Modern retelling of the Richman Parable

And [Jesus] he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15).

 How Jesus might have told a modern crowd this parable: 

“The company of certain rich businessman produced large profits. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I've made it to the top.'

Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will sell my firm and retire, and there I will build a house 'spare-no-expense' and join a country club. And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of money invested for many years. Take life easy; eat at 5-star restaurants, drink imported wine and enjoy all that life has to offer.'

Bud God said to Him, 'You fool! This very night you will have a stroke and die. Then who will inherit your stocks, annuities, and properties?'”

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“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). This man, like so many people today had his treasure here on earth, and that is where his heart was. How foolish! For where is his treasure now? All the empires he built, the money he worked for will be squandered and potentially destroy his loved ones as they fight over it. The fruit of his life gone in a moment. All his selfish ambition ended the moment he ended. How wise it is to give God our hearts! To recognize “the source of such blessing,” and to thank Him by giving it back to God's Kingdom to impact people eternally with the message of Christ made possible by “sharing with others who are less fortunate” (Howell 229). The temporal fruits of one's life can be traded to acquire eternal things. How can we be sure that we've given our hearts to God? By giving Him our treasure. In doing so we are killing the self-centeredness of our hearts, turning from the false god of money so that we can become God-centered in serving Him. In the end, God doesn't need our money, “he owns the cattle on a thousand hills;” He wants our heart, but without realizing it we've given it to another. If you're not sure to whom, look in your checkbook.

• Howell Jr., Don N.. The Passion of the Servant. Eugene: Wipf & Stock - Resource Publications. 2009.