The Folly of Anxious Care – Luke 12:15-30

By David Woods

I hated it when I was a kid and my father would preach on worry.  Why?  For some reason, I often left those services with my stomach more tied up in knots that it was when I arrived! ;-)

Discussion: What are you worrying about right now?

Discussion: Why is it so easy to worry?

Read Luke 12:15-21

Discussion: Was this man in the wrong to have such grandiose plans for the future?  Why or why not?

(I believe the correct answer is “no”.)

Discussion: Why do some people, especially Christians, disparage planning for the future?  Are they correct?  Why or why not?

(Some seem to think that to plan for the future is to display a lack of trust in God or to disregard the prompting of the Holy Spirit.)

Discussion: What can the consequences of a failure to plan be?

Discussion: Why was the man in Jesus’ parable called a fool by God?

(Because he had failed to plan to meet God even though he was a very good planner concerning material pursuits.)

Discussion: What is the lesson we should learn from this parable?

(The point is not that planning is evil, but that we need to attend to the highest priorities of life first.  In other words, our plan for our eternal future is much more important than the most grandiose of our plans concerning temporal life/pursuits.)

Big Idea: Our spiritual welfare should be our highest priority in life.

Read Luke 12:22-30

Discussion: Why do you think this section on worry follows the parable of unwise planner?

Discussion: What does it mean to “take no thought for your life”?

Discussion: Does this “take no thought” mean we have no responsibility to plan for how to meet our material needs?

Discussion: Can one survive with such a disregard for the necessities of life?  How?

Evaluation: On a scale of 1 to 10, how intense is your worry over the necessities of life?

Discussion: Develop a plan of action to stop worrying so much about the cares of temporal life.