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| Rembrandt 1627, The Parable of the Rich Fool |
'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.' Luke 12:15
There is a unique slang in the Hokkien dialect which has come into use in the Singaporean-Malaysian Chinese community to welcome prosperity, 'Huat Ah!' It has also become a greeting among friends, much like the US battle cry 'Hooah!' We now use 'Huat Ah!' when we toss the customary Chinese New Year dish/salad, 'Yu Sheng.'
Yu Sheng is a dish made of ingredients with symbolic meanings to usher in prosperity at the start of the Chinese New Year. It is served on the seventh day of the New Year which is everyone's birthday renri (人日everyman’s birthday). Because this dish is so popular, it is now served from the eve to the 15th day of the New Year. The symbolism and meaning of the ingredients, unfortunately, may underlie our obsession with material wealth.
- The greetings at the start of dish gongxi facai (恭喜发财 wishing you wealth and good fortune) and huat ah (prosperity)
- Raw fish with the words which nian nian youyu (年年有余 abundance through the year)
- Dried orange peels over the fish daji dali (大吉大利 which is luck and auspicious value)
- Liberal dash of pepper and 5-spice powder over the ingredients zhaocai jinbao (招财进宝 greater prosperity and fortune)
- Add carrots and green and white radish to the fish, indicating hongyun dangtou (鸿运当头 ), feng sheng shui qi (风生水起), bubu gaosheng (步步高升) to bring blessings of good luck, prosperity in business and promotion at work
- Dust ground peanuts on the dish, jinyin manwu (金银满屋 a household filled with gold and silver)
- Sesame seeds follow, symbolising growth in business shengyi xinglong (生意兴隆)
- Finally abundance of pillow-shaped deep-fried flour crisps to literally mean that the whole floor would be filled with gold, biandi huangjin (遍地黄金)
In an age of affluence and plenty, want has become need and luxury a necessity. Although the Chinese may be very dramatic in their wishes for wealth and materialism, it is the same for almost all the modern cultures living in cities. Enticed by consumerism and fueled by avarice, we buy and spend much much more than we need.
Jesus Christ warned, a man may store up things for himself but is not rich toward God. We are in danger of becoming the rich fool mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.
'And He told them this parable. The ground of a rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, "What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops." Then he said, "This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones and there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat drink and be merry." But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" This is how it will be for whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.' Luke 12:16-21
Like that rich fool, misled by the comforts and satisfaction riches can bring, we equate financial security with eternal security. That would be a mistake.
A man who understood what it means to live life depending on God’s faithfulness rather than financial security was Thomas Chisholm. Rev Chisholm wrote more than 1200 poems, many were written into hymns including Great is Thy Faithfulness.
Thomas Chisholm, living in a state of “just enough” learned a lesson of dependence on God’s faithfulness which the rich fool in the parable did not.
Why is that farmer in Jesus' parable such a fool?
- He sacrificed living for God by living for himself.
- He confused surplus for security
- He lived for time and not eternity
- He assumed he had lots of time
In contrast, we should live our lives dependent on the blessings of God, a useful lesson as we step into 2022.
'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' Lamentations 3:24
Thomas Chisholm's lyrics were derived from Lamentations 3 and were set to music by William Runyan. From the heart of a Methodist minister, 'Great is Thy Faithfulness' has inspired countless believers to trust their faithful God.
'Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.' Lamentations 3:21-23
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changed not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!
How many times have we stood in church and along with the congregation sang this great hymn? Did we not feel warmness of heart and realise that our life is abundant only by God's great faithfulness?
Updated 1st Published 19 Mar 2007
hi lionel,
ReplyDeletehow true! that financial security is not eternal security. in fact, far from it!
this is timely as our nation journeys through a period of economic booming, where property prices skyrocketed and purchases getting more expensive. i must be guilty finding myself ask at times, "why can't i also ride on this wave of prosperity?", "everyone's investing, except me...", thots that are so human yet so unpleasing to the Lord. May God purify us to focus on His Kingdom instead of looking at our earthly lots.
Cheers, Patrina
Thanks for sharing uncle Lionel.
ReplyDeleteI come across a lot of extraordinarily wealthy people at my job, and I am struck by how poorly wealth correlates with happiness or satisfaction. Many of the leaders I meet are extraordinary professionals but have dysfunctional personal lives. Many suffer from OCD, sleeplessness, multiple divorces, or depression. Most CEO's hardly have time to spend with their families.
There was an interesting study published by a Princeton University research group in the journal 'Science' last year. They studied the relationship between financial wealth and happiness, and found surprisingly low correlation. The researchers concluded that once one makes enough to survive (a surprisingly low $12,000 a year), increasing wealth has very little effect on increasing happiness.
See: http://www.webmd.com/news/20060630/study-money-wont-make-you-happy
Spiritual lessons are often difficult to test with science, but this is an example of one which does seem to have scientific corroboration.
Hope you and the family are well!
Lionel, thanks for your article. I was also reflecting over Dr Rick Langston's sermon and realized how I need to be on guard against wrong attitudes which are not pleasing towards God. The rich fool was blessed with good crop. But he overlooked this blessing and planned for more for himself. He forgot God is in charge of his life. In Singapore, it is so easy to assume we have lots of time, to confuse surplus with security, etc. Your article on Thomas Chislom and his reflections on Lamentations 3 reminds me to remember God is in charge of my life, my planning for the future, etc. It also reminds me of your other article about being God's instruments. We are just God's instruments or stewards. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for leaving your comments. The sermon preached by Rick Langston was in the context of Missions Sunday in church. It celebrates the wisdom of missionaries like Belinda who gave up their all to live lives by a priority beyond riches. The word fool featured prominantly in this post. I am reminded of a missionary by the name of Jim Elliot. Jim was a missionary in Ecuador to the Auca Indians. On the 28 Oct 1948 Jim penned these words, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" He arrived in Ecuador on 21 Feb 1952. He and four other missionaries were killed by the same Indian tribes they had tried to contact and evangelise on 8 Jan 1956. His wife Elizaeth Elliot wrote his biography entitled "Under the shadow of the Almighty." You will read of a life lived for God and not for personal gratification. The wikipedia page provide a short essay of Jim Elliot's life - http://www.answers.com/topic/jim-elliot
ReplyDeleteThink about what Jim said in that single sentence
Dear Lionel,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your family reflections with your friends.
Over the years God places rich deposits on our hearts as He graciously forms us and leads us through life. Once we have deeply imbibed God's Kingdom values, our hearts will become a new well-spring. An outflow of good testimony and Kingdom insights is part of our transformation.
Thank you for creatively taking the lead in encouraging such outflow whereby we eddify one another. Luke 6:45
Blessings & regards,
Peter Koh
I know what it means to be in the "just enough" lifestyle. In the mid70s I left a practice that gave me a very good income. After doing self-supported graduate studies in theology, I cam back to serve at 40% what what I was drawing. I had three kids then - two more than three years before. But the Lord made it sufficient. God is able. Money is never enough. But when there is enough faith, God makes whatever He gives enough!
ReplyDeleteAbove comment on 9 Feb 2022 is by Rev(Dr) William Wan
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