"Rich Towards God"
Luke 12:13-21
August
5, 2007 10 th
Sunday After Pentecost
Every once in a
while you’ll see something on TV that everyone is talking about. The news media - radio, newspapers, and TV – will
be covering it. A great number of people
will expend great amounts of money and stand in long lines to be a part it. What is it?
A religious revival? The visit of
a head of state or the funeral of some dignitary? The second coming of Jesus Christ? No! It
is the drawing for a multimillion dollar lottery prize.
All the hoopla
surrounding this drawing showed a lot about Americans' attitudes toward
money. From the fact that so many people
are willing to throw their money away on something they have a less chance of
winning than being struck by lightening to all the the interviews about people
fantasizing about what they would do if they won, it shows how much value
people put on money and becoming wealthy
Now, if you think
this will be sermon to convince you that money is evil or try to make you feel
guilty about being "well off", you'll be disappointed. I won't do that because I can't for the
simple fact that nowhere does the Bible say that money is sinful. Money is simply a tangible and storable form
of labor – a God pleasing activity - to be used to obtain things that we
ourselves could not make. Therefore,
money is not sinful.
Neither is it
wrong to have or accumulate possessions.
Every single possession that you or I have was made by God or with
materials created by God. What God has
created is good so possessions are good.
The Bible gives many examples of men of God who were wealthy: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph of Arimathea,
to name a few. Therefore, it is also not
wrong to be "well off" or even rich.
The problem comes
about with our attitude toward money and possessions. Many people think that the Bible says money
is the root of all evil, but that's a misquote.
Instead, the Word of God actually says, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." (1 Tim.
6:10) When our attitude towards money
and possessions is such that we actually love those things - in other words,
when money and possessions (or the desire to gain more money and possessions)
controls us instead of we using and controlling them -- then all kinds of evil
will flow forth. Therefore, Jesus warns
us in our text, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of
greed;"
Why does Jesus
warn us so sternly about greed? He knows
what place money and possessions can take in our lives. In our epistle lesson for today, Paul says
that greed is part of our sinful
nature. He writes, "Put to death,
therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil
desires, and greed, which is idolatry.” Notice that:
he equates greed with idolatry - the worship of a false god.
Now, before you
think that Paul is over exaggerating a bit because neither you nor anyone you
knows actually bows down or prays to the Almighty Buck, consider what a god
really is. In his Large Catechism,
Luther defined a god as follows: "A god is that to which we look for all
good and in which we find refuge in every time of need." That "to which we look for all god"
and "find refuge in every time of need" does not have to be a
deity. Luther writes words that are as
true today (maybe moreso) as they were in the 16th century, "Many a person
thinks he has God and everything he needs when he has money and property; in
them he trusts and of them he boasts so stubbornly and securely that he cares
for no one. Surely such a man also has a
god — mammon by name, that is, money and
possessions — on which he fixes his whole heart. It is the most common idol on
earth."
Surely it is not
a "common idol" among us -- or is it?
What causes you more concern -- your financial status or your spiritual
status? What gives you the most security
and comfort in life -- an abundance of money or an abundance of God's blessing? What gives you the most happiness and
fulfillment in life -- some THING or God?
Now, sitting in church, you all know what the right answer SHOULD be,
but what is the reality in your life? To
what do you devote the majority of your time, effort and concern -- your material
life or your spiritual life? What is the
highest priority in your life – to care for your body or your soul? When any crisis comes, do you seek a
financial or spiritual solution? If, at
any time, financial or material matters consume more of your concern, your
enjoyment, or your priorities, then they have become your idol.
The consequences
of such idolatry are severe. Practically
speaking, suppose all your financial worries were taken care of and you had all the wealth you ever desired,
would that solve all your problems?
Would it make you truly happy?
That was the situation of the man in the parable which Jesus told. He had a bumper crop so huge that he couldn't
even store it all. So, he decides to
build new barns, sit back, "[t]ake life easy; eat, drink and be
merry." "But", the text
says, "God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life will be
demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
This is the only
recorded instance in the entire Scripture of God calling someone a fool. And why?
The man had spent his entire life on gaining material things with the
intent of spending his latter years enjoying them, forgetting that his life
could be gone in an instant and everything he had worked so hard to obtain
would go to someone else. To spend so
much time, effort, and worry to gain things that you might never enjoy and
which you cannot keep is
foolish. The writer of our Old Testament
lesson is very frank about this. He
calls such thinking "vanity of vanities".
But there are
consequences other than not being able to enjoy the money and possessions for
which you strive. There are spiritual
consequences as well. Having money and
possessions as an idol means you cannot have the true God as God. The desire for wealth and possessions pushes
you away from God. Paul writes,
"Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced
themselves with many griefs." This
leads to eternal consequences. Of his
check list of things belonging to the earthly nature in our epistle lesson
which included greed, Paul wrote, "Because of these, the wrath of God is
coming." God will tolerate no rivals.
Those who practice greed have no place with him. Ephesians says, "For of this you can be
sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person --such a man is an idolater --has any
inheritance in the
What's the
solution? To say that money and
possessions are not important would be foolish. To say that you should not be concerned with
the things of this world would be naive.
Rather, we should look at why
Jesus warned us against all kinds of greed in our test. He said, "for one’s life does not
consist in the abundance of his possessions." We
need to reevaluate our notion of what life really is and what makes it
complete. Life is not merely a time to
accumulate things so that, at its conclusion, as the bumper sticker says,
"The one who dies with the most toys wins." As one author put it, “The person who
succumbs to the temptation of greed is trying to establish and measure his life
by what he has. Such a person does not understand who he is in relation to God and others. Possessions are not the source of true life
or wealth in relation to God" (Just, p.505-506). Something far more valuable is.
That source is
not within us or any created thing. By
nature, none of us has any true life because we have no relationship with the
source of life, God. The link has been
broken because of our sin. Sure, we have
physical life which may last 80 or 90 years and if that's all there is, then we
might as well "eat, drink, and be merry" as the rich man in our story
intended to do.
But that is not
all God intended for us. Life is more
than a series of biological functions.
True life is a relationship with the Giver of Life that includes this
physical life on earth and all eternity after this present life. In order to have this kind of life, that link
with God must be reestablished and what could possibly do that? As Jesus said, "What can a man give in
exchange for his soul?" The implied
answer is “nothing”.
But Jesus Himself
paid a price far higher than all the wealth of the world to rescue you from an
empty life and give you true life. The
Apostle Peter writes, "For you know that it was not with perishable things
such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed
down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a
lamb without blemish or defect." (1 Peter 1:18-19).
By Jesus'
suffering and death, you now have something far more precious than all the
money in world -- a true and meaningful life -- a life connected to God. By His resurrection, you are assured that
this life will outlast every dollar you earn or every thing you possess -- it
will continue forever. You neither have
to strive after the possessions of this world which dim in comparison nor do
you have to measure your value by what you possess or have accumulated. Your value or worth is not in "keeping
up with the Jones" but being declared by God to be His children. As the Apostle John wrote in his first
epistle, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should
be called children of God! And that is what we are!"
By that
declaration of God, you now possess everything that is of the most value,
regardless of what your financial situation is now or ever will be. You have a loving relationship with the One
who creates and distributes earthly wealth.
You have the assurance of God's care for you physically every day of
your life. And you have the promise of a
secure eternity. What more could you ask
for or need?
Therefore, as the
temptations to greedily strive after the idols of more wealth, more
possessions, and more of the so-called "good life", keep your attention focused on the one true
God and the truly good life He has given you in your baptism and which He
richly renews when you hear His Word and eat and drink the body and blood of
His Son, Jesus, in the Holy Sacrament here.
With that kind of focus, greed, jealousy and covetousness will
disappear.
As you live your
lives outside the walls of this sanctuary, trust God to care for you as He has
promised. This is certainly not easy,
especially when the economy drops, jobs are lost, and bills pile up faster than
money comes in. To do so means
relinquishing control over our lives.
One bumper sticker put it:
"Let go and Let God".
That is most difficult. Yet He
has promised in His Word, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and
be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave
you; never will I forsake you." (Heb. 13:5) He will always provide His children with the
things they need to support this body and life.
It will be easier
when you view money and material possessions in a slightly different
light. Instead of seeing wealth and
possessions as the end all fulfillment of life to which we are entitled as part
of the American way of life, view them as gifts of God to support us until we
reach the end all fulfillment in heaven.
With this way of thinking, we will always be content and satisfied with
having the necessities of life and will thrilled with all the extras with which
God does bless us.
Finally, one
radical way to free yourself from worry over excessive wealth and possessions
which I would leave for your consideration today is to simply not have
excessive wealth and possessions. One
commentator said about this text,
“the
remedy for worry and anxiety over wealth is to
give away one’s surplus. Those given
an abundance of God’s gifts in this world may fear and thank God, enjoy his
gifts in community (not selfishly for
oneself alone), and freely give away what
God has freely given. (Just, p.507)
The need or desire we have to clutch the things of this world is
great alleviated when we simply open our hands and let go, rather than working
so hard to hold on to them. When we
realize that material possessions are not ours to gain by our own efforts or
merits, but gifts given by God out of His undeserved grace and mercy, then
giving away our excess is not as difficult as it sounds for God will always
replenish it.
Would you
consider yourself to be rich? It depends
on how you define “rich”. If richness is
measured in terms of money and material things, then, no, not everyone will be
rich and striving after that kind of wealth can have devastating consequences
in our personal life and in our relationship with God. If richness is measured in terms of spiritual
wealth -- the abundant blessings of God, full and complete forgiveness for all
sin, and a rich life that will never end, then you are rich beyond your wildest
dreams and you didn’t have to do a thing to become that way. Christ has done it all for you by His death and
resurrection. As John says in His
Gospel, "to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he
gave the right to become children of God."
That is the wealth you have by virtue of your baptism. That is the wealth that remains your by
virtue of your faith. That is the wealth
that will last long after every dollar is spent and every possession has
crumbled into ruins. That is YOUR
wealth...and there can be no greater kind.
Amen.