What should our attitudes be towards our possessions? Money? Nice cars and big homes? The parable of the rich fool and his many possessions makes us ask ourselves what truly matters to us. In this powerful video the story of Luke 12:15-21 unfolds as Jesus teaches that trying to keep with the Jones’ isn’t what life is about.

At the time Jesus was on earth teaching, someone in the crowd asked Jesus to tell his brother to share his inheritance with him. Now this tells us a few things already. First, this man was likely a younger brother. In Jesus’ time, the oldest son received double blessings and double the inheritance. Second, this man’s statement tells us about the state of his heart. He wanted what belonged to his brother. He coveted what his brother had! Jesus refuses to settle the dispute and instead tells a powerful story.

Jesus tells everyone within earshot about a farmer who was abundantly blessed when his land “produced plentifully.” Instead of being grateful and using his wealth and abundance to bless others, he became greedy and decided to build a bigger barn to manage his accumulating wealth. So the farmer builds larger barns in place of the existing ones and starts planning an early retirement which included living a life of luxury. But what the farmer didn’t know was that it was his last night on this earth. The farmer died with a depraved heart. Jesus then closes the story by saying, “‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

We may think to ourselves, what’s the harm in building up our wealth and saving for a rainy day? There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, we should be careful stewards of all the earthly materials God blesses us with, including finances. But the point of the Parable of the Rich Fool is twofold.

First, if money is your master, that means God is not. God says to the man in the story, “And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” In other words, what happens to all your earthly things when you die? It will get scattered to those who didn’t earn it and therefore won’t appreciate it. The second point is the Bible says if our riches increase, we are not set our hearts upon (Psalm 62:10). God wants our hearts to be rich toward him. After all, have you ever seen a coffin with a moving van or safe? We come into this world with nothing and we will leave this world with nothing except for the richness of Christ in our hearts.

Share this lesson with someone who needs to be reminded that God is the one who blesses the work of our hands. May we all be reminded to be grateful for the rich blessings God has given us—no matter how large or meager our paycheck. And may we certainly give God our gratitude and praise for how well he cares for each of us! So, if God has blessed you with earthly riches, “set not your heart on it” and “be rich toward God.”

“Then he said to them, “’Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’” Luke 12:15