Bible Parables S3E8: The Parable Of The Rich Fool

This is a live session recording where we delve into the timeless wisdom of The Parable of the Rich Fool from Luke 12:16-21 (NKJV) and its practical application in our daily lives. This session is part of an ongoing series where we explore how biblical teachings can guide us in living fulfilling lives.

In this session, we will explore the deeper meaning behind the parable and offer practical insights for bringing more compassion and connection into our daily lives.

This session includes a guided reflective meditation that will gently lead you through a journey of inner reflection and healing.

Come prepared to reflect on your journey, engage with thought-provoking ideas, and leave inspired to create a life filled with purpose and abundance. This session is welcoming to all, regardless of religious background or familiarity with the Bible.

Transcript

The Parable of the Rich Fool Then he spoke a parable to them,

Saying,

The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.

And he thought within himself,

Saying,

What shall I do,

Since I have no room to store my crops?

So he said,

I will do this.

I will pull down my barns and build a grater,

And there I will store all my crops and all my goods.

And I will say to my soul,

Soul,

You have many goods laid up for many years.

Take your ease.

Eat,

Drink,

And be merry.

But God said to him,

Fool,

This night your soul will be required of you.

Then whose will those things be which you have provided?

So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

And that's the parable of the rich fool.

We will walk now line by line through this parable,

Looking at it from a practical,

From a mystical,

From a spiritual,

And even with a bit of psychology thrown in.

And the parable starts,

The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.

And this one line has got so much meaning in it.

Abundance.

Abundance enters your life.

Abundance can enter your life through success at work,

Through unexpected opportunities,

Even through inner growth.

Abundance is always there around us.

Sometimes we tend not to see it.

The land,

Which is life,

Which is spirit,

Which is the universe,

It gives.

And it's very important to notice that in this sentence,

The man did not make it yield.

It yielded.

And that's a reminder to us that life gives because life is generous.

Our job,

What is asked of us is not to grasp,

But to receive with humility.

You may get a promotion or a client pays you more than what you expect,

Or someone gives you deep,

Meaningful praise.

Instead of asking or instead of thinking,

How can I capitalize on this?

You can simply pause and whisper a thank you.

And you can reflect to yourself,

How can I circulate this gift that has been given to me?

And the parable moves on.

And he thought within himself saying,

What shall I do since I have no room to store my crops?

In the first sentence,

We talk about abundance.

But immediately in the second sentence,

The mind of lack whispers.

You don't have enough room.

You need more space.

You need more time.

You need more control.

Even in abundance,

Scarcity can rule.

Even in abundance,

We can tend to experience or have that experience of scarcity.

The man,

He doesn't ask God.

He doesn't ask his community.

He doesn't even ask his soul.

He's only having this conversation with his limited self.

He's thinking from the rational mind.

What shall I do?

I need to store my crops.

My crops will get destroyed.

In our daily lives,

Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed with good things.

You're applying for a job and there are multiple job offers coming in.

There are many people who want your time.

There are so many creative ideas that there's this sense of overwhelm.

What do I do first?

What do I do next?

Instead of trusting the flow with which things are coming to us,

We spiral into anxiety.

A more spiritual approach when having this experience of abundance is to meditate on it.

Journal.

Ask yourself what is truly yours to hold and what is meant to simply pass through you.

And the parable goes on.

So he said,

I will do this.

I will pull down my barns and build greater.

And there I will store all my crops and all my goods.

This is the myth of accumulation that we have been conditioned with our whole life.

We need to have.

We need to own.

We need to hold.

We need lots of things.

And that's what our ego starts saying.

I need more space.

I need more storage.

I need more structure.

I need to save for the rainy day.

And when I do all this,

When I have more space,

When I have more storage,

When I have more money in my bank account,

When I have that house,

I will feel safe.

I will be complete.

But safety doesn't really come from building higher walls.

Safety doesn't come from having a big bank account.

Safety comes from building deeper roots.

Being able to live in trust.

Being able to live in presence.

Being able to surrender.

An example.

Or some examples.

We obsess over upgrading our phones.

We obsess over organising our closet.

Always having the latest,

Having the best.

Or we obsess over expanding our business.

And still we are feeling uneasy.

Still there is that feeling of not having peace.

Even though we have so much.

My business is doing really,

Really well.

I have so much income coming in.

But now I am being overwhelmed.

I am anxious about taxes.

A good question to ask is as we are going about our daily lives,

As we are experiencing abundance,

Are we building barns?

Or are we striving towards peace?

A good challenge is instead of trying to level up,

Give something away.

Your time.

Your attention.

Your love.

Maybe even your possessions.

And have that experience of what real freedom feels like.

The parable goes on.

And I will say to my soul,

Soul,

You have many goods laid up for many years.

Take your ease.

Eat,

Drink and be merry.

Many times in our life,

We mistake comfort for fulfilment.

We mistake comfort for fulfilment.

The man in the parable,

He is speaking to his soul like as if it's a tired employee.

He is telling the soul,

You have worked so hard.

You have done all this.

Now we have saved so much.

We can relax.

We don't need to do anything more.

He is speaking to his soul like as if the soul is a tired employee.

But our souls they don't want ease.

Our souls don't want ease.

Our souls,

They need a purpose.

All our souls,

Each one of our souls,

They are able to thrive when it has a purpose.

So joy is not about resting.

Although rest is very sacred and very important when rest is due.

But joy is not just about resting.

Joy is about being in right alignment.

You binge watch for hours or you keep ordering take out,

Take away food or you scroll till your brain can't take it anymore simply because we tell ourselves that we deserve it.

I have worked today so hard in the office.

I deserve to watch TV.

I have been so busy with all this other work that I do.

I am not going to cook today.

I am just going to order take out.

I need to take a break so I scroll mindlessly.

We do all these things telling ourselves that we deserve it,

That we have earned it.

But once we are done with that,

Once we are done with our binge watching,

Once we are done with our doom scrolling,

We feel more emptier than when we started doing that.

So instead,

Instead of things like that give your soul true nourishment.

A walk in silence.

Creating something.

Our souls love to create.

We are best when we are creating something.

Or call someone who needs your love.

Call someone who needs your connection.

Now that becomes merriment.

Be merriment with meaning.

The parable goes on.

And God said to him,

Fool,

This night your soul will be required of you.

Then whose will those things be which you have provided?

And this sentence is the wake up moment of the parable.

Because life is fragile.

Time is uncertain.

The soul cannot be postponed.

Sometimes we we go through life thinking that we have all the time in the world.

And we take it easy.

We delay our passions.

We push them to the side.

We delay those important things that we need to do because we live in that illusion that we have all the time in the world.

But life is fragile.

Time is uncertain.

The soul cannot be postponed.

The question is not what you have built but who have you become?

When the whole illusion of control collapses what remains?

A daily practice and possibly even a challenge is to live each day as if your soul was being required of you at any time.

How would you spend your day if you would live it this way?

This sentence is also like a jolt.

Death,

Change,

Endings these come without warning.

Everything that we build for the security of our ego is on loan.

The question is and the real question is what did you become while you had all this?

We spend years sometimes perfecting a brand building wealth curating an online life and then something happens either an illness or a job loss or your relationship ends.

Who are you when those bonds collapse?

And the parable goes on So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

Rich toward God Rich toward God is simply to be abundant in soul qualities.

What are soul qualities?

Compassion Trust Humility Awe Connection Courage Soul qualities It's important to remember that it is not about rejecting wealth.

Because many people can take this parable the wrong way and walk away with the impression that wealth is bad that money is bad.

But that's not what is happening here.

This parable is not at all about rejecting wealth.

This parable is about aligning it with love.

Aligning your wealth aligning your material possessions with love.

You're about to buy something extravagant for yourself.

And this is very important because all of us at some point we need to ask ourselves this question.

You're about to buy something extravagant for yourself.

Ask yourself Am I buying this because I am overflowing with gratitude?

Or Am I buying this because I feel empty inside?

So you see the question the question is about alignment.

It does not tell us not to buy that extravagant thing.

It's simply asking us to reflect Are you buying it because your heart is filled with gratitude?

Or are you buying it to fill a hole inside?

You can still buy the thing but maybe balance creating a balance would look like buying the thing and also donating to someone in need or giving time to a friend who is silently struggling because that is the wealth that multiplies.

And that's a lovely question to ask Am I doing this out of joy?

Or Am I doing this because I feel empty inside?

So this parable is not a treat.

This parable is not a treat.

It is an invitation to the soul.

We are not asked to fear death because sometimes that is also the message that people can take from this parable.

Oh my God,

I am going to die.

But this parable,

In this parable,

You are not asked to fear death.

What you are asked to do is to live deeply,

Is to live consciously,

To live generously.

You are not asked to reject abundance.

Very important,

You are not asked to reject abundance.

You are asked to let it flow toward wholeness and not control.

So as a practice,

If you are doing regular journaling or meditation,

A question that you could ask yourself in the morning,

Where am I experiencing abundance in my life right now?

And write down three reasons,

No matter how small they may be.

Because there's always this abundance of air to breathe,

Of water to drink,

More than enough food to eat,

More than enough programming on television to watch,

Good quality programming on television,

Where is there abundance in your life right now?

As you're going through your day,

A decision comes up.

You can ask yourself,

Am I building a barn or am I building trust?

And in the evening,

In the night,

As part of your end-of-the-day reflection,

Reflect on one way you were ditched toward God.

Could be listening to someone,

Could have been forgiving someone,

Could have been taking a moment to rest or simply giving of yourself.

We will now go into a guided reflective meditation based on the same parable titled the inner barns and the theme is to let go of ego accumulation to get let go of cultivating richness while trying to move towards the divine.

So get yourself comfortable if you are sitting sink into your seat if you are sleeping let the surface that you are sleeping on support you if it is safe to do so and if you are comfortable doing so you can close your eyes if you are not comfortable closing your eyes you can simply lower your gaze to the flow and take a long deep breath in hold it for the moment and gently release another deep breath in hold it for the breath and release one more time breathe in hold and release feel the surface beneath you feel your self supported without any effort you are safe you are whole you are here now in the quiet of your inner sanctuary let us journey into a sacred story let us journey into this parable the ground of a rich man yielded plentifully imagine a beautiful field at harvest golden crops shimmering in the sunlight the field is full the field is overflowing let this field represent your life what has been growing in your world lately what has yielded plenty whether it's material emotional relational or creative let the images arise maybe it's career success an inheritance new clients or praise for others and maybe the plenty is subtle like clarity insight or love what abundance have you been given recently have you honored it have you feared it have you shared it i will tear down my bonds and build bigger ones now see the man in the story he sees the abundance but instead of turning to gratitude instead of turning to generosity he turns inward he turns to worry he says i must build bigger bonds to keep all of this for my self what bonds have you been building lately bonds could look like mental constructs bank accounts titles plans have you been trying to construct control your abundance protect it hold it has fear crept in where are you over building out of fear instead of trusting flow where are you trying to contain what is meant to circulate soul take your ease now he speaks to his soul like a business partner soul you have many goods stored up for many years relax eat drink be merry feel into this moment feel into this moment ask yourself am I trying to feed my soul with the wrong food are you using comfort consumption or distraction to the place connection creativity or purpose what does your soul truly long for not what it's been offered but what it's been missing what would real ease feel like for you not egoic comfort but soul deep peace let your inner voice speak you fool this very night thy soul will be required of thee the gentle but unshakable voice of the spirit it is not angry it is not punishing it is truth calling you back you have invested in the long treasure you forgot who you are let this truth land in you not to scare you but to awaken you what parts of your life are built on illusion illusion of status pride of fear what eternal treasure have you neglected presence love service gratitude so is he who is not rich toward God bring your awareness to your heart your heart the center of your being ask yourself gently honestly am I rich toward God am I rich towards spirit toward life toward my higher self to be rich toward God means to be generous in love humble in gratitude connected to source flowing in trust and anchored in service what can you the lease to become inwardly free what can you give today that affirms your trust what what can you give today that affirms what can you give today that affirms your trust what can you give today affirms your trust what can trust what can give that affirms your trust what can you give today affirms your trust what can you give today affirms your what can you today that affirms your trust what can you give today affirms affirms what can you today that affirms your can you give today that your trust what can affirms affirms your trust what can affirms your trust what can you give today affirms affirms your trust what can give affirms your trust what can you give today that affirms your trust what can you give today that affirms your trust affirms your trust what can you give today that affirms your trust can you give today that affirms your trust what can give trust what can you affirms your trust can you give today that affirms your trust what can you give