“I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” —Philippians 3:8 ESV

Death is not the ultimate tragedy. The real tragedy is what we let die while we live.

In the Parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus hits on this idea. It tells of a man who acquired prosperity, comfort, and abundance, but was consumed with only the here and now. Death came without warning, and he could take nothing with him. God called him a fool, rebuking him for living focused only on himself. This parable surely isn’t an indictment on wealth; it was more clearly a warning of the dangerous implications of its seductive tendency toward complacency, self-sufficiency, and covetousness.

Though the rich fool anticipates years of ease—a time to eat, drink, be merry—instead an eternal destiny apart from God awaits him. As Jesus’ condemning words confirm, “This night your soul is required of you.”

This man was rich in the world’s eyes but had no relationship with God. He hadn’t invested anything in Christ’s kingdom. All the treasures he stored here were worthless once he died. What’s even worse is that without Jesus, he’d be separated from God forever. This is the tragedy of a wasted life.

As we consider the self-consumed life of this man, we are faced with two critical questions. First, if you were to die today, would you go to heaven? Salvation is a free gift for those who trust in Jesus as the God-appointed sacrifice for sin. He is the only way to eternal life (John 14:6). Scripture teaches that when believers die, they immediately find themselves in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

The second question is: what is driving your life? Are you fueled by selfish ambition, acquiring wealth for yourself, or anxiously trying to store up security in this lifetime? Or is your motivation more about furthering God’s kingdom?

We may not know when our time will come, yet assuredly we know that death is inescapable. Dying doesn’t have to be an unpleasant topic when you are living for something so much bigger than this transient world. Paul put it this way: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)—“to live” is tantamount to living in such a way as to have Christ’s glory and fame as your supreme treasure. Death may be a great loss to a carnal, worldly man, for he loses all his earthly comforts and all his hopes; but to a true believer it is gain—the end of all his weakness and misery, and most chiefly, a more glorious union with Christ.

Dying while living is trying to find happiness in more worldly stuff. To be fully alive is to be most consumed with Christ. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, forgive us for getting consumed with all that stuff in the world that competes with your fullness in our lives. Guard our hearts from the covetousness that leads to deeper disappointment and carnal complacency. Teach us what it really means to live fully in the joy of Christ, and to have his glory as our greatest treasure in this life and the one to come. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. What measures of a person does our society value?
2. What was the rich man’s dilemma in the parable? (Luke 12:16-17)
3. How did God intervene in the rich man’s life? (v. 20)
4. Why is it difficult for us to accept the fact that our life and things are temporary?
5. How is it possible to be rich toward God and store up treasures in heaven? Where might those investments be practically applied this week?

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