Are you familiar with the parable of the rich fool? I’d tell it myself, but Jesus does it better.
A rich man’s land was very productive. He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”
What I love about Jesus’ parables is that they’re as applicable today in the 21st century, as they were in the 1st century. And what’s amazing is that the more you dig, the more you’ll find—this is true for the entire Bible. For example, while the crowds listening in on Jesus would’ve been shocked by the story, it’s likely for different reasons than us. Here’s why.
On the surface, it seems foolish that the man would first tear down his barns before building bigger ones. Perhaps his older barns were dilapidated? Or maybe he didn’t have enough land for additional barns? Both seem unlikely because this man was already rich, even before his year of plenty, which means he likely took care of his property.
And it’s not like we’re talking about Manhattan here, so the fact that he already had more than one barn shows us that he likely had room to build more. So why didn’t he just add on to his additional barns? And if he was already rich, why didn’t he give some of his crops away?
While these are the questions that naturally come to mind for a 21st century reader, Jesus’ initial listeners would’ve been shocked for different reasons.
Try reading through the parable again and counting how many times the rich man uses the personal pronoun. And did you notice to whom he was speaking?
In Jesus’ day, this is not how people functioned.
Ancient Near Eastern culture was not individualistic; people didn’t grow their own fiefdoms and keep their wealth to themselves. Rather, life was lived together, with one another, and in community.
So why is this rich man isolated and making the decision by himself? Especially when his decision would affect everyone else around him. How long has he been isolated and disconnected from those around him? How long has it been since he’s trusted someone else? And how long has he lived inside of his own vacuum of reality?
No wonder he’s become so obsessed with himself. Isolation is the end result of disconnection. I love how King Solomon puts it, “One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound wisdom.”
The more disconnected and isolated you become, the more you’ll turn inward and grow obsessed with yourself.
Eventually, my current needs, my future needs, and my contingent what-if needs, will be all that you can think of. Even when you’re “helping” others, it will always be in view of what you can get out of it, or for that time when they can repay you back. And instead of recognizing and being grateful for the role that others have played in your life, you will reframe and reinterpret reality through the lens of me, myself, and I.
This is how it happens. After getting a promotion, you begin thinking to yourself, “I got this because I deserved it,” rather than recognizing the role your boss and teammates played. Or after receiving an admissions letter, you begin saying to yourself, “Wow, all those years of hard work paid off,” instead of being grateful for the sacrifices that your parents made, and the role that your teachers and mentors had in your education.
It’s a vicious cycle.
The more you turn inward and reinterpret the past through this self-centered obsessive way, the more disconnected you’ll become.
And the more you disconnect from others, the more you’ll see life through the lens of giving and taking. Your relationships with others will turn into meaningless consumeristic transactions. And instead of viewing life with an abundance mindset, you’ll begin seeing everything through the lens of scarcity. Instead of living a life of generosity, you’ll scrape by with greed. And on and on it goes.
To learn more about the truth on the other side of this vicious cycle and lie that it’s rooted in, pick up a copy of my new book, You Are What You Do: And Six Other Lies about Work, Life, and Love.