Guards Down

Armodoxy for Today: Guards Down

The story of the Rich Fool, a parable offered by Jesus and recorded in Luke chapter 12, has always intrigued me because the fool can be any one of us. As Jesus says, the fool in the story is defined as anyone who “stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” My interest in this story (and others like it) stems from the fact that we, the listener of the story – the audience members – exclude ourselves from the punch line category. In this case, we look at others as fools, rather than understanding that the story is intended to warn the fool in all of us.

One of the exercises that is most prominent during the Lenten season which we only recently completed, is that of the practice of introspection. To make self-examination work, we need to put down our guards. When reading the stories or parables of Jesus confronting others, remember Jesus has the moral authority to call out others. Ours is not to point to others and call them the fools, rather, for us place ourselves in the place of the person who builds his wealth in earthy material wealth and abandon the pursuit of higher godly reconciliation, by coming to terms with our mortality, rejecting the material trappings of the world, reaching out to those in need and leaving judgement only to God.

Yes, lowering our guards, allows for God’s free flowing energy to pass through unhindered.

We pray, Lord of Light and Truth, You who breathe life into every soul and call us toward what is eternal — open my heart to grow in Your wisdom. Teach me to desire what cannot be bought, to hunger for compassion more than comfort, to seek depth over display, and to measure my life not by possessions but by the love I offer and the love I receive. Amen.