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Riches Won’t Make You Happy

August 21, 2022

Luke 12:13-21

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 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.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Read Luke 12:13-15

  1. Do you think the request of the person in the crowd is inherently inappropriate? Why or why not?
  2. How do Jesus’ words in verse 15 help us understand the motives behind the man’s request?
  3. What is dangerous or inappropriate about the assumption that Jesus is obviously on my side in any dispute? How and where have you encountered that assumption in your life? How and where might you have fallen prey to that assumption?
  4. Jesus says to be careful and to guard against ‘all kinds of greed.’ How would you classify the various kinds of greed that exist? Which ones do you tend to gravitate towards?
  5. To what extent are you drawn toward possessions as a very important part of life? Where do you think that tendency comes from?

Read Luke 12:16-21

  1. Read verses 16 through 18. Up to this point in the story, do you see anything wrong with the thinking and actions of the rich man?
  2. Discuss how the rich man’s words in verse 19 reveal the critical flaw in the character of the rich man.
  3. “Riches are not inherently evil; but they are inherently dangerous.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why? What other scriptures might inform this discussion?
  4. As a group, brainstorm a list of the many ways one can be ‘rich toward God.’