FEAR GOD, NOT PEOPLE, Kevin Albright
BE RICH TOWARDS GOD
Passage: Luke 12:13~21  
Key verse: 15
The Parable of the Rich Fool
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.”(A)
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!(B) This very night your life will be demanded from you.(C) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’(D)
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”(E)
Cross references
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
A man felt cheated by his brother of their father’s inheritance. He wanted Jesus to arbitrate the dispute hoping to get a larger share of the inheritance. But Jesus rebuked the man. Jesus would not be judge or arbiter over their dispute. Nor does life consist of an abundance of wealth, nor in the pursuit of it. There are much more important things—like seeking God.
2. The parable of the rich man (16-21)
Jesus told a parable to illustrate his point. A rich farmer brought in an abundance of crops. He wondered where he could store it all. He decided to tear down his smaller barn and build much bigger ones so he could hoard his grain and take it easy for many years. He was greedy and selfish. But God called him a fool. His life would be taken from him that night. His hoarded wealth would do him no good. We feel secure when we store up for our future. But we should also remember to be generous towards God (our offering) and toward others.
Prayer: Lord, help me not to be stingy, but to be rich towards you and others.
One Word: Be on your guard against greed