Guard against Greed (Luke 12:13-21)

I wonder what you're thinking right now?
I hope you're quite relaxed and are ready to listen to the things I am going to say and hopefully listen also to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as I speak. Perhaps though it's not quite like that. Perhaps you're thinking 'How long is he going to go on this morning?' or you're thinking about what you will do this afternoon, or tomorrow. Those thoughts can be quite fleeting – gone in a few seconds, but perhaps you have something more pressing on you're mind. What ever it is has become an obsession. It's all you can think about. That's the problem that one of Jesus' hearers had at the start of our reading today. He hadn't listened to a thing Jesus had been saying, instead he had been thinking about his brother. No that's not fair. True his brother was the obstacle, but what he had really been thinking about was his inheritance. Why else would you say “Teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me?”
There's clearly a sense of injustice here. The Jewish law is quite clear.
[Slide 3] – Law on inheritance (Deut 21:16-17)
“when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the first-born to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual first-born, the son of the wife he does not love.
He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the first-born by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the first-born belongs to him.”
So if there are three sons the eldest gets half and the other two get a quarter each.
We do not know anything about the man who is trying to get his inheritance. If the inheritance was very small it was normal in Jesus time not to split it up, but for the brothers to continue to work the farm as their father had done – with the eldest in charge.
Whatever the arrangement this man was involved in Jesus is not going to be drawn into his problem. When he says “Who appointed me judge or arbiter over you?” he is not denying that he is God, just recognising that the legal role that is required is not one that he has or wants. Village elders had the job of resolving these types of disputes. Jesus mission is to teach the people about the Kingdom of God and how to live in it, and that is just what he does with the story he tells next.
Helpfully for us, he introduces the parable by telling us what it is about.
[Slide 4] – Mr Greedy
when he says “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Jesus then goes on to tell the parable.
[Slide 5] – Head Line - God calls time on Barns Plan
“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
[Slide 6] – What the parable Doesn't say:
Wealth is bad
There are some very good examples of wealthy people who are generous towards God. The most notable example that I can think of is the Viz-a-viz barn. It's an old barn that is converted to be a training centre for young people. It is a very nice place to be and has its own car park. As far as I'm aware the owner has given it free of charge.
Growth is bad
God is not against growth in business, indeed it was seen as a blessing in the old testament.
Investment is bad
God is not against investment in the future. In the story of Pharaoh's dream in Genesis 41 where the 7 thin cows eat the 7 fat cows the interpretation is that the Egyptians should save the excess in the good times so that they do not starve in the bad times. There is no reason why the same cannot be true for us. I have seen this parable used to say that paying for insurance and saving for pensions is unchristian. That is definitely not what the parable is about.
Comfort is bad
God is a God of love. That is central to Christian belief. God would not wish an uncomfortable lifestyle on any of his people.
[Slide 7] – What the parable does say ..
The parable tells us that greed is a sin. The greedy put themselves first, to the exclusion of everyone else. God is not considered, his people are not considered, his creation is not considered. It is not the activities that the farmer plans because he has such a good crop that are sinful. It is the attitude behind them that is sinful.
[Slide 8] – Types of greed.
Greed for money and greed for food are the types of greed we most readily think about.
Lets take a look at the video clip from “The Robin Hood Gang”. This guy has just completed a bank robbery lets see his reaction …
http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-robin-hood-gang/love-of-money
I love that last scene where he kisses the case full of money and shows what he really loves. That scene is a very typical view of greed, but greed can cause serious problems:
She owns a string of hotels. She owns the Empire State Building. She is a billionaire. Yet, in September 1989 Leona Mindy Rosenthal Helmsley was convicted of 33 counts of tax evasion, for which she spent time in prison. According to Time magazine, she emerged as a penny-pinching tyrant who tried to stiff just about everybody. No amount of money was too small to fight over. After the sudden death of her only son at age 40 in 1982, she sued and won the lion's share of his estate, $149,000, leaving his four children with $432 each and his widow with $2,171.
Greed affects us all.
What would you be willing to do for a very large sum of money, they say that everybody has their price, so £5 million? What would you do for £5 million? Or do you need even more?
[Slide 9] What are you willing to do for $10,000,000?
Two-thirds of Americans polled would agree to at least one, some to several of the following:
Would abandon their entire family (25%)
Would abandon their church (25%)
Would become prostitutes for a week or more (23%)
Would give up their citizenships (16%)
Would leave their spouses (16%)
Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free (10%)
Would kill a stranger (7%)
Would put their children up for adoption (3%)
OK, those were Americans, but they're not so different from the rest of us.
When you've finished being shocked ask yourself “Would I do any of those?”
Now we are beginning to see the destructive nature of greed.
[Slide 10] - Blank
Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown. Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost. As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy's story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Not only can greed harm others, it can also harm the greedy person, but some would say that there is a positive side to greed. The following quotes come from http://www.philforhumanity.com/Greed_is_Good_and_Bad.html
He says “For instance, greed is good, because it is the most important incentive for people to work hard, get a good education, start a business, or invest in a company. This makes people productive and contributing members of society. And in return, people are paid a salary, become more educated, and (hopefully) build wealth so that they can in return live a prosperous, more comfortable, and full life.”
I have to completely disagree. The incentive he is speaking of has nothing to do with greed. Greed is characterised by the accumulation of wealth, or whatever, for its own sake and to the exclusion of all else as indeed he says towards the end of his article:
“Greed is typically considered the accumulation of wealth for personal satisfaction. It has no useful purpose except to become rich and to continue getting more wealthy. It is a strong desire in each and every one of us that is extremely difficult to overcome. Only through continuously contributing and donating to society can we find true rewards that are far greater than the illusion that greed provides.”
Well the first part is fine and he is right that greed is difficult to overcome. He doesn't expand on the 'true rewards' which make it difficult to understand just what he might receive if he overcomes his greed.
It's a secular web site, so I can't expect him to get the point. His thinking will be along the lines of the worlds thinking in general - “get as much as you can while you can – because you can't take it with you”.
Or as Malcolm Forbes is supposed to have said “He who dies with the most toys wins.”
That is Jesus' main point in the parable. “You can't take it with you”. Who will get all your riches after you're gone?
If someone asks at your funeral “How much did (s)he leave?” The answer will always be “Everything”.
[Slide 11] - Ecclesiastes 2:13-23
Ecclesiastes puts it this way:
For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labours under the sun?
All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
The problem has been clearly stated, but so far we haven't looked at any alternative. Here are some passages that give us a clue to attitudes that might help us avoid being greedy. Of course, they are all about putting God and his people above your personal desires.
Prov 11:24-26
24 One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. 26People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.
Prov 11:4
Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
James 4:13-16
13Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
Conclusion
Jesus said “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” We have seen how catastrophic it can be for us and those around us if we fail, and give in to the temptations that world offers. We have seen that it is ultimately of no benefit. If we succeed and keep ourselves free of greed, then there may be something left of value that we can take with us into eternity.