Generous or Greedy
Luke 12:13-21
April 14, 2013
SHOW VIDEO ~ Do you remember watching NASA launches? They were so exciting as you would be listening to Houston talking and to the astronauts. It was reality television at its best. Finally you’d hear the countdown.
Isn’t that great!! When the rocket sits on the launch pad, it’s pulled by the earth’s gravitational force, and it takes the booster to get it away from the gravity and into space where it can freely fly.
Last week I began this series of messages on Generosity by talking about God’s blessings to us. God is like the river of blessings which flows into our lives, then we need to pass on those blessings, otherwise we become like the Dead Sea, which is desolate and has no outlet. We don’t want to be Dead Sea Christ followers.
Instead of looking at generosity as a river, I want you to see it as a rocket. It’s being held back by the world’s G-force. Now in this case, G doesn’t stand for gravity; G stands for greed, because if you want to be generous, then you’re going to have to escape the pull of greed. Greed is that constant tug to accumulate more and more stuff for yourself. Greed keeps generosity from taking off in our lives. greed = intense and selfish desire for food, wealth, power.
You see, we have opposing forces at work in us. There’s greed that’s pulling you to get, get, get and keep, keep, keep. And there’s generosity that’s pushing you to give, give, give. Ultimately, I believe it’s a matter of the heart. That’s where I ended last week, asking if God has captured your heart?! When He catches your heart, that acts like the rocket boosters. They’ll enable the generosity rocket to escape the gravitation pull of greed and take off in your life.
Luke 12 is a parable about greed. In this parable, Jesus exposes the subtle power of greed and He makes a compelling case for how destructive and foolish, greed is.
Luke 12:13 begins the story: 13 ‘”Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’
14 Jesus replied, ‘Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?’‘”
There’s an angry guy in the crowd. We can assume that his parents died and left an inheritance which his older brother wasn’t willing to share with him, so he’s asking Jesus to settle this.
But in this situation the guy doesn’t just seem to be asking; he’s telling Jesus, ‘”Make my brother give me some money.’” Jesus isn’t pleased with the request. He’s going to take this family squabble in a different direction than hoped for.
Greed causes conflict in relationships. I’ve seen it, especially when a loved one dies or is dying and the family starts fighting over who’s going to get the family jewels. I’ve been there personally and experienced it. Some families will write their names on different items to lay claim on what’s theirs. Talk about tension in the air. I’ve seen family members slowly taking items out of the house, unbeknownst to the other family members. This is what greed does.
Maybe you’ve been there. You’ve squabbled over an inheritance with brothers or sisters like this guy in Luke 12. Or you had money you thought was due you, but it went to someone else, maybe the step-kids. Or maybe you’re married, and you’ve argued about money this past week. Money is one of the biggest issues in marriages.
Maybe you argued about how much money to give at church. One of you wants to give more, and the other wants to hold back. That’s not unusual. Maybe you’re mad at your mom and dad because they haven’t bought you something you wanted. They refuse to spend the money.
Greed causes conflict in business relationships. How many of you have been on the short end of this stick? You have a customer who expects you to give away the store. You have a partner who’s cheated you. Or you’re barely making it, but the CEO is flying off on luxury vacations.
Greed causes conflict among friends. It may be something as simple as divvying up the lunch bill. Who’s going to pay what? Hey, their lunch was $1 more, they had a drink and I had water. That rat!!
Maybe you have tension with your neighbor because you think they should let you use their new snow blower, or now their new lawn mower. It may be over wedding invitations and who you’re going to invite to the reception because there’s only so much money to pay for the meals. Somebody might get bent out of shape because they’re not invited. Or maybe you think, didn’t we give them a $250 espresso maker for their wedding? And they only gave us a $35 toaster.
And this is true in our relationship with God. Greed is going to hold you back in your relationship with God, and generosity is going to set you free to fly into orbit.
The second warning is this: greed comes in a wide variety of forms. In verse 15, Jesus turns from the guy to the crowd: 15 ‘”Then Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against ALL KINDS OF GREED; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’‘”
Did you notice how this verse begins with a double warning? ‘”Watch out! Be on your guard.’” Jesus does not want us to miss His point. Greed is a danger we won’t see coming unless we’re really vigilant. It’s sneaky.
Jesus says greed comes in a wide variety of forms. We think of greed as only dealing with money, yet notice that Jesus said, to be on guard against “all kinds of greed.” In other words, there’s not just one type of greed which will get you.
Let me give you a list of some types of greed.
1. Fearful greed
You’re hesitant to give money away because you’re worried about meeting your own needs. You have to put food on the table. You have to make car payments. You have to cover the electric bill. You need money for the doctor. You have your mortgage or rent to pay. Some people believe they can’t afford to give to church. I don’t buy that. I believe we can’t afford not to give.
I’m not going to dwell on this part, but when the Bible speaks about giving, I believe God tells us to give 10%, or a tithe. That starts with the church and extends beyond that to other organizations. Let me give you an example.
Picture this — We have 20 amazing brownies. These look great don’t they? Now, when God says to give back 10%, it means we have to do this . . . and if brownies is our money, then how many do we have to give back to God? God receives His share, that’s 2 brownies! That’s not a bad deal, is it? I get 18 brownies, God gets 2. It’s almost not fair, but God is good, gracious and generous!
Now, I know there are people who are unemployed, and struggle about what to do. You can’t give if you don’t get something. God’s not expecting you to give from what you don’t have. But if you get something, if it’s an unemployment check or a severance check, can you give the Lord a percentage of it, because you can’t afford to have God on the sidelines in your life. You / we all need God to be active in our life and we need to be active with God.
2. Covetous greed
You didn’t want an iPhone until all your friends got iPhones, and now you realize you can’t live without one. We want their car or their jeans or their concert tickets or their sunroom or their weekend getaway or their nails and hair.
The greatest way to move beyond coveting is to look at what we do have, not what we don’t have. Look around your home and give thanks for what you have. Look at all your possessions and give thanks for the blessings God has given to us.
3. Impulsive greed
I remember the first time I bought something on Ebay. I bought a bunch of trains for the Thomas the train set the boys had. I think I was bidding on about 7 different trains. I didn’t have a clue who I was bidding against, and my emotions were getting the best of me and there was no way I was going to lose. You may not know it, but I’m a little competitive. Well, I won, I still got a bargain, but not as much as I thought I would get. I let the impulsive nature of Ebay get the best of me.
Ever been there? Do you make impulsive decisions to eat out or buy clothes? You see it. You want it. You get it. You’re depressed, so you go to the store and buy stuff so you feel better. Credit cards make impulsive purchases so easy. You’re depressed, so you go to the store and buy stuff so you feel better.
When you have that urge, consider if you need that item, or if it’s a pretty bad want. Do you need it? What’s the cost, what’s the impact on your finances. Take a day or two to research the item and other similar items. If you’re struggling, talk to someone and get help. Later this year, I’m hoping to have another financial course, like others which we’ve done in the past.
4. Family greed
Have you ever seen a commercial for Michelin tires? Michelin is an expensive tire. The TV announcer doesn’t say, ‘We sell expensive tires, but they’re high quality so you should buy them.’ Instead they show you a young mom driving on a winding mountain road in a storm with two kids asleep in the backseat. The announcer says, ‘Don’t you want the best tires on your car at a time like this?’ So every dad who’s watching this is supposed to get up and buy new Michelin tires. It’s been said that we’ve made family into a God. If you want an airtight argument for anything you’d like to do, say that you’re doing it for your family. This will end the discussion.
We even take Sunday’s off from church claiming it’s a family day. I’ve got to be careful on this one, but we really can’t start our family day at worship?
Now, I’m not saying family vacations and purchases are bad, but none of them are automatically good just because they’re for family. Even a good cause like family can become a source of greed in our lives.
5. Good-life greed
Do you have expensive tastes? Do you like the best of everything, whether it’s the stereo system or the food you eat or the seat in the stadium or the jeans you wear or your vacation spot or your breed of dog? Again, there’s nothing wrong with an occasional ‘”best.’” But is that at the expense of what’s eternal.
6. Retirement greed
Perhaps the reason you can’t be more generous is because you’re saving as much money as possible for retirement. Saving for retirement is wise, we’re doing it; but not without limits. If you’re saving for retirement, are you excluding God?
The third warning that Jesus gives about greed is that greed gives a false sense of well-being. Verse 16 says:
16 Then Jesus told them this parable: ‘”The ground of a certain rich man produced plentifully,
17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’
18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, and be merry.’”’
20 ‘”But God said to him, ‘Fool! This very night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
It’s not good when God calls you a fool. God didn’t call this man a fool because he was successful at farming. There’s nothing wrong with running a profitable business. God didn’t call this farmer a fool because he sinned. His success was not due to the fact that he charged inflated prices for his crops or that he abused his employees or engaged in hostile takeovers or lied to his banker. It seems this guy was hardworking, honest and had business savvy. If we knew a guy like this, we would probably admire him.
Why does God call him a fool? First, this foolish farmer failed to recognize the source of his wealth. He saw himself as a self-made man. He gave all the credit for his success to his hard work and business expertise. In verses 16 – 20, he made six ‘I’ statements. ‘I this,’ ‘I that,’ and 4 ‘I will’ statements, as if he’s the master of his own destiny. He also said five ‘my’ statements — ‘my crops,’ ‘my barns,’ ‘my grain,’ ‘my goods,’ ‘my soul.’ God is absent in this mans plans and praise. The farmer is a fool because he failed to recognize God as the source of his wealth.
Do we recognize the fact that every dollar we’ve earned, every gift we’ve received, every dividend comes from God. Don’t you think that gives God the right to have a significant say about how those dollars are spent or how they’re given?
This farmer also failed to recognize the brevity of his life. In verse 19, the farmer said, ‘I’m going to have lots of goods laid up for many years.’ But in verse 20, God said, ‘Fool! This very night your soul / life will be demanded of you.’ The farmer thinks his earthly existence is going to go on forever, but it’s not. He’s investing everything in what is temporary. This is why God calls the man a ‘fool.’
Greed will give you a false sense of well-being. But don’t think it’s all about the here and now. Don’t spend your money just because it makes you happy today. God says, think about the future. Greed keeps us from being rich toward God
Greed deprives us of opportunities to be rich toward God. In verse 21, Jesus sums up the story: ‘This is how it will be with anyone who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.’ What happened to the foolish farmer could easily happen to us. God presents us with a clear choice. We can either store up things for ourselves — more clothes, more lattes, more square feet in our homes, more phone apps, more travel miles, more rounds of golf, more video games — or we can be rich toward God. Jesus infers that it’s tough to do both at the same time.
Why can’t you do both?
First, money is a limited commodity. The more we spend on ourselves, the less we have to invest in the work of Christ’s kingdom. It’s a matter of simple math. Because money is limited, you might not be able to do everything you’d like. Sometimes personal expenditures are pitted against being rich toward God.
If you want to escape the world’s gravitational pull of greed — the greed that causes conflict in relationships, the greed that comes in a wide variety of forms, the greed that will give you a false sense of well-being, then fire up the boosters. These boosters are deliberate acts of giving:
Begin to give to the Lord’s work.
Can you become an extravagant giver. Giving over and above. Doing
something crazy for the Lord.
Between now and the end of May, can you become a regular giver on every
check you receive.
Maybe you can begin to tithe your income, giving 10% to the Lord’s work.
These are the boosters that take you into an orbit of generosity.
You might think this is too negative a message on greed. The Bible is sometimes negative because it wants to free us from things that will destroy us and hold us back from a fulfilling relationship with God. Jesus gave a command: watch out; be careful. And He told a story about a guy who invested all his money in bigger barns, so that he could tell us, ‘“Don’t let greed hold you back.’”
With the strength, with the power, with the wisdom that only God can give, become generous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC_zEsIFCHM&feature=fvwp
