Q2, S08 Trusting in Abundance

Quarter 2, Session 8: The Rich Fool

DO YOU TRUST ME IN ABUNDANCE?

Passage

Luke 12:13–21

Concept

This session falls under Jesus’ sixth question: Do you trust me? In this session we will see Jesus responding to a man who asked Jesus to ensure that he got his full inheritance. Jesus told the man a parable that showed us what it means to trust God with our material wellbeing. We all have an abundance at least from time to time, and the way we work with abundance reveals our hearts.

Key Question

What do you tend to do when you have an abundance? What would it look like to be “rich toward God” rather than accumulating treasure for yourself?

The Journey Tool

Do you see our Journey tool being played out in Luke 12:13–21? With whom? How so?

The Rich Fool

How much is enough? This is a difficult question, and one that we’d probably answer differently in each season of our lives. A high school student whose parents still pay the bills may feel like she has a huge abundance coming through the paychecks from her minimum wage job. Or a successful businessperson with steadily filling retirement accounts and large paychecks may feel behind on savings. “Enough” varies from person to person and from season to season. But we all know what it’s like to feel like we don’t have enough, and we know the fear of giving away some of what we think we need.

Few questions get down to the heart of a person as efficiently as questions about money. It exposes something deep within us. It’s not about a dollar amount. It’s about what we’re striving for and where we find our security. And ultimately, it’s about who or what we’re trusting.

Jesus was hard on the materially wealthy because he saw in so many rich people a trust in themselves. If we’re honest, trusting in our own riches is a problem for many of us. So what would it look like to trust Jesus instead?

1.     Read Luke 12:13–21. Right off the bat, what strikes you about this passage? What do you find interesting or challenging or confusing?

(Re)Defining Abundance & Blessing

We tend to think of trusting God as something that happens when we are in need. But in Luke 12, Jesus had an encounter and then told a story that shows our need to trust Jesus in seasons of abundance as well.

Abundance simply means having more than you need. Abundance can come in virtually any dollar amount. It’s not about what you have, it’s about having more than you actually need.

It’s a lie to say that God always wants us to have an abundance of material possessions. But God does want us to be blessed. We always have to keep in mind, however, that Jesus’ definition of blessing is unique. Remember the beatitudes from Matthew 5? Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, etc. Being blessed does not always look like material abundance. Often, experiencing the blessing of God means seeing beyond the shallow promises of material wealth.

The question this man asked Jesus revealed the man’s heart. He was asking Jesus to arbitrate a dispute with his brother so that their inheritance would be divided properly. But Jesus in effect said that he did not come to make sure money gets distributed to everyone’s satisfaction. He came to fix what is wrong in the human heart. And the question the man asked allows us to see a window into his heart. Here we see what the man is fighting for: he didn’t want to lose out on the stuff. 

2.     When you find yourself fighting for something, what does it tend to be? What does it reveal about you that these are the things you’re fighting for?

The Lie: Life Is about Stuff

Jesus told this man to be careful to guard against covetousness. Every step we take we need to be watchful that we don’t begin to desire things that will never satisfy. We have to be on guard against this because Jesus warned that riches are deceitful (Matt. 13:22). Jesus told the man that a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. The lie that we often believe, however, is that life DOES consist in the abundance of our possessions.

How many times have you thought you’d be happy if only you had a little more money? If only you had a few more specific things? Jesus told a parable to illustrate that there’s more to life than stuff. A rich man found himself with a plentiful harvest, and his response was to make a plan to build bigger barns so he could store up more stuff. He trusted in his riches to allow him to relax in life. The man had an abundance. But that’s not the problem. The problem is what he allowed this abundance to do in his heart. He trusted in his abundance, rather than trusting God with his abundance.

3.     Be honest. To what extent do you think you believe deep down that life consists in the abundance of your possessions? What evidence can you point to here?

Rich Toward God

The lie is that we’ll ever have enough to satisfy our appetite for more. There’s always a temptation to keep, to accumulate. We find our security in money, so we try to accumulate enough so that we feel secure. But what we continually find is that we never feel secure! It never feels like enough!

Our choice is to be rich toward ourselves or rich toward God. This is another way of posing the question of whether we trust in ourselves or trust in God. Money is one of the greatest tells of where our heart actually lies: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v. 34). We all know what it’s like to “lay up treasure for ourselves.” But Jesus contrasts that with “being rich toward God.” It’s all about what we do with the abundance that God provides.

4.     In practical terms, what does it mean to be rich toward God rather than laying up treasure for yourself? Have you ever experienced this? What is it like?

(Re)Defining Foolishness

Remember that the man in this parable is called a fool by God. He’s wealthy, successful, but Jesus calls him a fool. He misused his abundance. He was unable to see what his abundance was for.

Our goal is to experience the generosity of God and be thankful for it. It’s not about determining the upper limits of how nice our cars or houses can be, or how much money it’s acceptable to save. It’s not about holding each other to some arbitrary standards. It’s about giving and receiving with thankful and generous hearts. And ultimately, that means trust in God.

5.     Take stock of where you’re at after considering this parable. What is one thing you feel God leading you to do with regard to the abundance he has given you?

6.     Spend some time in prayer. Thank God for his provision. Pray that he would increase your trust in him.

Key Question

What do you tend to do when you have an abundance? What would it look like to be “rich toward God” rather than accumulating treasure for yourself.