You can tell that the season of summer is here, if not by the traditional signs such as higher temperatures, at least by the signs of garage sales popping up all over the place. Has anyone been to any yet? Has anyone hosted one yet?
Picture this. There you are, keeping one eye on the goods, the other eye on the potential customers, answering their questions, haggling over a dollar or two or five here and there, when all of a sudden someone approaches the till.
He has no articles in hand, but he looks like he wants to buy something, or do some business with you.
“How much do you want for that rocking chair over there?”
“Which one?”
“That wooden one. Right over there by the plant stand.”
You smile. “I’m afraid that’s NOT FOR SALE.”
“It’s not? Why is it sitting out here then?”
You’re thinking. “I don’t have to tell you why.” You’re thinking of saying it, but instead you say: “It’s a family heirloom. It belonged to my great
grandfather.”
“Are you sure, lady? I’d be willing to pay good money for it.”
You are stunned for a moment. You had never really thought about selling it. It was something that had always been there–first at grandma’s, then your
parent’s place, and when they died, you got it. You’d never thought that anyone else would ever be interested in your great grandfather’s rocking chair. You’d never really thought that it would be worth "good” money.
You’re not really interested in selling, but you’re curious as to what it would fetch. So you say:
“What do you mean by ‘good’ money?”
“Two hundred dollars.”
You feel like saying: “Two hundred dollars? Hold on a second, mister. Let me go talk to my husband.” But instead you say: “Two hundred dollars, eh?”
Before you get to the question mark, he says: “Okay, I’ll up it to three hundred.”
Now you decide to play along. You change the tone of your voice as you repeat: “Three hundred. Three hundred.” “Alright, lady” he says. “Let me
level with you....I’m looking for a rocking chair to complete a set that I have in my living room. That’s why I’m willing to pay you more than what any
antique dealer will give you. Four hundred dollars. And that’s my final offer.”
You are wising up now. “Ever heard of e-bay, mister?”
He realizes that you’re no pushover. He opens up his wallet, pulls out five crisp one hundred dollar bills and waves them in front of you: “Here...this is my final, final offer.”
For a moment, you consider how the five hundred dollars would help you take a holiday if you could buy a ticket on that seat sale which ends tonight. You could really use a break after the stress of being laid off. That was the voice of the cherub on your left shoulder.
And then the cherub on the right shoulder reminds you that as handy as the money may be, this is a very special gift that has been passed down through
the generations. It was given to you in trust by your mother. It was meant to nest in some twig of the family tree always. So, you muster up all the
will-power you’ve got, do your best to ignore the five crisp 100’s staring at you, look him straight in the eye and say: “That is very tempting, sir, but this stays in our family. I am sorry to inform you that this rocker is NOT FOR SALE.”
He walks away in disbelief, shaking his head, implying that you were crazy, if not stupid to turn down his lucrative offer.
You know Ahab, don’t you? King Ahab. King of Israel. Husband of Jezebel. He had signing authority but she held the pen! They were quite a pair. The
8th century B.C. equivalent of Bill and Hillary Clinton. He was out for a walk one day, when he spotted it. No, not a garage sale sign, not a yard sale, but a yard, a vineyard, to be more precise. It belonged to Naboth the neighbour to the north. Now, Ahab had seen that vineyard many times before. It always struck him as a nice vineyard. Good, productive tract of land.
But, this time, when he laid his eyes on it, he saw something more. He could see the vineyard of Naboth, the neighbour to the north, fitting quite nicely into palace property as a vegetable garden. How did the proverb go? One man’s vineyard is another man’s vegetable garden.
Ahab, being the king, could’ve simply annexed his neighbour’s property by royal decree. Like the government deciding to build a new highway right
smack in the middle of your pumpkin patch. Sure, they’re obliged to pay you something, small potatoes usually, and they can have it. Ahab had that power. But he chose not to use it. Instead, he goes to Naboth’s place and rings the doorbell. Naboth comes out promptly and Ahab cuts to the chase:
“How much do you want for your vineyard?”
“How much do I want for my vineyard?”
“That’s correct. Name your price. I’ll pay.”
“With all due respect, King Ahab, I don’t see a ‘For Sale’ sign anywhere.”
“Guess what, Naboth, it just went up.”
“Guess what, King, I just took it down. Goodbye.”
Ahab would not be denied that easily. “Hey, Naboth, I know this is a very fertile piece of land and you’re reluctant to part with it. I understand. Let me make a deal. I have this vineyard 2 miles south and 1 mile east of here that I bet is even more productive than yours. I know for sure it’s at least 25% bigger than yours. I’ll trade you. My vineyard for yours. Whaddyasay, Naboth?”
“With all due respect, King Ahab, this is not just my vineyard. It is my family vineyard. This is part of my inheritance. You know how God wants us to value our family inheritance, especially land. It was a gift from God to MY ancestors and it will stay that way. My great grandfather passed it on to my
grandfather, my grandfather passed it on to me and I want to pass it on to my sons. So, you can offer me all the gold in Judea, but, read my lips, this
vineyard is NOT FOR SALE.
Ahab knew that when Naboth gave his refusal and brought God into the equation, he was licked. He became mad and threw a royal temper tantrum, proving once again that deep down, grown men are still little boys! He refused to eat at all. Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, didn’t like her husband’s little hunger strike. So she said to Ahab, "You’re supposed to be the King of Israel. Are you a king or a kangaroo? A man or a mouse? Stop pouting like a little boy. I’ll get you that vineyard."
So Jezebel took some of the royal stationery and wrote a letter to the leaders in Naboth’s city and signed Ahab’s name. The letter said, "That man Naboth is a trouble maker. I want you to hire some men who can be bought. And I want you to pay them to tell some lies about Naboth. Have them accuse Naboth of cursing God and the king." Out of fear the leaders of the city did just that. And Naboth and his sons were stoned to
death. Well no one owned that vineyard now, so Ahab took it.
There is an ancient Indian saying that goes: "Everything is for sale, you just need a buyer.” You may have heard a variation of that: “Everything is for sale, if the price is right". I believe it was Howard Hughes who said: “Everyone has a price tag.”
Hollywood has had good success producing films that test the validity of this statement. In 1993, one of the big moneymakers was a film called “Indecent Proposal.” Attractive, devoted yuppie couple (Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson) face financial ruin when a business deal goes sour. Desperate to raise money, they come up with the harebrained idea of going to Vegas to gamble their way into a fortune. While there, a high-rolling money man (Robert Redford) takes a shine to Moore, eventually offering the couple a million dollars in exchange
for spending a night with her. Will they take him up on the offer or say: “Sorry, NOT FOR SALE?”
In Bedazzled a computer nerd strikes a deal with the devil in which he is given seven wishes in exchange for his soul. All for the purpose of winning the heart of one of his co-workers. Even the soul is for sale–a theme explored in other movies such as Faust and Mephisto.
When I was doing some research for this sermon, I came across a website that posted the winning entries in a contest that invited children and youth to write on the topic: “What I really want that money cannot buy.”
Listen to this entry by Cassandra Allen of Jackson, Mississippi:
“My father left my house when I was just two years old, and I have never been the same since. Even though my mom is great, and tries to do all she can for me. I still feel the emptiness of not having a dad. I know what it means to long to hear him call my name and to lift me up on his back. I miss his laugh
and his strong hands helping me and my mom. I miss him so much. I don’t think he realizes how much I really need him in my life, and how much he means to me.
What I really want that money can’t buy is for my father to come back home, or come to see me, or just write me. That would mean more than anything in
the world to me. I know some kids are writing for world peace and good things like that, and what I want may seem selfish, but it is the truth. I really
miss my father.”
The winning essay was written by fourteen year-old Erika Conant of Johnson City, Tennessee. Here it is:
“What I really want that money can’t buy is unconditional love. As a kid, I need to know that no matter what happens, no matter what grades I get--I
will be loved. So many of my friends have parents that work all the time. They are not sure their parents love them, I guess because they are not there. I want to know that I am loved, because my parents are there. Just by their presence, I feel that I am loved. My dog, Casanova, loves me. Sometimes I yell at him, and sometimes I hug him. But no matter what I do, he always wags his tail and comes running up to me. He has unconditional love.
My parents love me and buy me many things. But what tells me they love me the most is when they listen to me. Things are great, but what I really want is their time. What my friends really want is their parents’ time. Maybe go for a walk, and talk. Maybe a bike ride and a lecture talk about money. If you just
do stuff together and smile, I will know you love me. I do things with my mom a lot, but my dad works and sleeps. I know we need the money, but I wish he would do more things with me. What I really want is for all parents to just spend time with their kids. America would be a happier country.”
There are some things money can’t buy. (For everything else there is Mastercard!)
There is a story about the President of Anheiser-Busch who went over to the Vatican for a private audience with the Pope. The meeting went something like this:
“Holy Father, we are prepared to make a donation of $10 million to the church if you would simply replace ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ with
’Give us this day our daily beer.’”
“I’m afraid, that’s not possible, my son.”
“Could you do it for a bigger contribution, say $25 million dollars?”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible, my son.”
“Holy Father, here is my final offer. Change “bread” to “beer:” and I will write you a cheque right now for $100 million dollars.”
The Pope picks up the phone and says: “Cardinal Mancini, how firm is our contract with Pilsbury?”
Folks, the fact of the matter is that there are times in life when we are offered a price for that which we had not intended to sell. How do we respond to it?
You are offered an opportunity to take up a job that would bring in more money than you are making at the present. But the job requires you to compromise your integrity–not in any flagrant violation of the law, but in subtle ways that would not meet with God’s approval. Do you sign on the
dotted line or do you say: “NOT FOR SALE?”
You are being considered for a promotion within your company. Yes, it will mean an additional $10,000 a year to the family budget. But the price you
pay will be time away from your family--at least two weeks every month. Do you leave your name in the hat or do you politely decline because the time you spend with your family is NOT FOR SALE?
When election time comes around and candidates of every political stripe tempt us with promises that offer temporary relief, do we buy into their attempts to buy our votes, or do we say: “NOT FOR SALE?”
When we are tempted to compromise the uniqueness of our faith for the sake of appeasing those of differing faiths, in the name of such hazy concepts as “harmony” and “tolerance”, do we just give in or do we stand up and boldly declare that our belief system is NOT FOR SALE?
When a community of faith faces a crisis that could easily be solved by adopting the standards of this world, by receiving funds generated at the
expense of promoting the vice of gambling, do we go for the instant gratification or do we declare that our uniqueness is NOT FOR SALE?
Every day in this world, Jezebels abuse their power to falsely accuse Naboths and indeed do away with them, simply because they declared that what they owned that was precious, a heritage, an inheritance, a family heirloom which was theirs to keep and non-negotiable-- be it a parcel of land, be it the freedom to practise their faith as a religious minority, be it a unique way to dress in a multi-cultural country, be it a rocking chair in a garage sale, be it the right to turn down an indecent proposal. Every day, the Ahabs of this world do get their way–by legislation and by illegitimate means, by use of force and upon penalty of death. But, as the story unfolds we learn that Ahab and Jezebel met with tragic fates as a result of what they had done. In the
end, God prevails. God’s ways are proven right. And that is why, you and I can stand up to the powers of our day and say: “What you want from me is NOT FOR SALE.” Will we?
Thanks be to God. AMEN.
