Luke 12:21 (WEB)

Passage

So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Nearby Context

Luke 12:19 I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”’

Luke 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’

Luke 12:21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:22 He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear.

Luke 12:23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lays", "treasure", "himself", "rich", and "toward". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lays" and "treasure", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "But God said to him You foolish..." into verse 22's "He said to his disciples Therefore I...", so "lays" and "treasure" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "lays" and "treasure" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.