I remember being at a national dairy conference many years ago when a “rich fool” gave us her “expert” advice.

Although I have long since forgotten her name, the speaker was a well-known guest on TV newscasts about the economy and the stock market.

There had been some kind of recent financial disaster—most likely the crumbling of the stock market and the economy from the aftershocks of 9-11. Her topic was to tell us what lessons we should learn.

Being naive, I thought she’d talk about the importance of having assets in our life that were not financial assets:  family, friends, religious faith, wisdom.

Nope!

She said that the lesson we needed to learn was that we need even more money to be secure than the amount of money we used to think would be enough.

I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding. We just saw that money doesn’t give us any true security. Yet she’s telling us to get even more money in order to be secure.”

Maybe I was being naive. But she was certainly being foolish.

How do I know? The Bible tells me so!

Obviously, this well-known speaker and supposed “expert” had never taken to heart the Wisdom of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin [and terrorists] destroy, and where thieves [and stock market manipulators] break in and steal.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin [and terrorists] do not destroy, and where thieves [and stock market manipulators] do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19-20).

Furthermore, this well-known speaker and supposed “expert” had never taken to heart the Wisdom of Jesus in his Parable about the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21).

In this parable, Jesus told his hearers:

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15).

To make his point, Jesus told about a rich man whose lands “yielded an abundant harvest.” The rich man “thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops?’” (Luke 12:16).

Of course, the rich man could have used his surplus crops to “store up treasures in heaven”.

How?

By following the Law of Moses to provide food for people who are hungry. (Leviticus 19:9-10).

But, instead of giving his wealth generously to help others, the rich man selfishly stored up his surplus crops for himself.

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. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’” (Luke 12:18-19).

Notice how each sentence talked about what I would do to get richer and to enjoy myself. Nothing about helping others!

And so, God said to the rich man:

“You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” (Luke 12:20).

Jesus stated the bottom line with Wisdom that applies to all rich fools:

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:21).

And Jesus really did mean that everyone who stores up things for themselves is a fool. Because you might not lose your possessions to moths, vermin, terrorists, thieves, or stock market manipulators. But you definitely will die someday.

Then, who will get all you have stored up?

As the author of Ecclesiastes despaired 3,000 years ago:

I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:18-19).

By the end of Ecclesiastes, his Despair matured into Wisdom. The author realized we should:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

   for this is the duty of all [Humanity]. (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Or, as Jesus put it, do not be a fool who selfishly stores up things for yourself. Instead, use your wealth generously in wise ways that are “rich toward God” because you are loving God and others. (Luke 12:21; Matthew 22:36-40).

As you can see, Jesus is the true expert when it comes to teaching Wisdom, including economic and financial Wisdom.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

During your life, have you selfishly stored up things for yourself, or have you generously been rich toward God? How? Why?

Have you ever lost some or all of your “treasures on earth”? How? Why?

Are you storing up “treasures in heaven”? How? Why?

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For related thoughts, please read my blogs “Beware the Power of Money”, “Judas Iscariot Betrays Jesus: The Love of Money”, “Overcoming the Deceitfulness of Wealth”, “Do Not Live on Bread Alone”, “Jezebel and Ahab: Greed, Lies and Violence”, “Jesus Climbs the Temple Mount”, and “Nimrod’s Wars and Babel’s Arrogant Selfishness”.