The Rich Fool
Summary
Dominic Jackson teaches on Jesus’ parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21, where a man builds bigger barns to store his abundance but loses his life before he can enjoy it. The story is not a simple condemnation of wealth, but a confrontation with greed—the subtle shift of trust and allegiance away from God and toward self-sufficiency. Jesus names this as a vision problem: a darkened eye sees the world through scarcity and fear, while a clear eye sees generosity and grace. The parable calls us to loosen our grip on what we cannot keep and to become rich toward God—not by earning status, but by opening our lives to the kingdom’s abundance. What we do with our money reveals what we believe about God.
Questions for reflection
Where in your life are you most tempted to store up more rather than live with open hands?
How do you respond when someone else’s generosity or abundance challenges your assumptions about fairness or security?
What does it mean to be “rich toward God” in your current season of life?
How have you seen fear or scarcity shape your relationship to money, possessions, or time?
Jesus warns of “all kinds of greed”—what subtle forms of greed might you need to name and bring before God?
What’s one concrete step you could take this week to grow in generosity—financially or otherwise?