ASK PUBLISHING COMPANY
887 Oakwood Drive
Columbus, Georgia 31904
Phone: (706) 660-1623
ask@askpublishingcompany.com

Reflections of Richard Serrin on painting the
Parable of the Rich Fool, Luke 12:13-21

“Take heed and beware of covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” The earth and all therein is in our custody and we of all creatures are the ones who can abuse or use it wisely. Great wealth can only be accrued by the misuse of earth’s gifts which give us life, health, and beauty. To sacrifice all these for the wealth we must leave to others (for good or ill we cannot know) is a harsh cost. But a heavier cost still is the ravaged earth we shall also leave to others – for generation upon generation.

In the old tale, God sent us from Eden to work the land in sweat and travail, because we usurped from his dominion the knowledge of good and evil. We decide our own destiny now, and appear to have borne the serpent out – we have prospered, creating an Eden beyond Eden. Or have we? Is God so easily denied? Listen to Jeremiah: “ . . . for the wickedness of those who dwell in the land, the birds and the beasts are swept away, because man said, ‘God shall not see our latter end.’

Or, as a friend was quick to point out, the life of the rich fool was not bad at all by our standards. For a wealthy man to be stricken in the prime of life after years of hard work would be sad; we might even feel he had been unfairly treated by God. Why was he the fool, then, in the eyes of Jesus?

Two brothers are contending over an inheritance, each concerned to receive what he felt was his share. They seek Jesus as an arbiter. “Man, who made me judge or divider over you?” Possessions are no concern of his, and, furthermore, to covet them in abundance is dangerous. After recounting the parable, he closes with the caution that he who lays up treasures and is not rich toward God is a fool. To Jesus, of course it is impossible to lay up treasures and be rich toward God - “you cannot serve God and mammon.” For the disciples of Jesus, as for the more ascetic Jewish sects of that intertestamental period, wealth seemed inimical to righteousness. James (5:1-6) could say, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. . . You have laid up treasures for the last days . . . the wages of the laborers which you kept back by fraud, cry out . . . you have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man.”

What, according to Jesus, should be our proper attitude towards wealth: “Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on . . . Instead, seek the kingdom and these things will be yours as well . . . Sell your possessions and give alms. . . for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” There is more, of course in Luke 12: 22-34’

We must presume our rich fool has, moreover, “gathered as the partridge a brood she did not hatch, getting riches but not by right.” (Jeremiah 17:11) Then, too, is not man’s ambition all vanity: “Surely man goes about as a shadow, surely for naught are they in turmoil; man heaps up and knows not who will gather.” (Psalm 39:6). This all doubtlessly seems strange and antithetical today; certainly it is seldom preached. But Jesus, the son of God preached it.

Richard Serrin
 

Purchase Information:

17' x 22" paper size (Image size 16" diameter of circular paintings) These prints are reproduced on Natural White Entrada 300 gsm Archival Acid Free Paper with archival inks.

8-1/2" x 11 paper size (Image size 7-3/4" diameter of circular paintings) These prints are reproduced on Natural White Entrada 300 gsm Archival Acid Free Paper with archival inks.

Each print includes a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist in Italy and his reflections on painting these parables.

PURCHASE Print
Cost - $100 each	The Parable of the Rich Fool 17 X 22
Cost - $30 each	The Parable of the Rich Fool 8.5 X 11