Dr. Luke in his gospel introduces four rich persons. Sadly, three of them failed to do God’s will, while one repented and started afresh.
Selfish rich man: The rich man had fields. That particular season he had an abundant harvest. It was a bonus and bumper harvest. He thought he would expand the storage capacity of warehouses and keep the grains for many years. Relax, eat, drink and enjoy was the message he gave to himself. However, Lord called him a fool and asked what would happen if that was his last night on earth. (Luke 12: 13-21) Lord warned against all covetousness and life’s meaning and purpose is not an abundance of riches.
Self-indulgent rich man: This rich man liked to be dressed in the latest trendy apparel like purple and linen. His daily meal was a sumptuous feast. Sadly, there was a poor man within his sight but he did not care to help this poor man. When he died, he was thrown into hell, while the poor Lazarus was in the bosom of Abraham. The rich man assumed he was born to enjoy good things and the poor man was destined to suffer bad things. He never understood that the riches were his litmus test, which he failed. (Luke 16:19-31)
Self-confident Rich: A well-accomplished youngster who was rich, holding a high position, intelligent, and was blameless according to Mosaic Law. With all these, he wanted to add one more feather to his cap, eternal life. The problem of this young man was not that he possessed riches, he was possessed by riches. The antidote was to de-addict from riches. When Lord asked him to sell his riches and give them to the poor, he felt extremely sad and left. (Luke 18:18-30)
Self-giving rich: Zacchaeus was covetous, exploited his clients, and amassed great wealth. When he met Lord Jesus Christ, his life was changed. He promised to give back looted wealth with a penalty and share half of his wealth with the poor. (Luke 19:1-10)
Do I belong to those who are rich in giving like Zacchaeus?