? Jesus, our Lord, was a master class teacher. And, as we read through the Bible, we’ll find him teaching us, in practical ways, how to approach life. A modern saying declares that a good preacher is never without a sermon in his back pocket. (Of course, that saying erroneously presumes a number of things…).
In Luke 12:13-21, a passage which is commonly titled The Rich Fool, Jesus is asked to arbitrate between two brothers, one of whom is presumably cheating the other out his heritance. Rabbi Jesus is parable-ready. But this no yeshiva-trained rabbi. This is Jesus, the omniscient Son of God, speaking to the crowd, and to us today, about what counts most in life.
Jesus starts out by saying: “Don't be greedy! Owning a lot of things won't make your life safe” (Luke 12:15, CEV).
He was talking to the crowd at that time, but he is also talking to us today. Jesus knows all about our struggles with the proper use of wealth and the fact that it can easily draw us away from true worship.
In a world and culture where we are largely trained to value abundance, where more is never enough, and where success is underscored by self-effort and by using any means necessary to get ahead (or get over), this parable is timely.
Jesus’ largely agrarian audience could visualize his story of a rich landowner’s barns bursting at the seams with grain. Today, we can imagine foreign laborers picking an abundance of fruit in the sweltering sun on a produce farm down south. Or perhaps, we can visualize a “savvy” investor making billions by unloading or buying stock or cryptocurrency after a hot insider tip.
Whatever our visual, Jesus adds another brushstroke:
The rich man says, “Now I know what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I can store all my grain and other goods. Then I'll say to myself, ‘You have stored up enough good things to last for years to come. Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself ’ ” (vv. 18-19, CEV).
There is nothing wrong with winding down, or preparing for the proverbial “rainy day.” But do you detect an infestation of the “me/myself/and I” syndrome? Can we see any instance of faulty thinking? How do we discern what God expects of us? If we truly live in community with our neighbors, how do we show that we care for them?
Over and over, the Bible tells us to care for the poor, the underserved, the foreigner in the land, those who are “the least of these.” The Bible also tells us that the type of wealth that lasts is that which is intangible—that moth and rust cannot get at—these are spiritual treasures we get from God. Too often we pay more attention to working the 9-5, or the 24/7, without pausing to meditate on God’s Word, utter prayers of thanksgiving, or kneeling in humility before the God who gives us all good gifts.
Jesus does not condemn wealth because it can be a tool used to help others, and thus glorify God. But he does point the finger when we are so wrapped up in self and self- preservation that we forget that it is God who gives seed to the sower. It is God who gives us the power to get wealth, and it is God who supplies our every need according to his riches, by Christ Jesus.
So here comes a startling warning to the rich landowner:
God said to him, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?”
“This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God.” (vv. 20-21, CEV).
You have heard the parable. What will you do differently today, tonight, tomorrow?
PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for teaching me the value of loving you and my neighbor more than the riches that can so easily help to make me stumble. Open my eyes to opportunities whereby I can lift someone up, or point them to you using the talents and resources you have given me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
©M©dytations 2025
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