Bible Text

Luke 12:13–21 (ESV)

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’   ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

• If a man’s life “does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,” what does it consist of?

Luke 12:16-21

• Count the number of times the words “I” and “my” appear in this passage.  What does this reveal about this man?
• What made the man feel so confident and secure?  On what basis do people feel confident and secure?  On what basis do I feel confident and secure?  How strong or permanent is that basis?
• What does it mean to be rich towards God?
• In what ways can I be rich towards God?