A RICH FOOL OR RICH TOWARD GOD?

Fr Luke A Veronis

Thanksgiving! A special day to say “thank you” to God for all the good things He gives us - from our families and loved ones, to our homes and possessions, to our church and faith, and for the love of Jesus Christ our Lord. Countless blessings!

We hear an interesting story in today's Gospel reading that reflects the antithesis to Thanksgiving. Jesus tells a story about a rich man, a man so rich that he didn’t know what to do with all his wealth. A man who had millions that could lead to billions and even dream of trillions. Can you image having such wealth? Do you envy such people?

Well, this man did what many of us would do. He built a bigger house. He got more things. He thought of whatever he dreamed of and fulfilled his own dreams. He simply wanted to eat, drink and be merry! Live in the moment and enjoy the day. Does that sound great? Well, many in our society would envy this lifestyle and say this man was a resounding success!

Yet, Jesus called the man a FOOL! Our Lord criticizes the rich man as foolish precisely because he only thought of himself. Instead of thanking God for his blessings and thinking about how he could share his blessings with others, the man only says, “I will build bigger and better. I will get more for myself. I’ll sit back, relax, and say, ‘I have everything I need. I don’t need to worry about anything.’”

Does that sound like a man who is grateful? He never said, “Thank you Lord for all my blessings.” And true gratitude, of course, is not reflected in words alone but can be seen in actions. True gratitude implies saying to ourselves, “How can I share from the blessings I have received? How can I help those less fortunate from my abundance? How can I act like a good and faithful steward, living out the words of Jesus Christ that it is more blessed to give than to receive?”

True gratitude leads to generosity. The foolishness of the rich man, however, led him to think only about himself. And this is why Jesus called him a fool! Not because he had lots of riches but because he wasn’t rich toward God. He forgot the most fundamental perspective in life – that all our blessings come from God, that a healthy spirit reflects an attitude of gratitude, and that we express authentic thanksgiving by sharing our blessings with others!

Can we reflect on this during this Thanksgiving weekend? Can we strive to do the opposite of the Rich Fool and truly act rich toward God? Instead of saying, “All of this is mine,” let us say “Thank You Lord for all You have given me and show me, Lord, how I can generously share with others.”

When we’re thankful, our hearts grow bigger - not our houses and possessions! Being rich toward God never means amassing more and more for ourselves but it implies giving back to God through our generosity and love toward others.

As Saint John Chrysostom once said, “The rich man is not the one who has much but the one who gives much. For whatever he gives away remains his forever.”

May we live with this spirit of thanksgiving not once a year but every day of our lives!