The key verse of the parable Jesus tells here has a way of sending a chill down the spine. In that verse God exclaims, "Fool! This night your soul is required of you ..." (v. 20). Hearing that dramatic warning, maybe you have surmised, "Will I ever get caught in a situation where those stern words are addressed to me?"

Generally we tend to feel we have our lives on the right track. We try to keep a pleasing balance between material things and the things of the spirit. But when we look objectively, we are concerned about our own security -- both for the present and the future. Frankly, we have money on our minds more than we'd like to admit. Often these material concerns are so pervasive that in honesty we would have to agree that God might be justified in surprising us with the indictment h…