BREAKING BAD: GREED
Luke 12:13-23
Breaking Bad Message Series
March 13, 2016
Pastor Nathan J. Thompson
These past weeks we have been looking at what are known as the “7 Deadly Sins” under the theme, “Breaking Bad—7 Habits of Highly Ineffective People.” Last week we looked at sloth; how God wants to take away this sin and help us live a life where we use our talents to their fullest; he wants us to rely on him and on each other.
This morning our focus is on greed which begs the question how much is enough? What does God feel about money? If I really want to buy that new whatever it is—is there any Biblical support I can turn to in order to convince my wife?
It is important to note that Jesus talked often about being careful with our riches and wealth. In fact 16 out of 38 parables deal with the dangers of money and possessions. Jesus however never comes out and says these things are bad; he is more concerned about our motivation.
In other words if money becomes the focus of your energy; if it is the goal of much of what you do; then it can easily become evil. If your motivation and purpose for living is to get and consume more and more stuff, then it can easily become a cancer to your soul.
Something important to understand (as 1 Timothy states) that money is not the root of all evil. The Bible rather says that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” When you get up in the morning are you motivated by making more money; or are you motivated by mission? Is your wealth intended to mainly bless you; or do you want to bless others as well?
In the Gospel reading for today from Luke 12 we see the kinds of disputes that were often brought to the rabbis (the teachers) in Jesus’ time. One of the common disputes was the dividing of inheritances and properties; settling estates were very serious issues.
The reason is because the people at that time saw land as both a religious and economic issue. You may remember in the Old Testament how God had set aside the Promised Land for his people the children of Israel. Each person was very careful in staking their claim.
This history can certainly help us better understand why there is still so much animosity in Israel even today. These issues of God’s Promised Land; of staking their claim; of resisting Palestine and other's claim of having rights to this land is still there thousands of years later.
In answering this land dispute Jesus really rises above the technical issues; he instead gets to the real heart of the matter. Jesus doesn’t spend time with boundaries; instead he focuses on the motivation; he focuses on one’s values and priorities.
Paul Tillich, a very renown theologian of years past, once said that whatever your ultimate concern is, that is what your faith is; it becomes your god. Therefore is your ultimate concern the stuff of this world; or is it the mission God has called you into?
In the beginning of Luke 12 Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Jesus tells us in verse 1 to “be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Their yeast, their core value, was to just put on an act; to make people think they were righteous and good; it was a hypocritical life.
In the same way, however, our handling of money and possessions says a lot about our core values. As Christians we need to ask if we are going to live by Jesus’ core values; or are we rather going to try to fit Jesus into our own core values?
When our church starts to mirror our culture; when we try to make Jesus fit into our core values; it is then that greed and materialism can easily start to get out of control. It is then that we easily start to evaluate people on the stuff they have; the cars/trucks they drive; clothes, etc.
When we do this we start to live like the Pharisees; we separate Jesus out. Yes we may come here for an hour on Sunday mornings; may sing praises God; may tend to your Spirit. Yet what about Monday morning? Do we bring Jesus with us wherever we go; in whatever we do? Are we doing his mission?
There is a humorous story about a man who was driving on a Southern California freeway when one of their earthquakes happened. He felt his car start to shake; then the road began to buckle under him and his car was swallowed up by a big crack in the earth.
As this man was crawling out of his damaged car he barely even noticed that his left arm was severed (cut off) below the elbow. Standing next to his car, swallowed up in this big hole, he began to cry out, “Oh no! My Beemer (BMW car), my Beemer!”
As he stood there grieving his lost car another man came along; he wanted to see if this man needed some help. In horror he said to the man, “How can you be crying for your BMW car right now? I mean, don’t you know that you’re missing your arm?”
Just then as the man looked down and saw his missing limb he began to cry, “Oh no! My Rolex,my (expensive watch) Rolex!” As far fetched as this story is we all know that it is way too true.
Jesus said in verse 15 that greed can be deadly to your character; to your life; to your future. Greed is really a waste of time in that everything we acquire will not last. Jesus says that real life is not measured by what we have; the truly rich life has nothing to do with possessions.
Yet as you know very well advertisers spend millions of dollars trying to convince us that their product will make us happy. Then of course there are new products to replace the old products created every few months. Yet all of this simply distracts us from our real mission in life.
When you think your life is finding fulfillment in your possessions Jesus says, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.” Death is the end result of greed. This of course is not just a physical death; it can also be a death of relationships; of purpose; of meaning.
Jesus says in Matthew 6:24, “You cannot serve both God and money.” This truth is that one of these two will become your ultimate goal. Yet so often we think that if we just save enough money; if we work 60-plus hour weeks; if we have the right investments; we will then somehow build up security.
There is a story about a fisherman who was sitting by his boat enjoying the sunshine. A business person came by and asked him, “Why aren’t you out fishing?” “Well,” he replied, “I’ve caughtenough for today.” “But why,” asked the business person, “don’t you go out and catch morefish?” “Why would I ever do that?” answered the man.
The business person said, “You could go out catch more fish; have more money; could buy a bigger boat; which in turn would mean you could catch more fish. You could then buy a whole fleet of boats; could have a bunch of employees; eventually you could be rich.”
“Why would I want to do that?” the fisherman answered. “Because then you could sit back andenjoy life.” “But that’s what I’m doing right now,” said the fisherman. Therefore I ask you how much do we need to achieve security; how much is enough?
I’m sure you know some of the history behind the tombs of the Pharoahs in Egypt. These rulers had these huge pyramids built so that all their possessions were buried with them. Their reasoning was that they wanted comfort and security in their journey into the afterlife.
Thousands of years later, however, when archaeologists went into these tombs what did they find? All of that stuff was still there; it had not ushered them into the afterlife. My friends, only one man in history has gone into a tomb and then come out alive—and that is our Savior Jesus.
The truth is that true security comes only when we put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ. It only comes when we trust that God will provide for all of our needs. Luke 12 continues that as God takes care of the lilies of the field; as God cares for the birds of the air he loves us all the more.
Jim Wallis says that the Bible does not mind people being prosperous; it just insists that it be shared. The Bible’s message is that God desires us to be generous, not greedy. This generosity also transcends our money; possessions; wealth.
Are you a generous listener and generous with your time? Are you a generous spouse and parent? Are you a generous friend to others? Are you a generous driver sharing grace to others on the road? Think of someone who has been generous in your life.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:19ff, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…” store up treasures in heaven. God calls us to be living in and for God’s kingdom. He calls us to put our energy into that which is eternal; that which will last. He calls us to seek first God's kingdom and all these things will be ours as well.
Jesus concludes his parable in Luke 12 by declaring that a person is a fool if they don’t have a rich relationship with God. He calls you and me to be rich toward God; to serve him humbly; to make a difference in someone’s life; to be generous with others.
My friends, take some time this week to look at God’s creation; at all its beauty; to realize that it is all a gift of God’s love and generosity. Be in awe of God and how he died for you; then offer yourself to God each day by praying:
“God, I want to be part of your mission. I want to make a difference in this world and make this world a better place. God, help me to give hope to the hopeless. Help me to be a generous person who shares your eternal wealth with others in this world. Amen.”