Thou fool, this night thy soul

It may seem a little strange that a successful businessman, a diligent farmer, one who embodies all the characteristics the Bible commends, such as hard work, thrift, and patience, should be called a fool. The whole tenor of scripture is that men and women ought to work hard, to please God in everything and to provide for one’s own. The fool in the book of Proverbs is idle, slothful, unmotivated. ‘As a door turns upon its hinges so does the sluggard upon his bed’ Prov. 26. 14 ESV. This farmer was no sluggard.

He, however, is called a fool not because he worked hard, but because he failed to realize that hard work is not everything. Nowhere does the Bible condemn wealth or success. There is nothing wrong with building larger barns if larger barns are needed. The farmer’s folly did not lie in accumulating wealth, or even in preserving it, but in trusting in it. It is for neglect of the spiritual that he is condemned. There was a huge imbalance in his life. It is when he said, ‘Much goods for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry,’ that he is reproved.

The main lesson our Lord wished to convey is given clearly at the beginning of the parable - a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions he may have. Treasure down here on this earth may be a good thing, but treasure with God is better. Being rich before men is one thing; being rich before God is another. Moreover, the financial wealth I may enjoy down here can only be left behind; the spiritual wealth I have before God in heaven is yet to be enjoyed. The former will pass away, the latter will not.

There is yet one more lesson the farmer (and we through him) must learn. We are neither guaranteed the ‘many years’ nor the few. Our lives are in God’s hands, and who knows when we shall hear the word, ‘tonight’? To go out into eternity unprepared and unready is the greatest folly of all, trusting in earthly riches and neglecting a trust in God. Even the most diligent, hardworking businessman or woman must learn the wisdom of giving God His place, both in trust and respect for Him and in the use of wealth for His cause. Let us be diligent in both our work and our worship.