Jesus said, “Take Care!
Watch Out!
Beware!”
Jesus said, "Watch Out! Don't always be wishing for what you don't have. For real life and real living are not related to how rich we are." (Luke 12:15)
This is a very appropriate warning to people in America; we seem to be obsessed with accumulating ‘stuff’ and never being satisfied with what we already have. As a billionaire noted, "There is always a little more!"
Another has said: "Money will buy the following:
A bed but not sleep / Books but not brains / Food but not an appetite / Finery but not beauty / A house but not a home / Medicine but not health / Luxuries but not culture / Amusement but not happiness /
A crucifix but not a Savior."
Here are a few thoughts on why:
• The more stuff we have, the more we want more stuff. Consumerism is addictive. Our natural tendency is to pursue the bigger, nicer, better, fancier, whatever we desire.
• The more stuff we have, the more we want to hold on to our stuff. Somehow our stuff easily becomes the source of our security and satisfaction. Our hearts can turn almost anything into an idol.
• The more stuff we have, the more our stuff becomes the desire of our hearts. We often think that wherever our heart is, our treasure (money & resources) will follow. Jesus says it’s the other way around (Luke 12:34).
• The more stuff we have, the more of our time and energy it requires. Just check out our calendars. A lot of time is spent keeping up our nice stuff rather than sacrificially serving others.
• The more stuff we have, the more it insulates us from the needs of others. Everyone (wealthy and poor) has needs but all too often pursuing bigger, better stuff removes us from interacting with those in need.
I have to tell on myself. If you don’t know, Karen and I sold our condo and closed in June, expecting to move in the new place in the middle of June. Last week we moved all our worldly possessions that weren’t packed and stored in pods to the seventh place we have called ‘home’. Not only was construction not completed (and we are still without a home), we have been relying ‘on the kindness of strangers’ for housing since 29 June. . . basically being two ‘vagabond homeless old ladies’.
We will be moving to a new place where we got to decorate it the way we wanted, replace some 60-year-old furniture with ‘stuff’ more to our style, and I am getting a huge kitchen with lots of counter space and cabinets. Guess you could say, in a way, that we were greedy to have more of what we wanted.
Now, we are not really homeless because eventually we will be moving into our new place, but having a sense of not having our home to lay our heads has been a humbling experience. The psychological and emotional toll that it takes was something we were not prepared for. I cannot imagine how homelessness affects those who have no home to go to. In all the years we have worked with the homeless and minimally-housed, we never really understood until now.
This has awakened us – as people and particularly as Christians! But, it also made us realize that this is a first-world problem. You only have to think of the people in Ukraine, Somalia, or Palestine to recognize how really fortunate and ‘wealthy’ we are.
When we are blessed financially, we can quickly become arrogant and think that we are blessed because we are smarter, better, or work harder than anyone else. While many of us with computers can see how we have been financially blessed, we must remember that many in the world today live in very impoverished conditions.
Those of us who are blessed with financial wealth -- and God's definition of wealth is anyone who has more than food, clothes, and a place to sleep -- have been blessed to be a blessing. Our financial blessings are simply God's way of entrusting us with his money to do his work! We are blessed to be a blessing -- not to hoard, boast, or become self-satisfied.
Jesus warns us in this scripture:
“Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
There are some exceptions:
Billionaire Joan Croc, the late wife of the late Ray Croc, founder of the McDonald’s chain, spent her life giving away the McDonald’s fortune to those in need.
MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Jeff Bezos, granted 1.7 billion dollars to 119 racial and social justice organizations in 2020 alone.
Billionaire Bill Gates said recently that he would also be giving away a large chunk of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, transferring $20 billion to the foundation’s endowment. Gates vows to “move down and eventually off the list of the world’s richest people.” Gates feels obligated to return his resources to society to reduce suffering and improve lives.
These are stories (and there are many more) of people for whom “means” is a means of serving others
While most of us cannot “serve” in the way these people of vast wealth can, we still can do much good in the world. It means we pay more attention to those closest to us, those in our surrounding communities, and those around us who are in need. Every little bit counts when our wealth means the difference for someone else in a food or housing crisis.
When we are serving with our hearts and riches, God’s peace will follow. This is what Christian love looks like.
This week and in the coming weeks, I challenge all of us (me included) to put our focus on God first, love our neighbor second, and being a disciple of Jesus’ teachings. Once our focus is on him, the rest will follow.
Amen
Delivered at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Columbus, OH; 31 August 2022
