In Luke 12 Jesus teaches the Parable of the Wealthy Man, often known as the Parable of the Rich Fool. He reminds his listeners (and us) to guard their heart from idols. Idols can be any good thing that becomes a “god thing” (and that’s a bad thing!). Anything can become an idol in our lives, from items, to duties, to others, to longings, even sufferings. The Rich Fool idolized his stuff and his comfort, finding his security there—until God revealed to him that he would die that night, and that he was a fool for trusting in his idols rather than being rich toward God. His primary hope was entirely in what was stored away in his barn instead of in God. Where is your primary hope? What’s your barn filled with? Are you rich toward God? Guard your heart from idols, they deal in lies and false hope, but Jesus deals in true hope.
Parables are simply stories intended to illustrate and teach. Jesus often taught about the Kingdom with parables in order to help people remember his teaching. He used parables to conceal truth from some, and reveal truth to others.
