Parable of the Rich Fool
The Parable of the Rich Fool is a parable of Jesus which appears in The Gospel of Luke. It depicts the futility of the belief that wealth can secure prosperity or a good life. The parable has been depicted by artists such as Rembrandt. Narrative. The parable is introduced by a member of the crowd listening to Jesus, who tries to enlist Jesus' help in a family financial dispute: In Luke's account Jesus then responds with the parable: An abbreviated version of this parable also appears in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas (Saying  63). Interpretation. The rich farmer in this parable is portrayed negatively, as an example of greed. By replacing his existing barn, he avoids using agricultural land for storage purposes, thus maximising his income, as well as allowing him to wait for a price increase before selling. St. Augustine comments that the farmer was "planning to fill his soul with excessive and unnecessary feasting and was proudly disregarding all those empty bellies of the poor. He did not realize that the bellies of the poor were much safer storerooms than his barns." Arland J. Hultgren comments that the parable "provides an  example of what one ought not to be like. The person whose identity is tied up with his or her possessions, status, and/or achievements—and is driven by acquiring them—can so easily end up unaware of the call of God and the need of the neighbor." The farmer's conversation with himself is self-centred: first-person pronouns occur 11 times. The farmer's foolishness lies particularly in the fact that wealth cannot guarantee the future: the Day of Judgment arrives sooner than he expects. Ellicott's Commentary notes the difference between the fool's approach and the  psalmist's: Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. "The psalmist's repose is not the worldling's serenity nor the sensualist's security, but the repose of the quiet conscience and the trusting heart". Depictions. This parable has been depicted by several artists, including Rembrandt, Jan Luyken, James Tissot, and David Teniers the Younger.