The Rich Poor Fool

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr. “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Lk. 12:19-21; please read 12:16-34) Greed is an exceedingly deceptive sin with an artificial sense of security. Hoarding money and material possessions gives one the notion of a perfect life, but it is no more than deliriums of sugar plums dancing in his head. It is an illusion inferring that with money and material gain there is eternal happiness and merriment. However, when God’s voice awakens him with the thunder of “Thou fool!” the force of reality comes crushing in upon him. God proclaimed: “this night thy soul shall be required of thee”! The word “required” has the thought of “demanded back”. The souls of men are under the sovereign control of Almighty God. He has the sole authority over their existence. The soul shall come and go as it pleases Him. It is written: “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.” (Eccl. 8:8) The Lord gives and the Lord takes as it pleases Him. When God demands, the soul departs. If it be true, and it is, that the hoarding up of worldly wealth is of no value in one’s relationship with God, then why do we expend so much effort, time and money on things which have no eternal value? Would it not be most logical for one to concentrate primarily on his spiritual relationship with the God who has authority over his soul? Is it not a fool that would ignore the eternal in favor of the temporal? Is the destiny of our souls of so little value to us? Dare we to gamble our eternal heaven and eternal hell? It is indeed a fool that does not make the future status of his eternal soul a daily priority!