Luke 12:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry."’

NIV: And I’ll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ’

NASB: And I will say to myself, 'You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!'?’

CSB: Then I’ll say to myself, "You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself."’

NLT: And I’ll sit back and say to myself, 'My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!'’

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’

The parable of the rich fool teaches how not to look at life. A farmer is already rich thanks to fertile land. One year, his crops are so great that he can tear down his barns, build bigger ones, and live off what he has for several years. His error is not in having money, but in an attitude that only cares about worldly wealth. He does not know that this very night, he will lose his life. All his possessions will go to someone else, and because he spent all his time accumulating wealth, he has no relationship with God (Luke 12:13–21).

The farmer is not sinning by being rich or even saving up for his future (Proverbs 6:6–9). His attitude and worldview are wrong. He is covetous: he wants more than his due. The tone of the story suggests he never considered any other use of his wealth than self-comfort.

Even more tragic, the farmer has let his possessions distract him from his standing with God. He's going to use his time to "relax, eat, drink, be merry." He's not going to consider his life and whether he has wronged the people around him. He's not going to repent from his sins or ask God how he can use his time and resources to serve Him and others (Luke 12:21).

The worst is that he is dedicating his soul to this endeavor. He is focusing on the pleasures of life that are temporary. But his soul—his whole self—will live on. His body and emotions may find enjoyment now, but his entire being is looking at eternity without God.

He doesn't know that his life and pleasures on earth will be truly short; in fact, he will die this night (Luke 12:20). None of us know when we will die. Jesus goes on to remind the crowd that people die all the time with no warning and through no fault of their own. God is not slow in fulfilling His promises; He is patient. He doesn't want anyone to die without Him (2 Peter 3:9). But everyone will run out of time to reconcile with God (Luke 13:1–9).

Luke 12:13–21 records Jesus taking advantage of an interruption to explain a proper perspective of wealth. Jesus has been warning the disciples that faithfulness to Him may require their deaths. A man in the crowd, possibly shouting in the middle of that teaching, demands Jesus settle a family conflict over an inheritance. Jesus declines that request but warns the crowd against temporary, earthly treasures if they distract from their relationship with God. He will return to this theme, telling the crowd to reconcile with people and God or risk earthly and eternal ruin (Luke 12:54—13:9). This parable is unique to Luke's Gospel.

Jesus teaches the disciples about proper priorities. This includes recognizing that God knows all things, even secrets. Believers should honor God more than they fear death, or than they worry about things like food and clothes. Christians are to remain ready for Christ's return, even as faith separates those who believe from those who do not. These ideas revolve around the central theme of verse 34: that a person's heart reflects what they value most.

Luke 12:1—13:9 compares the world with the kingdom of God. Jesus has condemned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (Luke 11:14–54). He now instructs His disciples to reject the fame and security that Pharisees crave, and hold lightly to their lives, wealth, security, and even family. He then warns the crowd to be wise about their relationships with other people and with God. The next two units each include a miracle and teaching on God's kingdom and salvation (Luke 13:10—15:32). Then the final section in the "travelogue" repeats that three-unit pattern (Luke 16:1—19:27) before Jesus arrives in Jerusalem.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.