"greed"

“Greed”

Luke 12:13-21

In our Gospel Lesson for this morning, Jesus is starting to gain a lot of followers.

He is becoming influential.

Crowds are surrounding Him and hanging on His every Word.

Most people view Him as being a Jewish Rabbi and it was normal, back then, for Rabbi’s to settle any number of disputes between persons.

They were considered to be the arbiters and those who possessed the words of wisdom.

So, someone who is having a family feud with his brother comes to Jesus and says, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

How many times has money and the dividing up of estates driven a wedge between family members?

How many of us know people who are no longer speaking to one another because of a disagreement over money?

In any event, according to Jewish inheritance practices, an older brother would get two-thirds of an estate and the younger brother would get one-third.

But instead of getting involved in this, Jesus says: “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?’

Then he said to them, ‘Watch Out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.

A person’s life does not consist in the abundance of their possessions.’”

In other words, Jesus is warning this man and the crowd listening: “Don’t let money and possessions control your lives.

Don’t allow greed to be your master.

Don’t waste your time on things like this.

This isn’t what the kingdom of God is about.

This isn’t what you have been created for.”

And then He goes on to tell the parable we read as an example of a wasted life.

Jesus is saying, “Here is how NOT to live.”

There was once a guy whose barns were already bursting to overflowing.

He was a rich man and he harvested, yet, another bumper crop.

It’s enough to feed him for years and years and then some.

It’s more food than any one person could ever use or need in a lifetime.

And since, before this bumper crop comes, he already has more than one person could ever need, he says to himself: “What shall I do?

I have no place to store my crops.”

And it doesn’t even occur to him that there are people—hundreds, thousands of people who are hungry, starving, struggling to feed their families, dying in the streets even—who could really be helped if he were to simply share his overabundance.

But, it doesn’t even cross his mind.

He is so focused on himself that he has forgotten both the God Who caused the crops to grow and the neighbor whom he is called to love.

With all this excess at the center of his life, the man plunges into the trap of greed and idolatry.

Money, possessions and his concern for “me, myself and I” have become his god and he misses the point of his life.

It’s a sad state of affairs and it’s too easy for all of us to get caught in this trap.

The Bible teaches over and over again that God’s plan is that those who have been given much are to share what they have with those who have little so that all will have enough.

It’s the way life is supposed to work.

It is true KINGDOM LIVING.

In our culture we often measure ourselves and others by the size of our storehouses.

In the Kingdom of God, however, the storehouses are sold and life is measured by what we do for others.

Like the rich farmer, we are tempted to think that having large amounts of money and possessions stored up will make us secure.

Sooner or later, though, we learn that no amount of money or property can make our lives secure.

No amount of wealth can protect us from a genetically inherited disease or from a tragic accident.

No amount of wealth can keep our relationships healthy and our families from falling apart.

In fact, wealth and property can easily drive a wedge between family members, as in the case of the brothers fighting over their inheritance at the beginning of this passage.

Most importantly, no amount of wealth can secure our lives with God.

In fact, Jesus repeatedly warns that wealth can get in the way of our relationship with God.

And it’s not that God doesn’t want us to save for retirement or future needs such as putting our kids through college.

It’s not that God doesn’t want us to “eat, drink and be merry” and enjoy what God has given us.

We know from the Gospels that Jesus spent time eating and drinking with His disciples and other people; enjoying life.

But He was also clear about where our TRUE SECURITY is.

It’s about priorities.

It’s about who or what is truly God in our lives.