The Enemy Of The Best

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The Enemy Of The Best

Contributed by Michael Hollinger on Aug 5, 2006 (message contributor)

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Scripture: Matthew 19:16-22

Denomination: Baptist

Summary: Not Coveting means choosing to align your desires with God

Title: The Enemy of the Best

Text: Exodus 20:17

FCF: Choose God, because he’s better than anything he has made.

Intro:

With all the financial shenanigans of the last few years, we tend to forget that the ambition, drive, and sheer lust for wealth that characterizes Wall Street is nothing new. Back in the 1980s, we learned this saying: Greed is what? “Good” Yup, it’s still with us.

The 1920s was a lot like the 1980s – it was an unprecedented economic buildup in an age of prohibition and getting around it. The gains of the speculative market were funneled into libraries, homes, and infrastructure which we still have with us today. Truth be told, greed can be manipulated and turned into physical wealth and prosperity – but it’s a dangerous game.

October 24, 1929 was one of those days. You know it as Black Thursday, the beginning of the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929, the day the DJIA lost nearly 20% of its value. It wasn’t the worst one-day percentage lost: in 1924 saw the Dow lose 24%. In terms of one day loss, October 17, 1987 dropped 500 points (also nearly 25% of its value), and September 17, 2001, saw a drop of nearly 700 points. But Black Thursday was pretty bad, and it’s widely seen as the beginning of the Great Depression.

But, in the midst of this huge sell-off, a great story emerged. There was a young broker from J.P. Morgan named Richard Whitney. In 1912, as a mere 23 year old, he was a wunderkind among brokers – almost a child protégée – well, at least in comparison to the geriatric good-fellows of Wall Street at least. His older brother eventually became a senior VP at the firm, and the two had a remarkable career, especially during those huge stock market gains that gave rise to the name the Roaring Twenties.

But back to Black Thursday. Already, October had seen some sharp losses – on September 17, 1929 the Dow had reached a peak of 481, and now it was hovering around 300. By noon, frustrated and despondent over their losses no less than 12 brokers had committed suicide. But as the Dow plummeted that day, the Whitney boys and a few other senior brokers hatched a plan. Seeing the widespread panic around them, they pooled their money – several million dollars’ worth, and told Richard to go out and spend it.

He confidently strode out onto the floor of the exchange, and asked, what’s the current bid for U.S. Steel? 195, they answered. I’ll buy as many shares as you’ll sell at 205. People stopped. When somebody with the stature of Whitney spoke, people listened. And then, they began to think – is there a rally I’m not aware of? Maybe I need to get in on this action. I don’t want to be left out! Soon, sell orders ceased and buy orders racked up. The hemorrhaging, at least for that day, had stopped.

Whitney had gone from wunderkind to Wall Street Savior. People loved him. And in 1930, they named him the President of the NYSE – a position he’d hold for 5 years.

But while the other brokers may have loved what he did, an honest broker has to say they made a bad deal. The next Monday and Tuesday saw the gains made earlier disappear. And, for three more years, the Dow continued to fall. From its September, 1929 high of 481, to its 1932 low of 41, the Dow lost over 89% of its value. And the greed on which Whitney played that morning? It was a sucker’s bet. Investors who bought simply to keep up with Whitney wouldn’t see a return on that investment – get this – until 1955. Greed doesn’t pay.

The trick that Whitney used was pretty simple. Play to their desires, play to the fear that somebody else might get more than you – and people will do whatever you want. Whatever it is you desire is thing that will dictate your actions. And that’s why, this morning, our commandment is so simple. Don’t covet.

Don’t desire any physical thing – not your neighbor’s house, not your neighbor’s wife, not your neighbor’s servants, or ox or his donkey. Don’t desire his triple-gabled roof, his BMW, or his high-powered position at the law firm. Any desire you have that isn’t of God, isn’t good. Don’t get trapped by anything less than God.

When David wrote, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” the result of that was pretty obvious – I shall not want. After all, if you have a good God who knows your desires since he created them, what possible real want could you have?

When Paul wrote, “Earnestly desire – covet even – the most spiritual gifts,” you know what he talks about next? Love – as in God’s love for us. What else do we really want or desire more than that?

That word, covet, by the way – really just means desire. The Hebrew word for it is hamad which means to praise or desire. Mo-hamad’s name means, “I praise” or “I desire” Mo – the Muslim god of the Three Stooges. Ok, no, that’s not fair – In truth, Muslims really do desire God, but I fear in practice its really just God’s things that want. They live only in fear of having God take everything away from them, in this life and the next. Remember, Jesus came to give us life, now – and to give it more abundantly. The love of God, the life of God – that’s what we desire.

In the Bible, there are a lot of things that we can desire that are pretty good. The very first time the word hamad is used in Scripture is in the Garden of Eden. Remember God put a lot of trees in the Garden, and they are produced good fruit – stuff that was desirable – stuff that was ‘hamad.’ In VBS last week, we talked about that. The trees in the garden weren’t McDonald’s hamburgers – they were Outback steaks. They were desirable. They were good.

But there was one problem: Adam and Eve desired – hamad – the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They desired not God or what God commanded, but rather they desired to be like God.

The last guy that desired to be like God ended up in a red suit with a pitchfork. Ok, I know, that’s our invention. You and I both know that Lucifier always comes as an angel of light. He appears to be a good and desirable thing, but he’s just tricking you. He wanted to look like God, and be worshipped like God, but he doesn’t love you like God.

But you see the choice that was made, don’t you? What’s better? To desire Iron Pyrite – you know fool’s gold – or real gold? Do you want to be _like_ God, or do you want God? Coveting is a simple choice: Do I desire God or the things God has made? Do I want the light or just the bulb?

Now, I don’t know if I’m capable of quashing all my desires and wants – but I can pray that I’ll align them with God’s desires. By desiring what it is that God wants, everything else gets put into perspective. Greed, Selfishness – they all go away.

Some of you may remember a few months ago, I came into church a little bleary eyed after writing a 79 page paper about six little verses in Matthew, often called ‘The Rich Young Ruler.’ Despite those, 79 pages I still really like the story.

Well, the Gospel says that there’s this young man who’s a pretty good guy. I think he’s even pretty genuine, when asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” For a young man, he has some pretty good desires. He’s focusing in the right direction – he knows that he needs God and he wants to know what God has in store for him.

So, Jesus asks him, what does the law say? And, the man dutifully recites the 10 commandments. Now, you may remember I said a while back, there’s the half of the law that’s strictly about how we love God, and then there’s this half that’s more about how we love our neighbor? Well, he focuses on the second half, and here’s what he says:

“You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

I understand his reaction – if Jesus told me to sell my house, give up my car, and divest my 401(k), I’d be pretty sad too. Now, I don’t want to preach on this text today, but suffice it to say, I don’t think Jesus was telling us that we need to sell everything.

Jesus was talking to one very specific individual – one who had one very specific blind spot. Did you notice, when he recited the commandments, that he missed something? Oh, he got the murder thing, and the adultery thing, and the stealing the lying, he even remembered his parents. But notice what he missed: He forgot that he shouldn’t covet.

Nothing should have taken the place of God in his heart. Not his wealth, not even his good works. Desire God, Jesus was saying, and God alone.

The only thing he lacked was that his possessions were possessing him. His abundance was the thing he lacked. And so, what is Dr. Jesus’ prescription for this young man? It’s simple: Choose the thing that is better. If anything is competing for your affection, give it away. Choose God, because he’s better.

It’s often said that the good is often the enemy of the best – and here, this man’s goods are in fact the enemy of God’s best. It doesn’t say that goods are evil. It just says they are, at most, second-best. Choose well.

You know, the guys that made Richard Whitney president of the NYSE in 1930 thought they had chosen well – but they had missed something. You see, Richard Whitney may have known how to play other people’s desires, but he never really learned to control his own.

Despite being a high-powered broker, he never really was able to make much money. Even though he was President of the NYSE, he kept finding the only way he could continue to make money was by embezzling from his own relative’s trust funds. In 1938, they finally caught up with him. When he couldn’t cover his tracks any longer, he was arrested, and sent to Sing Sing for five years. When he got out early for good behavior, he retired to a country farm where he lived out his days, with his wife, yes, but with none of the comforts or prestige to which he was accustomed. When he died in 1974, hardly anyone noticed.

Be careful what you desire. What you want is going to control you and your destiny. Who you want is going to dictate whether you achieve your dreams or merely momentary mirages that you think you need. The Lord is already your shepherd. Is he what you really want?

Would you pray with me?

XXXXXX END XXXXXXX

Would you please finish this sentence for me this morning: The LORD is my shepherd, [I shall not want.] Thank you. Now, I have a question for you: Do you suppose that is a statement or a command? I mean, it flows so naturally – Because the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Does that just happen, or is it something I have to work at? If I want, is the Lord my shepherd?

Well, this morning, we are finishing our look at the 10 commandments. And, as we do, we come to the one, that perhaps better than any other, reinforces a point I’ve been trying to make all along. Namely: While these commandments are good rules, they’re even better principles. Each one of them says something about what our behavior could be, but they also say even more about God.

What’s different this week is that we have a commandment that is less about God, then our need for him. You see, unlike the other commandments that have very visible outward manifestations, this one is about the heart. And, unlike the others that so focus on who God is, and how that should direct our love, this one focuses on us, reminding us that God is simply more desirable than anything else we can ask or imagine. Put simply, if we want any thing more than God, we’ve missed out on how great he is.

Now matter what we do, the single most important fact we can remember is simply this – that God is better than anything. He’s greater than our sin, He’s greater than our needs, He’s even greater than our goodness.

I know I said last week I don’t like to throw a lot Greek and Hebrew at you, but I think this will help you, too.

חָמַד (ḥāmad) desire, delight in. Cf. Ugaritic ḥmd “be pleasant,” but also covet, lust after (ASV and RSV similar but in the positive contexts [eleven of twenty-one] prefer the less ambiguous delight in"). The Arabic ḥamida means praise and the name Mohammed comes from the root.

…Something interesting: The ambiguous nature of hamad, even from the beginning. Adam literally coveted the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

From its initial occurrences, the verb ḥāmad describes on the one hand God’s “pleasant” trees in Eden (Gen 2:9); but on the other, the tree forbidden to Adam, which became sinful when “desired” (the same Niphal participle) to make one wise (3:6). Similarly, the noun ḥemed identifies both “pleasant” fields (Isa 32:12; marg., fields of “desire”) and “desirable” young Assyrians, pagans (Ezk 23:6, 12, 23), who proved to be Israel’s downfall.

Long Branch Baptist Church

Halfway, Virginia; est. 1786

Sunday, August 6th, 2006

Enter to Worship

Prelude David Witt

Invocation Psalm 78:23-28, 37-39

*Opening Hymn #379

“I Need Thee Every Hour”

Welcome & Announcements

Chorus: “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus” Chorus #198

Morning Prayer [See Insert]

*Praise Hymn Words #375.1, #345 (Tune #375)

“Tis’ So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” / “Satisfied”

*Responsive Lesson [See Right]

*Offertory Hymn #373

“Take My Life and Let It Be”

Offertory Mr. Witt

*Doxology

Scripture Exodus 20:17, Matt 19:16-22

Sermon

“The Enemy of the Best”

Invitation Hymn #347

“I Surrender All”

Benediction

Congregational Response

May the grace of Christ of Savior / And the Father’s boundless love

With the Holy Spirit’s favor / Rest upon us from above. Amen.

* Congregation, please stand.

Depart To Serve

Do not love the world or the things in the world.

The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world.

And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have;

for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. When goods increase, those who eat them increase; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of laborers, whether they eat little or much; but the surfeit of the rich will not let them sleep.

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,

We were passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Godliness with contentment is great gain.

For we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

1 Jn 2:15-17;Heb 13:5;Php 4:19;Ec 5:10-12;Tit 3:3-5;1 Ti 6:6-10;Eph 3:18-21

MORNING PRAYER

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. We sing to you, praise you, and beg that we might be made clean to stand before you.