“The Parable Of The Spoons”
“A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.” The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I don’t understand."
It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other. While the greedy think only of themselves.”
1. WHAT IS GREED?
• Greed causes us to seek things for self rather than for the group
• Greed is doing WITH, while others do WITHOUT
• We see in the parable above that it took teamwork to sustain the group, and when one was worried about self more than the whole, then misery set in
• Let us look at some Biblical perspectives on Greed:
a. Luke 12:16-21 “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:” “And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?” “And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.” “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy sould shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
b. Luke 16: Rich Man and Lazarus
c. Aiken
• The “rich young ruler” was greedy in that rather than to look at the need around him, he was going to tear down his barns of storage and build bigger ones
• Having is ok, Hoarding is not
• God understands that we must prepare for the future in things such as:
a. Retirement
b. Children’s Education Expense
c. Money For a ‘Rainy Day’
• But when we do this to an extreme degree, God becomes displeased with us
• We are to leave a portion for those in need (Deuteronomy 24:21 “When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.”)
2. WHAT IS NEED?
• Need, as described by Webster’s Dictionary is: Want; occasion for something; necessity; a state that REQUIRES supply or relief.
• Need is that which we cannot live life without
• Need is necessary for the containment of life
• We need:
a. Water
b. Food
c. Shelter
• Need’s come in many different forms and vary from individual to individual
• Let us broaden our view on need, If we are Christians we need:
a. Spiritual Water (John 4:14 “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”)
b. Spiritual Food (John 6:35 “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”)
c. Spiritual Shelter (Luke 6:48-49 Parable of the house upon the rock and sand)
3. WHEN DOES NEED BECOME GREED?
• I believe it is when we attempt to keep up with the ‘Jones’s’ rather than keep up with our income and or abilities
• Matthew 25:34-46 Jesus spoke to those who were in need and taken care of and those in need and were not taken care of (I was hungry and you fed me…)
• When we provide for those in need we provide for Christ
• Greed creeps in when we put aside a brother or sister’s true need to meet our own DESIRE
• What are you willing to do for $10,000,000? Two-thirds of Americans polled would agree to at least one, some to several of the following:
a. Would abandon their entire family (25%)
Would abandon their church (25%)
Would become prostitutes for a week or more (23%)
Would give up their American citizenships (16%)
Would leave their spouses (16%)
Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free (10%)
Would kill a stranger (7%)
Would put their children up for adoption (3%)
• This illustration helps us to see that too man people put fleshly desires before Godly morales
4. HOW CAN WE AVOID BECOMING GREEDY?
• Seek God’s will and not our own
• Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
• Jesus commands us to do ‘Kingdom Work’ first and the needs of this earth will be met
• Kingdom Work is:
• Saving Souls: Acts 13:47 “For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.”
• Making Disciples: Colossians 1:28 “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:”
• Serving in Christ’s Church: Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
5. HOW DOES THE CHURCH FULFILL ITS OBLIGATION OF SUPPORTING NEED?
• I Corinthians 12:12-14 “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” “For as the body is not one member, but many.”
• Paul is speaking to the fact that individuals make up the church body, those individuals serve a purpose, and that purpose or mission cannot be fulfilled unless the group work as one
• If one part is more concerned about self; then the whole cannot function with that dysfunctional part
• Serving Christ is a selfless mission, just as Christ gave all for us, we must give all for Him.
• We have been called to a “reasonable service” in Romans 12. That is to say, God has prepared us individually with specific gifts and experiences and he will not call us out of what we are capable of doing.
• I Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
• In the “Parable of the Spoons” we saw that those who were greedy were sick and without, but those that thought of others were healthy and full of joy
• Won’t you freely give God your service today?
