Foolish Rich

Introduction

Have you ever thought what you might do with an unexpected financial gain? What if you won the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes or any of the other sweepstakes? What would you do with an extra $33,000 a year for the next 30 years? Or what would you do with a lump sum amount? Probably none of us will ever find a 1300 year old pendant or go to a garage sale and buy some cheap picture only to discover a valuable piece of artwork behind the dust.

Most of us live from paycheck to paycheck. We pay our bills. Enjoy many of life’s comforts. Save some. Spend a lot. Work so we can get paid. Month after month we go through the routine of life. Learning to spend what we make and wishing we made more. I’m not being critical. This is reality. We are thankful for what we have and realize we are blessed, but there is a routine to work and pay. We plan our monthly budgets—divide up our income—give what we can—entertain ourselves—provide for some luxury. We don’t worry about the necessities. Most of us can’t remember when we were down to the last can of food in our house—or only had one change of clothes—or worried about not having a place to spend the night. When was the last time we prayed “give us this day our daily bread?” We aren’t concerned about daily sustenance. That is part of the routine of life.

In some respects, Luke 12 has very little to say to us. We don’t worry about food, clothes, or shelter. We go to the store and buy enough groceries to last a week and then don’t use them all. This isn’t a condemnation of our lifestyle, it is a statement of truth that we aren’t concerned about the necessities of life. Our concern is more about luxuries. Will we have enough money to take the vacation that we want? Will we have a big Christmas? Do we go to McDonald’s for lunch or Corky’s? Jesus was speaking to people in Luke 12 that didn’t have those choices. In fact, daily existence is what they did worry about. And Jesus’ message was vital for them. But for us—well daily existence is commonplace, expected, and routine.

But Luke 12 does have something to say to us about attitude. And that is what we will focus on this morning. I am not being critical, but living in the lap of wealth makes it very difficult to hear Jesus’s words with clarity. I am going to try very hard not to create guilt this morning and in exchange I would ask that you try very hard to listen to the words of Jesus in as fresh a way as possible. Jesus addresses the attitude of his followers and as his followers he is speaking to us.

Security

A man asks Jesus to arbitrate a dispute between himself and his brother. Actually it is more of a demand than a request. Jesus refuses to get involved. Instead Jesus attacks the man’s heart. Be on guard for greed. Remember what’s important is not the number of possessions a person has. Then Jesus tells a story. It is the story of a farmer who has a bumper crop. It is such a large harvest that he has no place to put it all. He decides to build more space to contain his newly found wealth. Jesus says he is a fool because he is going to die and then who will get all this wealth.

Stop right there. Don’t you think the man acted with wisdom? A farmer doesn’t waste a crop. Maybe in America they do, but not in Jesus’s day. Wasn’t it wise for the farmer to build a bigger barn to hold his new found wealth? What do you do with a raise? Is it wrong for a Christian to move into a larger house? Buy a bigger car? Entertain more? Enjoy the fruit of labor? Look carefully at the text.

Notice how the farmer’s emphasis is on himself and what “he” is going to do with his wealth. Then notice his attitude. He has become confident in what he has. With this new found wealth, the farmer has become self-reliant, boastful, arrogant, and self-satisfied. There is no longer a dependence upon God. “Look at what I’ve got. I got everything I need and more. I can take it easy.” The problem is not wisdom but with his attitude. The farmer was confident in himself and not trusting in God. According to Jesus this is what greed is. It isn’t the accumulation of things that make a person greedy; it is the accumulation of things to provide one’s security.

The word translated “greed” in verse 15 is the word “covetousness.” Jesus is warning against an attitude which sees the possessing of material things as the basis of security. He is teaching against an attitude in which one believes the gaining of material wealth says something about one’s worth and place in life. This is the reason why Jesus says his followers do not worry about daily necessities. They recognize that God will provide. Believers understand that seeking God is far more important than material gain.

So What?

We have heard the importance of having the right attitude toward the accumulation of things before. We don’t want to be greedy or covet things. We want our security and trust to be in God not in the accumulation of things. We believe this. But how do we demonstrate that truth. Jesus tells us in verses 32-34. First, recognize that we are part of the kingdom of God and not the kingdom of this world. The world runs after material things. That is not what Christians are about. We don’t pursue material things because we belong to God not this world. As followers of Jesus we look at life differently. We have freedom that the rest of the world only dreams of. We are not tied to the material. We are not interested in accumulating more because our security is not in things but in our God.

Second, as followers of Jesus we have a giving spirit. This verse might make you nervous. Jesus isn’t saying take your furniture and have a giant garage sale. Greed focuses on self. Christians focus on others. Covetousness dreams of having more. Followers dream of giving more away. We look around and notice that God takes care of scavenger birds like ravens. Ravens don’t work. They eat the left overs. If God is going to provide for them, then surely he will provide for those who follow him and work. Jesus says our real treasure is not found in stuff we have but in how much we give away.

This is what makes Christians different. A generous spirit. While the world seeks to hoard and accumulate, the Christians are trying to figure out ways to give. The Christian uses creativity to discover new ways to give away what God has already given to him. Someone says, “well, I barely makes ends meet. I don’t have that much to give.” You don’t understand. It isn’t quantity. It is the heart that Jesus is aiming for. This is seen in Acts 2 when the early Christians sold land and possessions to provide for others who needed food. This wasn’t demanded of the people, but was rather something that the people did because their heart had been changed by the kingdom.

We belong to a new kingdom with a new king. Our king knows how to give. Generously and unselfishly he gives of himself for the benefit of his people. He doesn’t tax in order to gain more at our expense. Quite the opposite. Our king gives at his expense. And what he says to his people is that you will have the same spirit as I do. You remember from 2 Corinthians 9:7, Paul quoting Jesus says that “God loves a cheerful giver.” From the word “cheerful” we get our word “hilarious.” For God’s people, giving comes out of heart which is full of joy and hilarity because we know we belong to a new kingdom. Let’s celebrate our king and his spirit of giving which he demonstrated at the cross.

Luke 12 is a continuation of the theme from chapter 11. God’s people will find security in him not in the accumulation of wealth. Trust in God’s faithfulness will sustain us, not in our ability to provide for ourselves. The name Christian should signify that we are giving people. Not because we have more to give but because we are part of a new kingdom and our king showed us how to give. Let’s be people who trust in God rather than self. Let’s be people who develop an attitude of giving rather than keeping.

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