John Calvin Commentary Luke 12:17

"and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits?" — Luke 12:17 (ASV)

What shall I do? Wicked men are driven to perplexity in their deliberations, because they do not know how anything is to be lawfully used;²⁶⁹ and, furthermore, because they are intoxicated with a foolish confidence that makes them forget themselves.

Thus we find that this rich man lengthens his expectation of life in proportion to his large income and drives far away from him the remembrance of death.

Yet this pride is accompanied by distrust. For such men, even when they have had their fill, are still agitated by insatiable desire. This is like the rich man, who enlarges his barns as if his belly—which had been filled from his former barns—had not gotten enough.

At the same time, Christ does not expressly condemn this man for acting the part of a careful householder in storing up his produce. Instead, He condemns him because his ravenous desire, like a deep whirlpool, swallows up and devours many barns. From this, it follows that he does not comprehend the proper use of abundant produce.

²⁶⁹ “Pource qu’ils ne scavent point quel est le droit et legitime usage des creatures de Dieu;” — “because they know not what is the proper and lawful use of the creatures of God.”;” — “because they know not what is the proper and lawful use of the creatures of God.”