The Kindness Cycle 

Part Six: roadblocks May 17, 2026 

The premise of this series is that Christians should be the kindest people on earth because their kind God has showered them with kindness and given them the ability to show kindness to others.   

The Four Roadblocks to Kindness: 

1.  Fear - Fearful people do not show kindness because they are focused on their personal safety and security. 

2.  Selfishness - Selfish people do not show kindness because they are focused on pleasing themselves. 

3.  Greed - Greedy people do not show kindness because they are focused on getting more. 

4.  Pride - Prideful people do not show kindness because they are focused on promoting themselves. 

Here’s the context of the Parable of the Rich Fool… 

• A man asked Jesus to tell his brother to give him more of their father’s estate.  

Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”  (Luke 12:13, NLT)  

To understand what is going on here, you need to know two things.  First, Jewish fathers left 2/3 of their inheritance to their firstborn son and the remaining 1/3 to the other sons.  Second, the man’s request to Jesus wasn’t unusual.  It was customary in those days for rabbis to mediate legal matters because they were considered well-educated and honest.   

• Jesus refused to mediate the legal matter. 

Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?”  (Luke 12:14, NLT)  

Jesus asked the younger brother, “Why do you think I have the wisdom and authority to judge over the financial matter between you and your brother?”  Basically, Jesus asked the man, “Who do you think I am?”  

• Jesus told his listeners to guard against greed, for life is not measured by how much you own.   

Then he (Jesus) said, “Beware!  Guard against every kind of greed.  Life is not measured by how much you own.”  (Luke 12:15, NLT)  

Why should you guard against greed?  Because greedy people are never content with what God has given them.  And greedy people measure their life's success by how much they own.   

• Jesus told a story that proved his point.  

Then He (Jesus) told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.  He said to himself, “What should I do?  I don’t have room for all my crops.”  Then he said, “I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones.  Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods.”  And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come.  Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”  But God said to him, “You fool! You will die this very night.  Then who will get everything you worked for?”  “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”   (Luke 12:16–21, NLT)  

Jesus’ story is simple.  A rich man had a fertile farm that produced so much wheat he didn’t know what to do with it all.  The man’s farm produced too much food!  The rich man could have given away his extra grain, but instead, the selfish farmer tore down his barns and built bigger barns so he could keep all his grain and sit back and eat, drink, and be merry for many years.   

Jesus doesn’t tell us how or when the rich man died, or what he died of.  We don’t know if the man died of a heart attack from overeating, or God decided to kill the man for being fearful, selfish, greedy, and prideful.  Jesus only tells us that God told the rich farmer that he was a fool and was going to die and leave all his money and possessions to someone else. 

The rich fool was fearful; he was afraid he would run out of food.  The rich fool was selfish; he lived for himself, giving no thought to others' needs.  The rich fool was greedy; he could never get enough.  And the rich man was prideful; not once did he acknowledge God’s goodness or give thanks to the Lord for blessing him. 

Takeaways from the Parable of the Rich Fool… 

1. Your life’s success will not be measured by how much you own, but by how much you love God and do His will.   Your number one goal should not be to get richer; it should be to develop a rich relationship with God.   

2.  You cannot serve two masters.  You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money (Matthew 6:19-24).   

3.  Fearful, selfish, greedy, and prideful people do not keep the Great Commandments (Matthew 22: 34-40). 

4. God owns everything and has all rights (Psalm 24:1; Colossians 1:16).  You are merely God’s steward.  You only have responsibilities (Matthew 25:14-30). 

5.  God does not bless us so we can spend our fortunes on ourselves. He blesses us so we can be a blessing to others. Whether rich or poor, God expects us to serve Him by serving people. 

How do you remove the roadblocks to kindness from your life? 

• Surrender your life to the Lord.