The Rich Fool

“You poor foolish people on earth. When will you learn? But I guess that’s the eternal dilemma. Men never learn from history, so they repeat the same stupid sins and mistakes. I know. I was one of them.

 “It’s too late for me. I’m like that other rich man Jesus spoke about who died and woke up in hell. Let me tell you my story. But first, let me warn you not to ignore me. If you do, you may be telling the same horror story of regret after your death.

“People were pretty much the same in my day as they are in yours. Great minds were studying the heavens in their search for celestial life. Ahh, but they—and I— never did discover the meaning of terrestrial life. You know, what really counts in our short life on planet earth.

“Jesus spoke of me when His feet once walked where I walked. He used me as an example—a bad one. Open your Bible and look closely at Luke 12:15-21. It’s about me. Jesus talked about covetousness. Like it was an evil monster that killed its victims even while it smiled and offered us more and more things, things, things. As usual, Jesus was right when He said, ‘a man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.’

“Then He brought me up: a certain rich man. My name is not important. If you want, you can call me ‘Rich’. And the last name is ‘Fool’. Anyway, I was a great farmer. I forgot that the soil was really His. So was the seed I planted. And the sun and the rain. Ingratitude was another monster that blinded and ruled me. I had so many fruits—cash crops—that I loaded all my barns. Then, because I thought I could never have enough for me, I dared to say something that made God say ‘I have had enough of you!’ Here’s how it went. All my store houses were packed to overflowing. I told myself ‘What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow all my fruits?’ I wish I had made those word a prayer to God. All the good I could I have done! Feeding the poor. Building hospitals. Supporting missionaries. Caring for orphans and widows.

 “But no! I dared to answer my question this selfish way. ‘I will pull down my barns and build greater… And I will say to my soul (not to another soul), Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry’. And that’s when my Creator gave me thumbs down as a fool: ‘You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you’.

“I died that very night. It’s too late for me. But not for you. Catch God’s warning in verse 21, ‘So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God’. Take everything—everything—you have as a trust from the Almighty. Breath. Strength. Ability. Advantages. Riches. Then don’t ask yourself like I did, ‘What shall I do?’ Ask God, ‘What shall I do?’ and listen for His answer. Only then will you avoid having the same last name as me –‘Fool’.”       

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1)
The ST. PAUL SCHOOL, with Frank Eiklor, Eileen Young and Cecilia Contreras