The rich fool

Covetousness. The Rich Fool. Be not anxious.

(The Gospel History, Section 99)

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater: and there will I bestow all my corn and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Commentary by J. R. Dummelow

Lk 12:16. Brought forth] The man’s wealth was honestly and justly acquired. His fault was not injustice, but covetousness. 17. I have no room] ‘Thou hast barns, the mouths of the poor which can hold much; barns which can never be pulled down or destroyed, for they are heavenly and divine, if indeed it be true that he who feeds the poor, feeds God’ (Theophylact).

Lk 12:19. To my soul] The fool speaks as if earthly wealth could supply the needs of an immortal soul. 20. This night, etc.] lit. ‘this night do they (i.e. the angels of vengeance) require thy soul of thee.’ The righteous man willingly and joyfully commits his soul to God; but from the wicked man it is exacted with stern terror. 21. Rich toward God] On laying up treasure in heaven, which is here meant, see on Mt 6:19–21.

There is an interesting rabbinical parallel to this parable: ‘Once Rabbi Simeon went to a certain circumcision and there feasted. The father gave them old wine, seven years old, to drink, saying, “With this wine will I grow old, rejoicing in my son.” They feasted together till midnight. At midnight Rabbi Simeon, trusting to his own virtue, went out to go into the city, and on the way met the angel of death, who, he perceived, was very sad. He asked therefore, “Why art thou so sad?” He replied, “I am sad for the speeches of those who say, I will do this or that ere long, though they know not how quickly they may be called away by death. The man who just boasted, ‘With this wine I will grow old, rejoicing in my son,’ behold his time draws near. Within thirty days he must be snatched away.” The rabbi said to him, “Do thou let me know my time.” The angel answered, “Over thee and such as thou art, we have no power; for God, being delighted with good works, prolongeth your lives.”’

Lk 12:19. Moth and rust] Wealth in Eastern lands is largely stored and hoarded. Much of it consists of costly changes of raiment, which are liable to the attacks of moths. Break through] lit. ‘dig through,’ viz. the wall of the house, which was often only built of clay. 21. For where your treasure is, etc.] see Lk 12:34. The heavenly treasure is the approval of our heavenly Father, which is represented as wealth stored up in heaven, ready to be enjoyed hereafter. The earthly treasure is not only wealth (though that is its most striking exemplification), but everything lower than God Himself on which men set their hearts,—honour, fame, pleasure, ease, power, excitement, luxury, animal enjoyment.

The rich fool

(The Saviour of the World, Vol VI Book IV Poem XLVII

A certain farmer laboured hard;
The generous earth gave due reward;
Up early and so late to rest,
Wily in bargaining for the best,
Wary and pinching in his ways,
Hard master, niggardly of praise,
But always there to see that none
Should slack his work for heat of noon;
Early, the furrows long and straight
Spake husbandry on his estate;
The thorny places, stony ground,
To give some yield of corn were bound;
His pastures green, his meadows lush,
His trees, fruit-laden every bush,
Spake praise of this so prosperous man.

Who saw his labourers, began
To doubt if all were well indeed,
Or was his care the care of greed:
Suspicious, hard, the master went;
The men, in sullen discontent
Nor prosperous, nor amply fed,
With downcast eye and heavy tread,
Worked dogged under that sharp eye
So ready every halt to spy.

The man himself worked hard, you say,
A labourer without pause or pay?
Aye, but, was ever in his thought
The day when, his good fortune wrought,
Under his fig-tree, at his ease,
He should be free himself to please;
Should slumber when he had a mind,
Should delicately eat, nor find
His fruits cloy on him; merry, too,
Should wax on wine from grapes he grew.
And oft in his spare-living days
He chuckled as his inward gaze
Fat and well-liking saw himself
Take silver beaker from the shelf
And pour him wine, a brimming cup:
But no poor man did he take up
In all his visions; comfort lent
To never hungering soul, but spent—
“My fruits,” “my stores,” “my wine,” “my pelf”—
All his possessions, on himself.

The wished-for day at last arrives,
(As comes it into most men’s lives,)
The harvest yields such bounteous store,
His barns, sure, will contain no more:
He gazes round with inward glee
On signs of his prosperity:
He has attained, and, prudent man,
He realises while he can:
Not his to labour for increase
With all this plenty; he will cease.

But a perplexity appears;
Not yet have come the happy years;
His barns o’erflow, his house no more
Can hold his too abundant store;
One more great labour; then, the rest,
Compunctions, cares, shall ne’er molest!
“My barns will I pull down,” saith he,
“And those I build so vast shall be
That I shall never fret me more
Nor labour: then, my soul, I’ll sing,
Happy and careless as a king,—
‘Soul, take thine ease, and eat and drink;
Be merry all thy days, nor think
With anxious care of any morrow,
Free, henceforth, from all care and sorrow!’”

(Poor man, his soul he little knew!
What was’t to her, the wealth he drew
Together with such eager care?
She might not his possessions share;
How should she eat with him or drink?
Her part to feel, to know, to think!
In solitude the rich man sate,
His sickly soul, disconsolate!)
Sudden, a Call disturbs the man,
At ease according to his plan:
The voice of God proclaims, “Thou fool,
Who plannedst life by thine own rule,
This night thy soul’s required of thee;
Then, whose shall thy possessions be?
Nought hast which thou canst take away,
Hast nought laid up for this great day;
Naked, ashamed, thou tak’st thy way
To God’s high Presence.”