Luke 12:16-21
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Ephesians 1:17
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
When I was growing up under the watchful eye of my mother, she did not allow us to say certain words, such as lie, awe shucks or heck, just to name a few. Another word that would result in severe punishment was the word “fool”. No doubt my mother had read the Scripture in Matthew 5:22 which warned us of calling someone a fool. However, we would all agree that we have made foolish decisions in our lifetime. Perhaps it was a bad relationship, failed investment, or choosing the wrong route while driving.
I looked up the word fool and it means a silly or stupid person; a person that lacks judgement or sense. At first glance that does not seem to be so bad. Then I looked at the world around me. As I take note of the impact foolish decisions have on our everyday lives, I readily realized why God sent His Spirit into the earth.
Today there is an ongoing assault against the truth. To think there are people who can read and write but believe that the former president won the election and any day he will be reinstated is foolish. To think there are people who will not take a vaccine because they believe the government will be able to track them, or Satan is in the medicine is sad, but it is a reality. We even witnessed thousands of American citizens storm our Capital in hopes of overturning an election. There are elected officials who encourage this nonsense, and they are reelected!
In the text (Luke 12:13-21) Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who behaved foolishly. He failed to honor God who had blessed him with the surplus. He failed to monitor the growth of his crops. Then, he failed to familiarize himself with the laws concerning wealth transference. He also failed to consider his neighbors and the community. As a result, he made a selfish and foolish decision.
The Bible spends a great deal of time talking about foolishness and foolish decisions. Ezekiel told the story of the two sisters, Oholah (Israel) and Oholibah (Judah), who forsook God and chased other gods. I love my country, but if I think God is going to look the other way, I am being a fool. The Apostle Paul chastised the Galatians because they had accepted false teachings (Galatians 3). I am a born-again believer, but if I believe God is not going to hold the Church accountable for straying from the Gospel, I am a fool.
The Holy Ghost came to teach us and make us wise. He is referred to as the Spirit of wisdom (Ephesians 1:17). Proverbs speaks about wisdom walking through the street crying out to the people (Proverbs 1:20). James admonishes us that if we lack wisdom, we can ask God (James 1:5). There are other examples in the Scripture of people who behaved foolishly: Nebuchadnezzar, Pharoah, Judas, Ananias and Sapphira to name a few.
We do not have to be foolish. God has given us His Word and His Spirit to make us wise. Jesus is soon to return, and He is coming for a holy and righteous people. Let’s be wise and prepare for His coming.
I bless you in the name of the Lord.
Amen God Bless