The Lutheran Hour
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"Beware of Greed"
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Text: Luke 12:15-34
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PRAYER: Blessed heavenly Father, for the past decade we have seen a great “frenzy” to get rich. Even now, television programs talk endlessly about Wall Street and the “Market,” the “Market,” the “Market,” as if money and materialism were the very essence of life. Burn deeply into our minds, O Lord, the words of Jesus that “life does not consist in the abundance of the things we possess.”
Rather, O Lord we pray, plant into our hearts a sincere and solid faith in Jesus Christ. A faith which justifies our soul by covering our sins with the righteousness of Christ; and a faith which brings deep and lasting inner peace to our heart. O Lord, this is our most sincere prayer. Amen.
Not long ago, Dr. Peter Ender, chief of infectious diseases at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center in Ohio, along with Dr. Theodore Pope, appeared before a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. At this meeting, these two doctors presented some stunning findings.
Dr. Ender explained how he had collected dollar bills from a local grocery store and also from the concession stand at a local high school basketball game.
These dollar bills were then placed under a microscope. Researchers were shocked to see these commonly used dollar bills were loaded with a variety of bacteria, many which cause everything from pimples to potentially fatal blood infections. Two of the most dangerous bugs were found on at least 7% of the dollar bills. Only 6% of the bills were germ free. According to this research, 94%, almost all of these dollar bills, carried germs that cause urinary tract infections, sore throats, respiratory infections, and food poisoning. Imagine, therefore, what you are touching every time you pull from your purse or wallet a single, a five, a 20 or a 50-dollar bill. No doubt, you are shocked to learn that money, innocent looking dollar bills, may cause serious and even fatal physical ailments.
But there is also something even more important about money you and I need to know. You see, the Bible does not say that money is the root of all evil. The Bible says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” This means when you start loving money and yearn endlessly for riches or any other material goods, then you are in serious trouble. “Be on your guard,” Jesus said, “against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does life consist of its possessions.” In other words, Jesus said don’t be tempted to believe the more material blessings you have, the happier and the more secure your life will be.
Then, the Bible says, Jesus told His disciples a parable. “The land of a rich man,” Jesus said, “was very productive. One day however, this rich man thought: ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store all my crops.’ And then he thought, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my old barns. And I will build new larger barns. Then I will have enough room to store all my grain and my goods.'” Plus, the Bible says, “the rich man said, ‘I will also say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease. Eat, drink and be merry.”‘” In other words, sit back, relax, no need to trust in God anymore. No need to pray because your money will protect you. Your money will save you.
However, this is not the end of the story. You see, the Bible tells us God came to this rich man and said, “You fool! You fool! This very night your soul is required of you.” “Now,” God said to this rich man, “who is going to inherit what you have?” Then Jesus added, “So is the man who stores up treasures for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Now, let’s reflect for a moment, shall we? Jesus was here not “plowing new ground” as we say. He was not setting forth a new “philosophy for living.” Jesus was building upon what God had spoken centuries prior, through Isaiah the prophet, when He said, “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me,” says the Lord and, “Eat what is good.” “Delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me,” He says. “Listen that you may live” (Isaiah 55:2-3).
You see, friends, when God speaks, He is like a waiter in a restaurant. Through His life-giving and living Word, God is giving you all that you need for life. This is also why He says, “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen that you may live” (Isaiah 55:2-3). And, this is also why Jesus is saying to you today, “YOU SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD” (Matthew 4:4). This is again why God says, “Come to Me. Listen that you may live.”
So, as we focus our thoughts on Jesus’ warning about the peril of the love of money, we need also to observe how clever the devil can be as he works to infect your spirit with the disease of the love of money. And, the worst infection with which Satan can infect your mind and Spirit is this: the more you have, the more you want. You see, one sin leads to the next.
If the devil has been drawing your eyes and heart away from God, be careful. Because the more you have, the more the lust of your flesh is going to desire. Let me try to explain this in a more simple way. Doctors and nutritionists have recently learned why many people have such a craving for carbohydrates and chocolate and even sugar. When sugar enters your body, it comes into contact with your pancreas, which secretes insulin. The more sugar you take in, the more your body wants. This becomes an endless cycle that speeds up, and speeds up, and speeds up. Someway, you have to break the cycle; for if you don’t, you’ll become dangerously overweight and may also become a diabetic.
Now, in the same way due to our sinful nature, each one of us is prone to desire money. Like sugar, the more we have the more we want. As our Bible study points out, inevitably this often leads to disastrous results.
Now if you have enough food to eat, and if you have a warm place to live, then be satisfied. If you have food and clothing, Jesus says, then “be content.”
Therefore, instead of turning on your television to see what the “markets” are doing, and reading the words constantly moving along the bottom of your screen which reflect the latest “ups” and “downs” of Wall Street, as if this were the most important thing in life, do the better thing. Do the Godly thing. Turn off the television!
To all these enticing secular temptations, we must say an emphatic “no!” Don’t be “whip-sawed” mercilessly by the latest “ups and downs” of Wall Street.
Friends, life is more than merely meeting your physical needs. “Real living,” “real life,” means to rest in the forgiving arms of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Real living” is knowing every hour that your blessed heavenly Father has not treated you as you deserve because of your sin (Psalm 103). Instead, in Jesus Christ, God has loved you. In Jesus Christ, God has forgiven you all of your sins. In Christ, God will always take complete care of you. He will never leave you. Therefore, don’t permit the devil to prepare your future based on the love of money. It will never work. Rather, let the Word of God fill your heart with the blessed assurance that Jesus will graciously provide all your needs.
Many in recent years who have done well in the stock market and on Wall Street will be totally unprepared to walk the streets of heaven. Many have prepared for life here–but are spiritually penniless and religious paupers, as they approach the mansion of heaven. Therefore, friends, look not to the financial cross streets of New York or Chicago or Toronto or London, or the financial cross streets of Frankfurt or Tokyo; but rather, look to the crucifixion cross of Calvary.
It was on the bloody crucifixion cross of Calvary that Jesus made an eternal investment for you. This is also why the Apostle Peter wants you to know “you were not redeemed from your sin with perishable things like silver or gold but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless–the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
The love of money is one of the devil’s most effective ways of pulling people unwittingly toward the deep abyss of everlasting hell.
Although it may seem ridiculous and even laughable, major newspapers not long ago carried the story of what the ex-wife of a famous millionaire claimed she needed–every month–to support her 3-year-old daughter. This lady, in a Los Angeles court, said she needed at least $320,000 every month to care for her 3-year-old daughter. This included $144,000 a month for travel; $14,000 for parties and play dates; $7,000 for charity; $4,300 for food–plus $5,900 to eat out; $2,500 for movies, theaters, and other outings; $1,400 for laundry and cleaning; $1,000 for toys, videos and books; $436 to take care of her daughter’s pet bunny rabbit. While some of us may find this news item laughable, it is also very real. This is where many of us are today. The more we have, the more we want.
As God calls you by His Word and Spirit, and as God seeks to give you the gift of faith instead of materialism, and as your heavenly Father desires fervently to draw you to Himself, don’t pull back. Don’t say, “I first have to think it over.” The Scriptures say “It is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep.” The Bible says, “Now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is almost gone and the day is at hand” (Romans 13:11-12).
Don’t say “no” to the perfect pardon Jesus Christ earned for you on the bloody cross. Don’t say “I can’t believe” when Jesus invites you to come to Him. Instead, say with the loving father of the sick boy, referred to in the Bible who said, “Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief.”
Yes, let God’s living Word reign and rule in your life. Old worries and recent anxieties of yours will then be driven away. The anxieties of your personal righteousness will be totally, and forever, replaced by the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Let the Spirit of God plant into your heart a love for Christ that will totally replace your secular love for the illusions of this world. When Jesus died on the cross, all your shortcomings, your failures, and all your bad words were cleansed by His blood. This is something all the money in the whole world could never do!
So, as you seek God’s help to separate what is important in this life and what is not; what is truly valuable from what is not; what is surely lasting from what is not, consider the decisive, spiritual ideas that George F. Pfefferkorn wrote in a hymn over 300 years ago:
“What is the world to me, with all its vaunted pleasure When Thou and Thou alone, Lord Jesus, art my Treasure! Thou only, dearest Lord, My soul’s Delight shalt be; Thou art my Peace, my Rest — What is the world to me!
“What is the world to me, My Jesus is my Treasure, My Life, my Health, my Wealth, my Friend, my Love, and my Pleasure, My Joy, my Crown, my All, my Bliss eternally. Once more, then, I declare: What is the world to me!
“The world seeks after wealth, and all that Mammon offers, Yet never is content, tho’ gold should fill its coffers. I have a higher goal, and content with it I’ll be My Jesus is my Wealth — What is the world to me!”
O Lord, we pray, drive out from the minds and hearts of all listeners today, drive out the devil and all his temptations to see money or materialism as the key to life. Instead, open the eyes of faith of all our listeners at this hour. Let them see the priceless beauty of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, crucified for their sins and raised again to guarantee them the hope of heaven. O Lord, we urgently pray, focus the minds of all of us today on Jesus Christ, our priceless treasure. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for March 10, 2001
ANNOUNCER: We have Dr. Wallace Schulz in the studio. I’m Mark Eischer. Well, that was quite a story, Dr. Schulz, about the woman who demanded a $320,000 a month child support payment. It’s a real jaw dropper. But what does that have to do with us?
SCHULZ: Well, Mark, I suppose we are all really indicted by this story, at least a little bit, I think.
ANNOUNCER: What do you mean by that?
SCHULZ: I’m sure if each of us was really honest, we all believe we have a certain lifestyle we need to support. However, If the truth were known, you and I and most all of our listeners simply don’t need as many material possessions as we think we do. Let me give you an example. About 20 years ago, my parents, who were getting older, had to leave their farm in South Dakota. They moved to the city to assisted care living quarters. Now, when they made this initial move, they took with them quite a few items they felt they absolutely needed. However, some time later, they had to move a second time to full care. Again, they kept what they figured were the bare essentials. Now, after that, they made one more move, and were down to the very minimum–a few personal items on a dresser. At the same time, this was all that was really necessary for them to get along in life.
ANNOUNCER: And what were some of the things they kept?
SCHULZ: My parents always kept their Bible, their devotional materials, and letters from their children and other members of the family. In the end, we all know, this is all that really means anything. Everything else is either going to be used up or becomes someone else’s possession.
ANNOUNCER: But not everybody feels that way. We hear stories of people who hang onto things right up until the bitter end.
SCHULZ: You are indeed correct. In fact, since I knew we were going to be discussing this topic, I brought along a little item I took out of the newspaper not long ago. It tells about a man who owned a Mercedes Benz, a 300-turbo Mercedes.
ANNOUNCER: Nice car. What did he do with it?
SCHULZ: Listen to this. The newspaper tells when this man died, his family designed a coffin to look very much like a Mercedes. They put on a little grill on the front, some mock lights, bumpers, a Mercedes logo, and even a little personalized license plate on the back of the coffin. Then, one of the family members said, “Dad loved his Mercedes so much, we thought it only fitting he should drive through the pearly gates in a Mercedes.”
ANNOUNCER: This shows how people can become attached to their material possessions.
SCHULZ: Well, it certainly does, I think. Another family member said, “My father treated his Mercedes like a queen. There was no eating, drinking, or lighting up cigarettes in his car, and we had to wipe our feet before entering, ride in silence and sit up straight. His car was always immaculate.
ANNOUNCER: That’s really taking it to the extreme.
SCHULZ: Yes, I suppose in the opinion of some that’s the case. At the end of this article it says this gentleman was buried in this Mercedes-type coffin and had a great sendoff.
ANNOUNCER: What do you think about that?
SCHULZ: I don’t think we should be overly judgmental here. There is surely nothing wrong with being buried in any type of a coffin you desire. At the same time, stories like this raise some real suspicions. We don’t want to be more in love with material possessions than with the Lord who has always told all of us to use only that which we need and give the rest to others. I have on my wall in my study a little verse from the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, and it says: “Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is my portion.” This means that we ought to expect or to pray for only that which we actually need.
ANNOUNCER: Dr. Schulz, what is the bottom line?
SCHULZ: The bottom line I think is this. As all of us, no matter who we are, look to the end of our life. We need to focus our eyes on our Lord Jesus Christ and His sin-atoning death and His death-defeating resurrection. When we do this, we will be led by the Spirit to desire a very Christian burial. We will probably want a very simple coffin and a very modest funeral with everything focusing on the cross and His blessed forgiveness.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Dr. Schulz.