Warning Against Greed and Being Ready (Luke 12:13-48)
A man in the crowd calls out to Jesus: "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus refuses. He says: "Who appointed me a judge or an arbitrator between you?" And then He says to the crowd: "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."
Then He tells a story. A rich man has land that produces an enormous harvest. He thinks to himself: what should I do? I have nowhere to store all this. His solution: tear down the old barns. Build bigger ones. Store everything there. Then eat, drink, and take life easy for years to come. But God says to him: "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" Jesus concludes: "This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."
Then Jesus turns to His disciples. Do not worry about your life, He tells them, what you will eat or wear. Life is more than food. The body is more than clothes. Look at the ravens: they do not sow or reap, and God feeds them. Look at the lilies: they do not spin or labor, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as one of these. "Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it. Your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."
And then the call to readiness: "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him." The master in Jesus' story, when he finds his servants watching at any hour of the night, does something remarkable: he dresses himself to serve, has them recline at the table, and waits on them himself. Readiness is rewarded not with duty but with honor.
A Curious Question
The rich man in the story was not doing anything obviously evil. He worked hard. His land produced well. He was planning ahead. So why did God call him a fool? What made his plan foolish? What would it have looked like for him to be "rich toward God" instead?
Old Testament Connection
The Parable of the Rich Fool echoes one of the oldest warnings in Scripture. Proverbs 11:28 says: "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf." The foolishness of trusting accumulated wealth is a recurring theme from Psalm 49, which asks: "Why should I fear when evil days come? Those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches cannot redeem themselves or pay God a ransom for their life." No amount of stored grain has ever purchased one more day of life.
But there is something even deeper here. When Jesus describes the servants waiting for their master with lamps burning, He is drawing on the image of the wise and faithful people of God who keep their light burning in the night, trusting in a Lord who will return. Psalm 119:105 says God's word is a lamp to the feet. The servants who stay awake and ready in Luke 12 are people whose lives are ordered around the return of their master, not around the accumulation of what their master could provide. Jesus Himself is the Master who has gone ahead and will return. And notice what He does when He finds His servants watching: He serves them. This is the same Jesus who took a towel and washed His disciples' feet. Even in a parable about the last day, His posture is one of grace toward those who waited faithfully for Him.
Discussion Questions
- God told the rich man: "This very night your life will be demanded from you." The man had no idea his last night had arrived. Jesus says life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. What do you think life does consist of? How would your daily choices look different if you took that seriously?
- Jesus told His disciples not to worry about food or clothing because God feeds the ravens and dresses the lilies. Does that mean we should never plan ahead or work hard? What is the difference between wise planning and the kind of anxious stockpiling the rich man was doing?
- The master in Jesus' parable, when he comes back and finds his servants faithfully watching, puts on his apron and serves them. What does that tell you about what Jesus is like? What does it tell you about what it will be like for those who stay ready for His return?
"So What?" What Can I Do?
This week, find one thing you own that you have been holding onto tightly, something you would feel upset about losing. It does not have to be expensive. It just has to matter to you. Hold it in your hands for a moment and say out loud: "This belongs to God." Then do one of two things: either give it away to someone who needs it, or keep it and use it this week to serve someone else. The goal is not to get rid of all your stuff. The goal is to practice holding it loosely, the way a servant holds something that belongs to the master.
Memorize God's Word
Luke 12:34: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Hand Motions:
- For where your treasure is: Hold both hands out as if cradling something precious and valuable, like a box of treasure.
- there your heart will be also: Slowly move both hands toward your chest and rest them over your heart.
Praying with Kids
Father, thank You that You know what we need before we even ask. You feed the ravens. You dress the lilies. Help us not to be like the rich fool who stored up everything for himself and forgot about You. Help us to hold our things loosely, knowing everything we have comes from You and belongs to You. Keep our lamps burning. Help us to live ready for Jesus' return, not anxious about what we do not have, but grateful and watchful and serving. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Craft: The Treasure Box and the Heart
Children will create a small folded "treasure box" with the memory verse written inside and a paper heart inside the lid, as a physical reminder that wherever they put their treasure, their heart will follow.
Materials Checklist
Instructions
- Fold the cardstock into a simple square box shape by folding all four edges to the center, then folding up the sides to create a shallow tray. (Teachers can pre-fold or demonstrate this step.)
- On the outside of the box, draw or decorate it to look like a treasure chest: add a latch, gold coins, jewels, or wood grain.
- On the inside base of the box, write the memory verse: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Luke 12:34
- Cut a small red heart from paper and place it inside the box.
- On the back of the heart, write one thing that is a true treasure to you. This is private. It does not need to be shared.
- Close the box around the heart and take it home as a reminder to examine where your heart is really pointed.
Effective Teaching Techniques
The Parable of the Rich Fool is one of the most direct warnings Jesus ever gave, and children need to feel its weight without being manipulated into fear. The key to that balance is keeping the focus on the man's thinking rather than on the outcome. Read his inner monologue slowly: "What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones." Notice the number of times he says "I" and "my." Ask children to count with you. That pattern of inward-facing thinking is the heart of the problem, not the harvest itself, not even the planning.
Before telling the parable, bring a backpack or bag filled with random objects to class. Pull out each item and ask: "Do I need this? What would happen if I lost this?" Build up a pile. Then ask: "If God said 'tonight your life is required of you,' which of these would matter?" Pause. Let that question sit. Then say: "Jesus said life doesn't consist in an abundance of possessions. So what does it consist of?" That conversation is the lesson. The parable is the illustration of it.
For the readiness section, focus on the image of the servants with burning lamps. Ask: "What does a burning lamp require?" It requires fuel. It requires attention. It requires someone who chose to keep it burning rather than let it go out. Ask: "What does it mean for your life to stay burning, ready for Jesus' return?" This is not a question about fear of being caught unprepared. It is a question about orientation: who or what is your life pointed toward right now?