"But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." Luke 12:20—21 ESV

My primary calling and love is the pastorate, but some may not know that I also serve as a professor at a local Christian university. At the end of every spring semester, I watch graduating seniors stress over what to do with their lives. While I encourage them to trust God to show them the way, the world is screaming something different: gaining more is the measure of becoming more. They are told they need a job, a house, and a fat bank account to be happy—and if they don’t get these things, their lives will be less than. What a tragic lie.

We live in a fast-paced world that celebrates self-sufficiency and personal gain. To society, getting more is thriving more. Your worth is measured by what you have, and if you save money, manage your resources, and prepare for retirement, life will supposedly be grand. But Scripture shows us something better. Having resources isn’t bad, but relying on them—trusting in them for security—reveals a deeper problem. If our hearts long for self-sufficiency over God-dependence, our goods are rotten because our hearts are rotten. We forget that what we have won’t last, but our souls will. The real question is: which do you want to be richer, your possessions or your soul?

In the Parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus teaches what a truly rich disciple looks like. He confronts the tragic dance between the search for meaning and the certainty of finality. One day, all our efforts to save, spend, and secure a full life will fade, and only what was aimed at God will endure. Having stuff is not bad, but depending on it is deadly.

How do we live richly toward God instead of ourselves? How does the reality of our finality shape a heart fully focused on Him? This week, we’ll explore Jesus’ answer together.