Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, ‘Now as for you, you have so many things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”
Luke 12:13-21 (NABRE)
A common theme in Luke’s Gospel: to prioritize unseen spiritual wealth over material goods. But is such wealth so invisible?
Wealth makes itself known. Cramped inner cities crippled with urban blight and dotted with homeless camps reveal saddening financial poverty. Upon the balmy foothills surrounding the city, luxury cars and a multi-million dollar fortresses of homes indicate a veritable abundance of material opulence. Countries with low Human Development Index scores can be easily told apart from wealthier nations. Those more visible indicators of abundance or poverty make known a hidden reality of gold vaults and bank account figures — or lack thereof. It all comes back to knowing them by their fruits.
Narrowing our scope to the individual, the same principle applies. Our spiritual wealth makes itself known. Jesus reminds us of this elsewhere when He says, “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). To have the Fruits of the Spirit, such as love, joy, kindness, and self-control, evident in our lives reveals a spiritual wealth that far surpasses the importance of all of the money in the world combined. To strive to practice virtue — like chastity, temperance, and patience — both affects us and is made evident to others. This all ties back to the New Commandment of Jesus: to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34). When we are rich in what matters to God, that wealth reveals itself and spills out in love for others. To strive for the riches of the Kingdom is to obey the gentle commandment of Jesus.
Thank you for reading. Peace.
Eat the Scroll 