Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Rich Fool

The Parable of the Rich Fool can be found in the Bible in Luke 12:15-21. In this parable, Jesus tells the story of a rich man who puts his hope in storing up as many possessions as possible.

The Parable of the Rich Fool (NIV)
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

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.”

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.”

Transcript:
There was a time when Jesus was standing before a crowd and a man said, "Teacher tell my brother to share his inheritance with me." But Jesus said, "Who made me a judge over you?" And then he said to them, "Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. And he told them this story. The farm of a rich man produced a good crop, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do? My barns are too small. I have no place to store my crops.' And it was such a good take that he couldn't fit all the food into his barns. It was bursting at the seams. This is what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns, and then I'll build bigger ones, and there, I'll store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, You have plenty of good things laid up for many years, take life easy, eat, drink ,and be merry.' But God said, 'You fool. This very night your life will be taken from you, and then who will get what you prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

[garycarter]

God bless your work! I'm going to show this to our small group that meets tomorrow as we're studying the parables of Jesus. Thanks! Do you have one for the the parable of the sower of seed? Never mind. Found it!