TOPIC:‌“The Folly of a Fool”

‌           by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Luke 12:16-21

 

“But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee” (Luke 12:20)

 

‌The word “fool” is used approximately 110 times in the Bible. In most cases it speaks of one who is arrogant, self sufficient, and lives life as if there were no God. The American College Dictionary describes and defines a “fool” in these words: “one who lacks sense; a silly or stupid person…a weak-minded or idiotic person.

 

‌There are not many times that God permits a man to be called a fool, but here are a few from the Word of God. A fool is one who despises wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7); A fool is one who makes a mock of sin (Proverbs 14:9); A fool is one who refuses counsel but walks in his own way (Proverbs 12:15); A fool is one who despises his father's instruction (Proverbs 15:5); A fool is one who says there is no God (Psalms 14:1); A fool is one who walks in darkness (Ecclesiastes 2:14); A fool is one who does not walk according to God's will (Ephesians 5:15). In almost all of these verses we come to this conclusion: A fool is one who leaves God out of his life.

 

‌In the context before us in verses 13 through 15 we find our Lord being abruptly interrupted by one of his hearers. This unnamed man broke in upon our Lord's teaching and asked Him to settle a family dispute over the distribution of family property. He said to Jesus in verse 13: “Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.”

 

‌This man was so wrapped up in his own greed for material things that he completely missed the spiritual truths that Jesus was teaching. In verse 14 Jesus gives him a mild rebuke when he answered this man: “who made me a judge or a divider over you.” Then Jesus turned to His hearers and declared in the words of verse 15: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness” and notice these words: “for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses.” Or as Phillips renders the words of our Lord: “be on your guard against covetousness in any shape or form. For a man's real life in no way depends upon the number of his possessions.”

 

‌And then to illustrate and enforce the evilness of trusting in wealth, or of making pleasure one's chief aim in life, Jesus sets forth the parable of the rich man. Here was a man who made a terrible mistake and Jesus called him a fool.

 

‌Let us look at what made this man so foolish. Consider three things.

 

I.

 

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