09 03 If I were a Rich Man Luke 12

As we continue to experience the Word of the Lord together, Let us Pray. Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light. Send out your light and your truth, O God, and let them lead us. Amen.

Hear now The Word of the Lord as it comes to us in the Gospel of Luke. Listen. Luke 12.13-21:

¹³Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” ¹⁶Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Scripture says a great deal about riches, and about wealth. In the Old Testament both of these terms are used to designate abundance of property in land and buildings and livestock. These were the basic economic commodities of an agricultural society and economy all over the ancient world. But the unique Old Testament attitude toward wealth is a religious understanding of it. Since Yahweh is creator and sovereign over all creation, then all things belong to Yahweh. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and all who dwell therein.” Psalm 24.1.

Such an affirmation was understood by the people of Israel in a very practical manner. They kept saying it was Yahweh who had given the people the land of Canaan after the Exodus from Egypt – and as Yahweh graciously gave Israel her inheritance, the Promised Land, and this God also blesses individuals with wealth.

The foremost example in the Old Testament is Abraham, who we find in Genesis 13, is described as a very rich man, with livestock, silver and gold. See, I must admit, that it comes as a surprise to me when I remember that God intended the people to have wealth. I also remember, however, that God graciously gave the wealth of the earth to the people for their enjoyment, but we are in turn required never to forget who gave us this wealth. Throughout Israel’s history, stern warnings are directed against those who strive for wealth through greed, and trickery, and treachery, and those who act proud and glory in their wealth.

The Old Testament warns that wealth and riches may be a sign of God’s blessing, but they also may be the cause of God’s wrath. Israel’s, or an individual’s, faithfulness or unfaithfulness is central in the determining of which it shall be. In a number of the Psalms the word “rich” is synonymous with “wicked” and “poor” synonymous with “righteous” and “Godly.”

So, on balance, in the Old Testament there is a realistic approach to riches and wealth; namely, that possessions should be enjoyed and shared, but that the people must always remember that the source of all is God.

When we move to the New Testament, Jesus’ teachings are consistent with the Old Testament and add emphasis on the dangers of riches and wealth. At one point, Jesus looked around and said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19.23). And the disciples were astounded by those words. But Jesus insisted, “My children, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19.24). Jesus is pessimistic about the ability of persons who possess wealth to escape being indebted to it. For the problem is not wealth; but what wealth can do to us when it is our possessions that possess us instead of God who possesses us.

It is in this context that Jesus tells today’s parable about the rich man. Jesus opens the parable with an eye opening statement, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kind of greed: for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Just because a person has things does not mean that their life will be whole. As a matter of fact, things and striving for them is no guarantee of the continuance of life itself.

Make no mistake, it is not that just the rich are put to task here. But anyone who seeks wealth and worldly things without sharing, without giving thanks to the God from whom all blessings flow.

The story Jesus tells in Luke 12 is the story of a coward, a person who is trying to make his life secure. He fills his barn and builds new barns, fills them and says to himself, “Self, you’ve got enough stuff stashed away to do for a long time. Recline, dine, wine and shine.” But God said to him, “You nitwit, at this very moment your goods are twisting the screw on your soul.” Or in other words, he finds the security that he is out for, but Jesus calls him a fool, for he loses the very meaning of life. You know, this parabolic man never saw beyond himself. There is no parable of Jesus that is as full of the words I, me, my and mine. The rich fool was self centered, a person completely stuck on himself, whose response to every question was, “How will this affect me and my place in the world, my possessions, what others think of me?” He had enough of the world’s good, and the one thing that never entered his head was to give anything away.

His whole attitude was the reverse of the teaching of Jesus. Instead of finding his happiness in giving, instead of understanding the Old Testament teaching that all he had was really a gift from God to be shared with others and to be enjoyed in this land, he tried to conserve it all by keeping it locked away in his barns. The problem is not that the rich person is rich. The problem is that he is selfish with his wealth. His desire is to get more. That desire is two things. First it is the opposite of the way of life taught by Jesus. Second, it is so prevalent in our society, and such an easy temptation, no matter how much money people have. The having wealth is not the bad thing, the hoarding of any amount of wealth, no matter how small, is the bad thing. Remember, wealth is to be shared and enjoyed.

But the denial comes easy. Am I a rich person? Come on, I don’t have much. I don’t have as much as so many other people… None of us wants to admit to being a rich person.

If I were a rich man? If comparison is how we do it, you know, I’m not as rich as our friends, our neighbors, or whomever, if comparison is how we do it, then let’s compare. Let’s look at what the majority of people who share this world with us live like. Picture your house. First thing, all the furniture must go, beds and chairs, tables and TVs, lamps. We get to keep a few old blankets, a kitchen table, a wooden chair. Along with the chests go all the clothes. Each person in the family may keep the oldest suit or dress, one shirt or blouse. The head of the family gets the only pair of shoes. In the kitchen, all the appliances go. In the cupboards the box of matches can stay, a small bag of flour, some sugar, some salt, a few moldy potatoes already in the garbage should be retrieved, for they will provide much of tonight’s meal. We get a handful of onions, a dish of dried beans, and that’s it. No meat, no fresh vegetables, no canned food, no crackers, no candy.

Here’s where it gets painful. The bathroom must be dismantled and all running water shut off. Any electric wiring must go, and then the residence itself. We must move out of the house or apartment into the garage. But, we do get some money. As a family, we get a cash sum of $5.

But I am. It just depends on my perspective. I am very rich, for I have running water and shoes. Have you ever counted your riches, your wealth? When you do so, do you compare it to your friends who have more, or do you compare it to the world majority which has so much less.

Look, I don’t want you to feel guilty for having so much. I don’t want me to feel guilty either. I want you to see whatever amount of wealth you have correctly, as something to be enjoyed and shared, not something to be hoarded. Enjoy your wealth. Go out every once in a while for a really good meal. Take a vacation. I’m not saying give up the savings account, I’m saying don’t let the accumulation of money and things become such a focus that you don’t enjoy your money and things. It is near impossible to be an accumulator and be simultaneously generous. And generous is fun. Much more fun than accumulating. Which is more fun, going on vacation to Barbados, or accumulating weeks and weeks of unused vacation? Jesus does not condemn the person in the parable for being rich, but for not enjoying it and not sharing it. You don’t want to be that person. And for God’s sake, go ahead and be generous with your money. Give some to others, to causes, and to the church. Be generous, it will make you feel good, and help you realize that all that you have is a gift from a generous God.

1This title, and much of this sermon heavily relies on the work found in A Stewardship Scrapbook by William R. Phillippe, Geneva Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 1999. pp. 25-38.