How Much Is Enough
Joshua 7:1-15 Luke 12:13-21 Text Joshua 7:15-end
I can remember as a kid, sometimes we would go over to a person’s house, and our mother would give us that stern warning, "Now don’t you all be acting greedy when you get over there." So there were several occasions in which the person would say, would you like some more, and even though deep down inside I wanted to say yes, if Mom was around, I was able to say ,"no thank you." Whenever we went over to someone’s house, the first thing we were asked by mom, was "did you eat anything over there." If you said yes, you knew the next words were going to be, "didn’t I tell you not to be greedy."
There is a verse in the Bible that warns us about being greedy in Proverbs 22. It says not to eat too much food of a stingy man, because even though he may tell you to have some more, go ahead and eat , in reality he’s counting the cost and his heart is not with you. Many of us are some times like that stingy man. People come over and we tell them to eat, eat, and have some more. No sooner than they are out the door, we get on the phone and say, "child those were the greediest people I ever met, they about ate me out of house and home."
What is greed? Greed goes beyond eating too much. Greed is wanting more than what’s needed or wanting something that belongs to another. We live in a society that runs on greed, encourages greed, and uses greed to keep us in bondage. We even feel good when we can satisfy our greedy nature. Let’s suppose for a moment that Aladdin showed up with his magical lamp. Suppose the genie popped out, and said okay, you’ve got three wishes. What shall it be. Think quickly. I wonder how many of us asked for things such as a more godly character, a more forgiving spirit, a more servant like attitude, or to be more generous in our giving.
What probably came to the minds of many were a bigger house, a nicer car, designer clothes, better jewelry, a lot more money, and a lot more free wishes. It’s amazing that we can be perfectly happy with something, until we go and find out that someone we know, has something slightly better. A kid is happy playing mortal combat 2, until they find out that John up the street has just gotten mortal combat 3 that has an extra feature lacking in version 2. An adult is happy with her three bedroom house, until her younger sister gets a five bedroom house with all new appliances. A man is happy with his new Ford Taurus until his next door neighbors pulls in with a new Lexus.
A man or woman is happy with his or her spouse, until he or she sees another person who shines in the area that his or her mate is lacking. A pastor is thrilled that his church added 25 members last year, until he finds out that the pastor down the street added 25 each month. A woman loves the engagement ring her boyfriend gave her, until her co-worker comes in with an engagement ring with 3 times the size of the diamond that she has.
The bible calls this desire to have other things covetousness. We’ve seen that verse in the Bible, thy shall not covet. It says you shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, your neighbor’s servants, your neighbor’s ox or donkey or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.
To covet means to have a strong desire for something , or to be envious of another person. You either want to get what belongs to another person, or you refuse to be happy until you can get your own.
There is a big difference between the excitement of wanting to get something, and the actual feeling you have once you get it. No matter how much things promise to satisfy us, they always fall short. Sooner or later, we’re out chasing something else. Often times we have not finished payments on the last item that we just had to have. All of us have items that it seemed like we just had to get it, but now we don’t know why we desperately needed it because we never use it. How do we get out of the need to have to have the latest, the biggest, the best, and the name brand.
It begins with the realization, that greed is not motivated by God, but by sin. If a person trusts you with their property, if they loan you their lawn mower or toaster on Tuesday, what’s going to happen if they ask for it back on Saturday. Most of us believe that God can trust us with a million dollars. I’m convinced that if God gave everyone of us here in the church a million dollars today, over half of us would not be in this church a year from now. Half of that half that left wouldn’t be in any church a year from now.
Suppose God allowed you to win the lottery, and you’ve promised, "Lord. I’ll give you 10%, but God turns around and says no you give me 90% and you can have the 10%." The greed in most of us, would want to argue tooth and nail with God over that, not realizing the 10% is more than the nothing we had to start out with. I keep saying it over and over, if you’re not a tither with a little check, you won’t become one with a bigger check.
Why do we need to be concerned with greed and covetousness? After all, who does my coveting hurt? It’s one of those little sins that’s respectable. It’s not like adultery, or stealing, or sexual sins. Let’s look in our Bibles for a moment at 1 Cor 6:9-11 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Do you see the word greedy listed among the so called big sins. Do you see why none of us can look down on each other based on our weaknesses? We frown on the drunk in the streets and go home to a home we can’t afford to live in, just because we got greedy. Greed didn’t just start. Christians have always struggled with the issue of "how much is enough." Just like there is hope for all the other groups mentioned here, there is hope for us struggling with greed. Paul says, some of you were this way, but that means that Jesus Christ showed them a way out.
Some of us are very close to being like the rich fool in our New Testament reading. Just as his grounds produced a good crop, so have ours. Oh we may not have accumulated plants, be we have accumulated things. We don’t say, oh I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, because we don’t usually have enough money to do it.. Instead we say, I’ve got to put this in the attic, or in the basement, or in the closet, or in the garage or under the bed.
Almost all of us here, have perfectly good stuff sitting in the basement, in the attic, in the garage, in the closet, doing absolutely nothing for the kingdom of God. We could use that same stuff, make it available to people who truly need it, and never miss it while being a Christian witness for Jesus Christ.. Most of us are saving it, so that when we die, our family members can throw it all away as junk. These same things that we could have given away when we were alive to help those in need, will come back to haunt us when we stand before God and God asks, why were you hoarding all this stuff.
Where did we get all this stuff from. Most of it was accumulated by wanting more than what we truly needed, and then hoarding it just in case we might need it in the future. Just like the rich man, we’re busy collecting for that one day, when tonight might be the night that God requires our souls. If you died today, would your attic and basement speak in your favor, or against you.
We may think that our greed affects only us, but that’s not true. Our greed can hurt those around us most dearly as we saw in our Old Testament text. Now when the children of Israel left out of Egypt, it says that they plundered the Egyptians. They took gold, silver, cloth and anything else they wanted when they left Egypt. All they had to do was to ask for it. God saw to it that they got it. So all of them must have owned something.
Well God told them when they got ready to fight the city of Jericho, "This city is cursed. Everything in it is to be destroyed. You are not to take anything for yourself. Any silver, gold or bronze that you find is to go into the treasury of the Lord." Now Jericho was one of the most powerful of the cities in the land. God saw to it, that the entire city was wiped out, and not a single Israeli soldier lost his life. The soldiers were so elated, they thought they were invincible even though God had done the fighting.
Next city on the list was Ai. Just a little small city. The soldiers said, there’s no use us taking everybody up there, let a few of us go and beat up on them. They did not know that someone had gotten greedy and had taken some of the things that they were not suppose to take. The person’s greed had caused the Spirit of God to leave their midst. They sent 3,000 soldiers fresh from battle against this little third rate city, and they were beaten.
They cried out to God, "Oh God why did you let us down. They cried and prayed and prayed and cried." Finally God told them, it’s because one of you have taken something that should have gone into my treasury. Until it is removed, I will not go up with you in battle, and you will not be able to stand against your enemies.
God told them, "Tomorrow, you are to cast lots and I will show you who it is that has taken the items, and that person and all that he has shall be destroyed by fire." You know something, greed can cause us to bring things into our homes, that God never intended for us to have. The result can be that we are ruining the lives of our families. We’re upset with our parents, because they won’t buy us the latest brand of Michael Jordan shoes like the other kids have.
We’re mad with out wives, because not matter how much we make, we never can get ahead because she still wants more. We’re angry with our husband, because we needed to pay the electric and gas bill, but he saw some suit or some gadget that he just had to have. There’s no money to go anywhere, because our greed makes us want to live at a level of living more than we can afford. We’re then mad with God, because God is not supplying all of our needs according to Philippians 4:13.
When God fed the children of Israel in the desert. He gave them the same manna from heaven each day. He didn’t treat them to all the latest restaurants, nor did He promise them seven full course meals. He didn’t send them name brand clothes and new shoes every seven months, He made the clothes they had last for many years. He didn’t give them all powerful racing horses. Some had donkeys and mules, and some had to walk.
We forget that the purpose of a car is to go from point A to point B. Now it has to have power seats, leather interior, top of the line stereo, automatic cruise control, dual automatic temperature control system, etc. etc. etc. Then when see the monthly payment, we tell the Lord, we’d like to tithe, but that we just can’t afford it.
The truth is that we can’t afford to disobey God. Disobedience always cost more than obedience. We just pay for it later or on extended installment payments. Joshua called all the Israelites together to see which one had taken something. Now the person who took it, knew that he had taken it. But just in case someone else might get the blame he kept quiet. Joshua cast lots. Of the 12 tribes, Judah was chosen. Out of the clans of Judah Zerah was chosen. Out of the clans of Zerah, Zimri was taken. Out of Zimri’s family, Achan was taken.
Look at Joshua 7:19. Josh 7:19-20 Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me." Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel This is what I have done:
Josh 7:21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."
Achan comes forward not with a confession, but an admission. He was not going to say a thing about his actions until after he had been found out. Everybody in the camp knew that he was guilty. God had already said the means by which He would point out the crook. That would be like a kid with cookies in his hand and crumbs on his mouth saying, "it’s true, I’m the one that stole the cookies."
Achan’s problem began with a look that lasted too long. I also want you to notice how even in his admission, he’s trying to justify himself. He doesn’t say, "I took some things I wasn’t supposed to take." He says, "I saw a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver, a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels and I coveted them and took them." In other words, anyone in my position would have done the exact same thing." Can you honestly blame me for taking the stuff.. I mean this stuff was out of this world, it was like sweet you know.
He’s still fantasizing over this wonderful find that he had obtained. There’s no real repentance and regret for breaking the law which resulted in the death of other men. I want you to notice that he wasn’t casually passing by this stuff. He went looking among stuff that he wasn’t supposed to be looking at. How could he have known the scarf was from Babylonia without picking it up and examining it in detail? How could he have known it was two hundred shekels of silver without stopping to count it, and how could he have known how much the gold had weighed without being prepared to weigh it?
The more he looked at what he didn’t have, and what he had the chance to get, the greedier he became. He saw, he coveted, and he took. Sin so often begins with a look that turns into a stare. Now if you asked him the reason why he took all this stuff, he’d probably say. "I don’t know. I just wanted it I guess." No the reason why he took it, is the same reason why about 90-% if the inmates in jail today did what they did. The reason is, he didn’t expect to get caught. He figured, if I keep this stuff out of sight long enough, I could slowly bring it into circulation. Nobody will ever know about it. He knew when he took it was wrong. It didn’t have anything to do with him coming from a broken home or dysfunctional family.
He was smart enough to hide the stuff once he got it. His greed was going to make sure that nobody took his stuff, even though he had taken God’s stuff and made it his stuff. If we covet something long enough, eventually we will seek to take it for ourselves. The only problem is, we don’t know the cost involved when we let our greed get out of control.
Why couldn’t Achan have left the stuff alone just like everybody else did? He saw this as his ticket to financial freedom. If you have to disobey God to reach financial freedom, you will not be obtaining the freedom you seek. The bible says money gotten in the wrong way will eventually take your life. Achan was not aware of that verse that says, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding both the good and the evil.
Achan had very carefully put all the items in a safe spot under the ground in his tent. Look at verse 22. Josh 7:22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.
Le’ts just suppose for a moment that God wanted to expose our greed. Where would he send messengers to go and bring back things to lay here before the Lord? Achan wanted the benefits of being among God’s people, but didn’t want to give up his greed. It is so often easy to want to have Jesus Christ around in our lives, but not want him to deal with our greed. Yet we can’t be free to serve Him, if we are living only to obtain this item or that item, or this person or that thing. Achan gave up that which was not his to have possessed in the first place. He also gave it up, only after he could no longer keep it.
By contrast, Jesus gave up that which was his to give. He said this is my body which is being broken for you. This is my blood which is being shed for you. Nobody takes away my life. I voluntarily lay it down . Jesus paid a tremendous price to live the life that the Father required of Him.
Achan also paid a tremendous price for the life that greed required of Him. Look at the next verse. Josh 7:24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.
Joshua 7:25 Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today." Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.
Who suffers today because of our greed. Greed is at the center of much of the vio lence that we see in our communities. I want something that I don’t have, so I’ll do whatever it takes for me to get it. Greed is at the center of why we don’t have time to serve God today. I’ve got to have more of x, y and z and I need to work more or longer to get it. Greed is at the center of us being in debt today to the point, that we couldn’t give more to God even if we wanted to, because our lifestyle is to far ahead of our income. Greed is at the center of much of our unhappiness. Unless Christ set us free, we will always want more things.
We will never be able to have all that the commercials tell us that we need. We will never know what contentment is if we have to have the latest and have to be on top. Our money can’t keep up fast enough with the changes in fashion and new luxury models. The bible says, he who loves money will never have enough money.
Jesus Christ didn’t come for us to have a bigger house. He died that we might be able to love those who are in the house we have. He didn’t die so that we might have a newer car. He died so that the car we have may be used to serve others in the kingdom of God. He didn’t die so that we might have a bigger bank account. He died so that our bank account would not have rule over us.
Jesus said unless, we love Him, more than all others, we cannot be his disciples. There’s one other story he told about a man with wealth. A good moral ruler came and told Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life. I’ve kept all the commandments since I was a boy." Jesus said yes, but you’re a little short on one. You tend to covet money. Go sell all that you have, give to the poor, and then come follow me. The Scriptures says that the man turned and walked away from Jesus, because he had great wealth.
Most of us will never have the kind of wealth that the young ruler had. Yet if we’re honest, we will admit that way too often we hold on to our wealth and walk away from Jesus rather than use it to make a difference in the kingdom of God. "How much is enough." We’ve got to much, when we discover that we refuse to accept anything less than what we have, in exchange for the cause of Christ.
