THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: - Vital Christianity

17The man actually believes that his riches will now insulate his life from hardship. God isn't in theequation at all. The man's focus is squarely on goods rather than God. We may be critical, but we areprobably a bit uncomfortable with the man's portrayal, since many of us are working for just such ascenario when we can take life easy, not have to scrimp, and spend our lives in luxury. What a life!Poverty is no guarantee against greed. It can be a breeding ground for a lust for money.The writer of Proverbs recognizes the dangers as he prays,"Give me neither poverty nor riches,but give me only my daily bread.Otherwise, I may have too muchand disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?'Or I may become poor and steal,and so dishonor the name of my God" (Pr 30:8-9).FOOLISH CHOICES (12:20)After the man has congratulated himself on his good fortune and his guarantee of a pain-free lifefor the future, God speaks."But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demandedfrom you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'" (v. 20)"You fool" (aphron) means foolish or ignorant. Jesus also used this in Luke 11:40 where Hedirects it towards the Pharisees.How foolish and ignorant it is to think anyone can guarantee one’s own future!"This very night your life will be demanded from you." The idea here is that our life is not in ourown hands, but in God's hands. He is in charge, and he can demand our lives at any moment he chooses.Unfortunately the rich man's focus was on himself—"what you have prepared for yourself"—noton God. And so God chose that night to take back what belonged to him in the first place.GREEDGreed is the excessive love of money and is akin to the sin of idolatry in that it is erecting andworshipping a false god: materialism.