Greed [Luke 12]

A long time ago there was this guy named John Wesley - he was a preacher in England. And something happened to him one day that totally changed his life. He was at Oxford, and he purchased some pictures for his room, and hung them on the wall. Then he noticed one cold winter day that one of the chambermaids, which was kind of like the cleaning crew of the dormitory at the time, she had nothing to protect herself from the cold except a thin linen gown. It was so worn out it was like threadbare. So immediately he reached into his pocket to give her some money to buy a coat, but he found that he had too little left over after he had bought those pictures. Immediately the thought struck him that God was probably not pleased with the way he had spent his money. He said, “Will thy Master say, ‘Well done, good and faithful steward?’ Thou hast adorned thy walls with the money which might have screened this poor creature from the cold! O Justice! O mercy! Are not these pictures the blood of this poor maid?” People don’t really talk that way anymore - but basically he looked at the decorations in his house and he looked at the person in need in front of him and he was ashamed of the choice he had made.

From that day on, back in 1731, Wesley determined that he was going to maintain his standard of living at the same level and give away everything above that threshold. That year he made 30 pounds, and his living expenses were 28 pounds. Which translates roughly to 30 grand and 28 grand. Then years later his earnings increased to 60 pounds, so he gave away 32. He kept living on the same amount of money, even though he was making a lot more. When he got up to 120 pounds, he continued to live on 28 pounds, giving away 92 pounds. He became known for this phrase, “What should rise is not the Christians standard of living, but his standard of giving.” He did this his whole life! And if you don’t know, John Wesley became very famous - he started a movement that branched out over the whole world - in fact, our church comes from that movement, we call ourselves Wesleyan because of this guy. At one point his annual income reached one thousand four hundred pounds (which was roughly equivalent to 1.4 million in a year), and he lived on 30 pounds and gave the rest away. 

Today we are starting a brand new sermon series called Affordable - and we are going to be exploring the question: Can we afford to handle money God’s way? If you want to grab your bibles, we’re going to be diving into Luke chapter 12, also known as the parable of the rich fool. I also wanted to point out - if you didn’t notice it when you came in. There is a lovely bookshelf with a bunch of bibles on the back wall. They are the New International Version, the NIV, we’ve got a couple large print, some kid versions, or just regular flavored as well. And that’s what I’ll be preaching out of for this series. There’s lots of great translations out there, so I like to mix it up from time to time.

Luke chapter 12, starts out like this, [read v.1-3]. So to set the scene a little bit, Jesus has this crowd of thousands of people all gathered around, and he is talking to the disciples and he starts talking about “yeast.” Now we all know, “yeast” is the stuff you add to bread to help it rise. It’s just a little pinch, hardly anything, you add it to the dough, and then it expands like crazy. And so “yeast” when Jesus is talking about it is a little idea. Something in your life - something small, but if it gets into your life it can blow up huge. The “yeast of the pharisees” is some teaching from the pharisees that’s toxic. And for the first chunk of the chapter, Jesus is talking about fear, talking about worry and then halfway through his teaching, Jesus is interrupted. A guy in the back calls out and interrupts Jesus in mid-teaching. Verse 11 Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry, God is with you” and then over in verse 22, Jesus picks it up again, “Don’t worry, God is with you.” But in between that, that’s where we get our teaching passage. Verse 13, [read v.13-14]. I’m trying to imagine this - Jesus is teaching a big crowd of people something really important, and then someone interrupts him to say, “my big brother’s not being nice to me!” [Laugh] This is like when my boys are wrestling, and they try to rope me into playing referee, “Dad, he hit me!” Why are you telling me? Did I hit you? Go talk to the one you’re having a problem with. That sounds like a “you” problem my man. And Jesus has the same response for this fella. “Who appointed me to be the arbiter between you two?”

Ah, but Jesus was a master teacher - and he wasn’t going to leave an opportunity to teach on the table. So he pivots to a teachable moment. This guy is worried about his inheritance, about his money and financial security and so Jesus responds in verse 15, [read it]. Jesus says “watch out” - and this leads us to the first big thing I want you to grab onto this morning. Money interrupts. It interrupts our life. It interrupts our peace. It distracts us. It pulls at us. Money interrupts. According to the American Psychological Association, money is the number 1 cause of stress in the modern world. 81% of Gen Z is stressed about money. 38% of divorces report financial problems as the primary reason for separation. Family relationships, brokenness - money interrupts. It is meant to be a powerful tool, but we tend to make more of it than that. We attach it to joy, security, prominence, authority, worth, self-worth. Love it or hate it, money is a huge part of our existence in this world. And our heavenly father knew that money was going to be a major issue in our lives. So when he was on this earth, Jesus taught about money… a LOT. Money and possessions are referenced in the bible more than 800 times. It’s the second most referenced topic in the entire Bible. There are more than 2 thousand three hundred verses on money, wealth and possessions. By comparison, there’s only 500 verses on prayer and faith. Jesus spent roughly 15% of his preaching and 11 out of his 39 parables teaching people about money. Why? Because money interrupts. Money matters to God because our God knows the affect it has on our hearts! Like yeast, it’s just a little pinch, but it gets into our hearts and expands. It changes how we see ourselves, how we see other people. Where we live, who we do life with, the circles of friends we have. 

1 Timothy 6, verse 17 says [read it]. We literally put our hope in money. Money makes us feel safe, makes us feel like we are in control. When we lack money, it feels like the world is spinning out of control and we panic. But as Christians, we are taught to make God our hope - not money. Money is so uncertain - it can come and go in a moment - but the promises of God are always secure. So Jesus tells the man back in Luke 12, [read v.15]. Be on guard against all kinds of greed. You see, money interrupts, but the second thing I want you to grab onto is that greed grows. Back in the old testament, Solomon put it like this, [read Eccl. 5:10]. Greed is like a gas - it will expand to fill the space in the room. So many of us we think - if only I had this much, then I would be satisfied. But then later.. when we have that much - it’s like the horizon has moved. Now we need more, there’s a new level. What satisfies you, what level you are comfortable with and will accept expands with every level. And what the bible tells us is that it’s never enough. When we look to money for satisfaction we will find within ourselves a bottomless pit. Because money interrupts and greed grows. Look at it this way - 70% of lottery winners go broke within 7 years of winning. They are given hundreds of millions of dollars - and most of us look at that and think, “I couldn’t spend that much money in 2 lifetimes” - 7 years and it’s gone for 70% of people. Or think about Athletes, they make SO MUCH MONEY, getting these contracts for millions of dollars. 78% of NFL players are broke or going broke within 2 years of retirement! 60% of NBA players are broke within 6 years of walking off the court. There is no number that could ever be enough for the human heart. 

Now, maybe you’re not convinced. Maybe you’re thinking - well, THEY weren’t satisfied by those crazy amounts of money, but I sure would be. Heck I’d be satisfied with half that! Full transparency, can I just have a moment of honesty with you, I tell myself that all the time - “well, if I won the lottery, I wouldn’t be one of those foolish people who waste it.” It’s so much easier to see problems of greed and money management in someone ELSE’s life - but not our own. Well, let me flip it around for a second. If you earn $60,000 a year, you are in the top 1% of wage earners in the world. And even if you make less than that - this past week I found this article from Vox.com, and they have a little calculator. You put in how much you make, how many kids you have, and it adjusts for cost of living differences in different parts of the world. I am in the richest 23% of the world. I’m a single income household with 5 children, and sometimes the budget it tight - but I live with more in my life than 3 out of 4 human beings in the world. And to be honest, I went back and forth about whether to share that with you all. But if we’re going to talk about money, we’re going to be transparent and honest in this church. I think when hear stuff like that -top 23%, top 1% or whatever -  it’s weird how nobody in the seats jumps up and says, “Hey I’m rich! I’m suddenly fully satisfied with my life and have no more money worries at all ever.”  - and the reason is that we do not spend our lives comparing ourselves to the 50% or the 75% or the 99% of humanity that has less than us, but rather the 1% that is above us. Money interrupts, and greed grows. 

But Jesus isn’t done, back in Luke 12, verse 15 he says, [read 15b]. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Another translation says it like this, “Life is not measured by how much you own.” You’ve probably heard the phrase “you can’t take it with you.” But here’s the problem - I never hear that phrase used to justify lavish generosity to others. It’s never “you can’t take it with you, so you should give it to someone in need” - it’s always, “you can’t take it with you, so use it on yourself soon.” Have you noticed that? There is a new product on the shelves in America - and it’s not a thing, it’s an experience. Life is not measured by how much you own - and so we pivot, “I don’t want to have lots of stuff, I want to DO lots of stuff.” And advertisers know this - you probably seen this. A car commercial doesn’t sell you a car - they sell you the experience of driving the car. The slogan for Honda is “The power of dreams”, Jaguar used to have a slogan that said, “Jaguar: the art of performance.” It’s not a thing, pay no attention to the price tag - it’s an experience, it’s a performance. Or Disney - that’s probably the greatest example of selling you an experience. The Happiest Place On Earth, the Place where dreams come true! We figured out that life does not consist in an abundance of possessions, we can’t take it with us and so we’re not purchasing possessions, we’re purchasing memories. And none of it will feed our hungry neighbor. [pause] That guy John Wesley, he once said, “Money is an excellent gift of God, answering the noblest ends. In the hands of his children it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, raiment for the naked.” [Pause] And we’re out here purchasing memories. 

What if… what if life is not measured by possessions, and life is not measured by memories or experiences - what if there was another way to look at the money we have? What if we asked ourselves how God is calling us to use our money? What if life is measured by how close we are to the kingdom of God, to the presence of Jesus? To the work and life he has called us to live? Are you, with the way you live your life and spend your money - are you in the center of God’s will for your life?

The good news that I have for you today is that God gives us money as a tool to do his work, not as a foundation on which to build our lives. Jesus was right in the middle of a teaching on hypocrisy and God’s sovereignty. He was talking about God’s power and how we don’t need to worry - and then he gets interrupted. He gets interrupted but he does not change the subject. God needs to be the foundation of our life, not money. God needs to be the thing we look to when we are in trouble, not money. God is the firm foundation, the rock on which we stand - not our emergency fund or our savings account. Those are not bad things but they are TOOLS. They are tools given to us to do God’s work. Tools belong in the toolbelt, not underneath our feet. 

See, here’s the thing - I don’t love talking about money. But the reason we have to talk about money is because we live in a culture that has made money the foundation of every decision we make as a people. We live in a culture that has made money our god, we have made it our end and be all. And as Christians, with our lives, we must declare - No. We push back against the creeping greedy influence on our hearts. We push back against the world that says “you’ll never have enough, grab all you can.” We push back against a culture that says, “your neighbor has more than you do, so we don’t need to give to the needy.” We are people who know the power of money, it’s yeast in the dough. Money interrupts, and greed grows, but Jesus has taught us how to measure life. 

So coming out of all of that - I have one big challenge for you today. This is what I want you to work on this week. The challenge I have for you today is to align your money with the priorities of God’s kingdom. Because we know the power and influence money has on our hearts, and on our lives - we have to be people who are intentional. We make changes to our budget that will help us grow as a people. Align your money with the priorities of God’s kingdom. There are two ways to do this. First, use money as a tool pushes greed out of our heart. We give - to the church, to the homeless, to the needy - we give as a people, because the act of giving changes our heart. That’s why we phrase it as a percentage. If you’re not familiar - there’s this thing in the old testament called a “tithe,” and it was where we set aside the first tenth of our income. We give ten percent to God our of recognition that he comes first in our lives, and it was to provide for the temple and the tribe of Levi who cared for the temple. But there was no dollar amount. It was a percentage - even if you didn’t make very much, you can still - with your budget, you can still put God first and give him a portion. And everyone had to do it because everyone needs to grow and develop generosity as a person. It’s not about how much - it’s about what it does to your heart. We give with our money because we want to develop our hearts, to grow as a person who follows Jesus. 

Let me give you an example of this. There was this guy Rick Warren. Maybe you’ve heard of him, he was a very famous pastor back in the 90’s and early 2000’s. He’s retired now, but he wrote a book called The Purpose Driven Life. It’s one of the most popular Christian books that’s ever been written. But something happened when he wrote it - he started to receive a lot of money in royalties. In one quarter it earned him $9 million in royalties alone. And he had to figure out what to do with this money - and so he and his wife they made some decisions. First, they decided they would not change their lifestyle one bit. He still lived in the same house, driving the same Ford truck, has the same two suits. This is a quote, “I don’t have a guest home. I don’t have a yacht, I don’t own a beach house, we just said that we aren’t going to use the money on ourselves.” Then he stopped taking a salary from the church. Then he added up all the church had paid him over the past 25 years and gave it all back. He served his church for free for 25 years. And this is the quote I wanted to share, “I don’t know a single pastor who does it for money. There are so many easier ways to make money. Believe me, if you want to make money, don’t be a pastor. But a lot of media think that the pastors are in it for the money. Every one of them I know would serve for free if they could. So Kay (that’s his wife) and I became reverse tithers. When we got married 30 years ago, we began tithing 10%. Each year we would raise our tithe 1% to stretch our faith. 11% that first year, 12% the second, 13% the third year. Every time I give, it breaks the grip of materialism in my life. Every time I give, it makes me more like Jesus. Every time I give, my heart grows bigger. And so now, we give away 90% and we live on 10%. That was actually the easy part, what to do with the money - just give it away, because I’m storing up treasures in heaven.” Now I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. 10% of millions of dollars is plenty of money, Rick Warren is not a pauper. But when he was confronted with sudden wealth, he knew it was a heart thing and so he had to make some changes. And my point with all of that is this: if you are clever, you can use money and generosity as a tool for pushing greed out of your heart.

The second way to align your money with the priorities of God’s kingdom is to use money as equipment that God has given you for doing God’s work. In the scriptures - God has given us a lot of things to do. We have to spread the good news of his love to all people. We have to feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked, and proclaim the good news of salvation through forgiveness of sins. And if you see your money as the equipment that God has given you to get the work done - that helps your heart realign with God’s priorities. That guy John Wesley, he had a sermon called “The Use of Money” and his advice was “earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.” It’s not bad for Christians to earn money and to save money - in fact that is such a wonderful thing to do. But instead of making money the foundation of our life, the source of our security and hope, instead - to keep money’s corrupting influence out of our heart, we have to see it as a tool to do the work that God has given us. 

Let me make this very practical for a second - this past week I had a chance to visit the headquarters for Hand 2 Hand. Which, if you don’t know, is this program where we provide food for children in the schools, it’s one of our mission partners here at Center Church. It’s an amazing program and I’m honored that we get to be a part of it. We are using our money to buy the food, and our time to pack the meals into bags that we deliver to the schools - we are using the gifts God has given us to do the work he asked us to do. And I’ll be honest - I worried about the program, and worried about the budget. We just went through a big transition, it’s summertime and so people have been gone, giving has been down. We’re on a tight budget at the moment. And I worried and I wondered - but God has been working this message into my heart before I try to give it to your heart. And if we are going to align our money with the priorities of God’s kingdom - it’s a bit of a leap of faith. We’re going to head into this fall and use what God has given us in the way God has asked us to use it. So let’s make it personal. What is one practical, physical step that you can take to align your money with the priorities of God’s kingdom? How can you change the way you approach money to use it as a tool to push greed out of your heart, and to use it as a tool to do the work God asked you to do. Maybe you just need to start the conversation with God about your relationship to money. Is it a tool or a foundation in your life? Maybe you’ve never given to the church before, and God is nudging you to take that first step. Or maybe you do give, but it’s sporadic and God is nudging you to become more consistent. Start that conversation this week. Start asking God, “hey, how can I start using my money as a tool for your kingdom rather than a false foundation.” 

John Wesley has that great line - “Money is an excellent gift of God, answering the noblest of ends. In the hands of his children it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, raiment for the naked.” In his journals, he reports that he never had more than 100 pounds at any one time. As the money came in, he would give it away as fast as he could. When he died in 1791, at 88 years old, he had only a few loose coins on his person and in a drawer. He lived out that teaching all the way to the end. So let me leave you with this. May you remember that money interrupts, and greed grows. May you take comfort in the fact that there is a God who gives us a way to push back against the corruption in our hearts that money can cause. And then may you take whatever practical steps you need to align your money with the priorities of God’s kingdom. Let’s pray.