Luke 12:19Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What you give becomes yours, returning to you with abundance. Just as a grain of bread, having been sown in the soil, benefits the one who scattered it, so too does bread, once given to the thirsty, yield a hundredfold blessing. Therefore, let your farming intentions signify the start of your heavenly planting; for it is said, "Thou shalt sow to thyself in righteousness" (Hosea 10:12). Why are you troubled? Why do you afflict yourself in your efforts to secure wealth of brick and stone? A good reputation is better than great riches (Proverbs 22:1). If you desire wealth solely for the honor of possessing it, consider how much more glorious it would be to be called the father of countless children than to hoard a thousand coins. You shall leave your money behind, yet you will carry the glory of your good deeds to the Lord, where the great Judge will have the people gather around you, calling you their provider, their benefactor, attributing to you all the titles of humanity. Do you not observe how, for a fleeting honor, wealth is lavished on entertainers, on jesters, and on fighters in exhibitions that would frighten most to behold? Yet you hesitate to spend what could bring you such esteem! God will welcome you, the angels will exalt you, and all people, from the dawn of creation until now, will honor you. Eternal glory, a crown of righteousness, and the kingdom of heaven will be your reward for your wise stewardship of these transient treasures. But you disregard such truths, scorn what you ought to value, and are solely focused on the now. Therefore, allocate your wealth for various noble purposes, providing splendor and dignity through your generosity to those in need. Let it be said of you, “Spend it, give to the poor; his righteousness endures forever” (Psalm 111:9). Do not act greedily, delaying your sales until the need arises; do not wait until scarcity prompts you to open your reserves: for he who sells grain stingily is cursed by the people (Proverbs 11:26). Do not expect famine for gold, nor common shortages for your own abundance. You shall not be consumed by the misfortunes of others; do not allow the wrath of God to become an excuse for hoarding wealth for yourself. Do not add to the wounds of those who suffer. You see only gold, while turning a blind eye to your brother in need. You understand the value of currency and distinguish real coinage from counterfeit, yet fail to recognize a brother in need. You delight in gold's allure, but do you not consider the many sighs of the impoverished that accompany you? How can I convey to you the plight of the needy? Having surveyed their dwelling, he realizes he possesses no gold and that it will forever elude him; his possessions and attire are no more valuable than those of a beggar; they are worth only a few coins. What remains? Ultimately, he gazes at his children, contemplating which to sell to feed them. Imagine then the conflict between impending starvation and paternal love. Starvation threatens a most dreadful death, yet nature compels him to remain with his children, persuading him to face death rather than abandon them. Time and again, he resolves to act, only to falter; ultimately, necessity and relentless want overpower him. And what else occupies this father's thoughts? Which child shall he sell first? Which will the bread vendor regard most favorably? Should he approach the eldest? But he reveres his age. Or the youngest? Yet he pities their youth, who has yet to experience hardship. This one bears the loving features of both parents; and the other is eager to learn. Alas, what a dilemma! What will become of me? Which of them shall I part with? Which shall I sacrifice my own heart over? How can I forsake nature? If I keep them all, I will witness their slow starvation. If I sell one, how will I face the others, having already created suspicion among them, so that they might cease to trust me? How will I live in the house, having hardened my heart? How can I sit at a table filled with abundance if it is achieved through such means? And so, after shedding tears, he decides to sell his beloved child! And yet you remain unmoved by suffering; you refuse to empathize with their plight! This unfortunate individual is crushed by hunger, while you hesitate and jest, prolonging his misery! He offers himself to you as payment for sustenance, and you not only refuse to restrain the hand that takes from others’ hardship, but you seek out additional ways to gain more while giving less, compounding his suffering in every conceivable way! Neither tears nor sighs stir your compassion, and your heart remains unyielding and distant! Everywhere you see only gold; you envision it in all things, dreaming of it in slumber and thinking upon it even when awake. Just as those consumed by madness fail to see reality, instead conjuring nightmares, so your soul, possessed by a love of silver, perceives gold in all things. It brings you more pleasure to gaze upon gold than the sun itself. You wish for everything to metamorphose into gold, and you scheme relentlessly to make it a reality. What do you not move to acquire gold? Your bread becomes gold, your wine transforms into gold, and your wool is fashioned into gold; every business transaction, every innovation yields gold. Gold breeds itself, multiplying endlessly; within you resides no contentment, no culmination of desire. Children, in their greed, are often allowed to consume without limit what delights them to the point of causing distaste; yet a glutton knows no such bounds: the more he consumes, the more his appetite grows.

The commandments of the Lord affirm this: ‘Make friends for yourselves with unrighteous riches, that they may... receive you into eternal dwellings’ (Luke 16:9). This is a righteous and life-giving directive, simple to follow; it can inspire even those consumed by greed to trade the transient for the everlasting, and the temporal for the divine. Yet, often the noble intention is diminished by a lack of faith, causing those willing to share their possessions to hesitate, concerned primarily for their own security. Thus, the Lord reminds us: Do not be anxious for your soul, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on.

By embracing these practices, we fulfill our earthly journey in a manner that is pleasing and divine, ultimately inheriting eternal life, a gift made possible through the grace and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him belongs glory, authority, honor, and adoration, alongside His Father, who is eternal, and the life-giving Spirit, now and forevermore. Amen.

As the rich man reflected, he asked himself: What should I do? Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria insightfully observes that great riches can mirror the plight of poverty; both states evoke a sense of urgency: What shall I do? While poverty stems from a lack of basic needs, the challenge of wealth lies in its excess. The rich man questioned, “What shall I do, for I have no place to store my produce, no area to hold what I have acquired?” Ultimately, he devised a plan and, filled with satisfaction and resolve, declared: I will demolish my barns and construct larger ones, where I will store all my abundance and good things. I will then say to my soul: Soul, you have many good things laid up for many years; take ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

This shortsighted rich man did not consider God, eternity, or his needy brothers; he focused solely on his own well-being, leading to his own ruin by neglecting the true purpose of his soul, thus enslaving it to the flesh in his dreams. He failed to remember that in his blessings, God also called him to acts of charity. He disregarded eternity and the need to share a portion of his wealth through almsgiving, which would prevent him from becoming a beggar unworthy of paradise in the life to come. How deceptive the dream was that the rich man indulged! He presumed his wealth would last indefinitely, trusting in a fragile illusion. On what misguided reasoning did this blinded man rely for his newfound affluence? As the world puts it, he aspired to live well. But what does it mean to live well in this context? It suggests living comfortably, indulging in abundant food and drink, engaging in leisure pursuits, succumbing to temptation, and ultimately satisfying one’s desires and whims.

Upon closer inspection, the Gospel parable of the rich man can serve as a reflective lens for each of us. Though we may not be entirely consumed by the aspirations of the wealthy, we may find ourselves captivated by them from time to time.

The true fruits and treasures of the soul encompass: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, mercy, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). Ultimately, He is the Lord and sovereign over seasons and days, as the Father has decreed (Acts 1:7). You too envision a life filled with offspring and longevity: ‘O my soul, you have many treasures awaiting in the years of loan.’ Indeed, it is rightly said that God considers him a fool.

Seizing this moment, Christ then warned His audience about the dangers of greed and the unhealthy desire for material wealth, using the parable of the foolish rich man to illustrate His point. This parable includes both a preface and a conclusion, highlighting the essential truth that material riches hold no power to extend one’s earthly existence and are utterly useless for eternal life.

Additionally, they provide a sharp critique of the deadening legalism that had blinded the Jewish authorities, preventing them from recognizing the immense loss they incurred by rejecting Christ, the promised Messiah.

The need to address this misguided attachment to worldly things arose during one of Christ's teachings when a listener interrupted Him, asking for assistance in resolving a dispute over inheritance with his unwilling sibling. This inappropriate plea demonstrated the extent of the man's enslavement to material concerns. To illustrate the futility and transience of worldly wealth, the Savior, declining to get involved in the inheritance issue, shared the parable of a wealthy man who had an extraordinarily abundant harvest yet was unsure of how to manage his newfound riches. His sole plan was to enlarge his granaries to indulge in his wealth for many years, living in a state of false security. However, he overlooked the truth that life rests firmly in God's hands. In his quest for happiness through wealth alone, he was met with the divine warning: "Fool, this night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?" The divine Teacher concluded, "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."