Greed

Luke 12:13-37 Luke usually introduces Jesus’ parables with the story of a human encounter. On this occasion, Jesus met an unusual man. We do not know his name. He simply shouts a question out of the crowd. But consider what this man had to go through to shout out this question. He walked many miles through rough terrain. He had to make his way through a crowd of people who in faith and desperation, crowded around Jesus for salvation in bodies and souls. Many of them came, but few would get the chance to speak. Yet this man was able to speak his plea. What was his desire? Did it have to do with eternal life, like Nicodemus? Was it a plea for healing from a deadly illness? Was it the cry of a disciple “Lord, teach us to pray”? No. This was his only question “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!” This may seem like a shallow question to you and I, but it was critically important to his man. It had been building up inside of him for years. This man had a father, who became ill. While the rest of the family thought of losing poor daddy, this man set his sights on what poor daddy owned. He was secretly pricing his houses, lands, and furniture. He focused his attention on his inheritance after he went. But the division was not up to him. His older brother was the first-born. It was the custom for the oldest to be the executor of the estate. He divided the goods according to custom between the other siblings. His older brother, who may well have been as greedy as he was. The older brother did not divide the estate. He kept it to himself. This made the man furious, but there was nothing he could do about it. The courts would not hear his case. So when he heard about Jesus, who might be the Messiah and was certainly a man of great power, he decided to ask him for justice. Only the man was disappointed. Here’s what Jesus. "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you.?” Even worse, Jesus made him a living example of greed. Was this fair? Actually, the man had a point. Shouldn’t his brother divide the estate? Wasn’t this man entitled to a portion of his father’s wealth? Why doesn’t anyone stand up for this man’s rights? This isn’t about rights. It is about heart. This man had no sense of proportion. All he could see was money. Consider what he had been through. He lost his father. He was cheated by a brother. He had seen the Son of God standing before him in the flesh. Yet all he can think of was his inheritance that he did not have. He did not think of himself as greedy, but he was. No one thinks of themselves as greedy. Greed is just an extension of behavior that we all share. Greed is not a quest for money--it is a quest for what money brings. Greed is the outworking of a desire for power, security, or comfort. Greed comes from a sense of entitlement--that the world owes us something. We set out to take it, even at the expense of others. If we fail to take it, then someone must have cheated us out of it.We never think of that as wrong. But Jesus says that it is. We are not meant to be secure in this life. Only God can bring true security. To illustrate this, Jesus told a tale. 16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' 20 "But 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?' Then he gives this moral. 21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Jesus speaks about another man—a farmer. He does not start off to be greedy. But his success starts to get the best of him. He grows so much grain that he cannot use it in a season. He could give it away, of cours—he doesn’t have to keep it. But he starts to think. “If I save enough of this grain, I won’t have to worry about the future. So he keeps it. But how does he keep it, and where? There’s no room. So he builds bigger barns. But how do you build bigger barns? You hire more workers. But how do you feed those workers? You grow more grain. Now you have workers and barns, but you also have more overhead. You need more horses to work the farm. You need milk cows and chickens to feed the workers. Barns must be repaired regularly if you want to keep them. So the farmer must work harder. Soon there is on time for anything else.. Now he wonders, will I ever get to the place where I can enjoy life? Can I ever retire? He knows he can’t. One day, he will finally fill those extra barns. Then he can retire. After years of trying, he finally gets to the point where he can retire. He finally fills those extra barns. He is finally caught up. Now he can play. He jumps up and clicks his heels—--and falls over dead of a heart attack. On his grave they write. “Here Lies Farmer Jones—the Greediest Man in the County.” But he’s not greedy, is he? Jesus says he is. He’s greedy because he thought that the acquisition of wealth would bring happiness. He looked at wealth the way the Bible says we should look upon God, as the source of life, health, and happiness. He was greedy because he was worried, and he was worried because he was greedy. Jesus addresses the worry behind the greed. In verses 22-27 22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. God has give us all a superabundance of wealth. The problem is, what we don’t see it. Worry comes between us and the vision of God’s abundance. The birds don’t worry. As a result, they enjoy more blessings than we. The lilies don’t worry—yet look how beautiful they are. God provides for them. If you want to know happiness, look at your dog. He runs around naked and eats dog food out of a bowl on the floor, but at the end of the day, when you have been working so hard to get the best for your family and life seems to want to crush you under its load, your dog is curled up on the rug with a silly smile on his face, enjoying life. If you want to trust, look at a baby. All a baby needs is milk and mamma. He doesn’t’ care if he is dressed in rags or silks. All that matter to him is who is holding him. Jesus takes that moral and applies it to our lives. 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “For where your treasure is”. Where is your treasure. Our treasure is what we treasure. Do we treasure things, or do we treasure relationships/ God in His good grace has first of all given Himself to bless us. Lean upon him like a child leans on his mother’s breast. Lean upon him like a dog looks to his master. In this,w e will never be disappointed. Ditch the baggage of life. You don’t need it. God has given you the kingdom. Put your treasure in your heart, not in things. Trust God and he will hold you up.