Whenever I think of a rich man I think of Howard Hughes. He was not only extremely wealthy but also extremely eccentric. Hughes once bought a Las Vegas television station for little less than four million dollars simply because he wanted to watch cowboy movies all night, and this station had cowboy movies but not playing all night. Hughes wanted to watch them up until 6 a.m. That is what you do if you are an eccentric millionaire.[1]

Hughes has helped me to understand the rich man in Jesus’ parable. The point of the parable is not a sweeping condemnation of wealth but rather a critique of the rich man’s self-centered ways. He didn’t even “see” the poor man Lazarus sitting on his doorstep.

Jesus’ audience this time was not the twelve disciples but the Pharisees. Those who proclaim the so-…