March 13, 2016 The Seven Deadly Sins: Lust

As we continue our series of messages on the Seven Deadly Sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth), this week we come to lust.  Go ahead and admit it.  You’ve been wondering what I would have to say about this one, haven’t you?

Does this one make you squirm a bit?  Does it make you uncomfortable?  Talk about uncomfortable; back in the 80s when I was serving as an associate I helped to teach the TEL Sunday School Class (TEL is for Timothy, Eunice, and Lois, and comes from II Timothy 1:5, where Paul writes I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also).  The TEL class, which met in the sanctuary of the church, was comprised of the oldest group of women in the church.  They were a wonderful group, and were like adopted grandmothers to me.  One Saturday evening, I opened my Sunday School book to study the next morning’s lesson.  I was stunned when I saw the title – Sexual Purity.  I was supposed to teach this lesson to a group of ladies who were like my grandmothers?  You’ve got to be kidding me!  The next morning I stood, obviously uncomfortable at the podium.  I couldn’t lift my head to look at them and I mumbled my way through the opening of the lesson, wishing the ground would open up and swallow me.  After a few, painful minutes, one of the ladies finally called out to me and said, it’s okay Dave.  You don’t have to talk to us about this.  I think we’re okay.

Even my computer seemed uncomfortable with this topic.  As I worked on my notes the other day, the program kept crashing, which never happens.  At one point, I noticed I was on page 3 of 940 pages!  I had to delete the file and start over.

Part of the reason why we are often uncomfortable with this topic is a result of the unhealthy manner in which our culture deals with this topic.  Lust, in our contemporary culture, has been primarily associated with that of sex. This is not surprising, considering the way in which our culture is so saturated with sex.  As one writer has remarked, sex has become one of the most discussed subjects of modern times. The Victorians pretended it did not exist; the moderns pretend that nothing else exists.  Lust, however, really encompasses much more. But don’t worry, because this message is family friendly, and as the subtitle on the slide suggests, there is more to this topic than you might think.

If you remember, throughout this series I have referenced a story about one of my seminary professors, who had us list good qualities and then explained how every good quality has a shadow side, where it can be twisted into something far less positive.  Lust is the shadow expression of love.  So this morning, I want to talk about the way in which lust twists love, and how it does so as summed up in three words – objectification, control, and possession.

Our Scripture text this morning comes from Paul’s letter to the church at Rome, and in this passage he expresses what we have all experienced – the battle within us to do what we want to do, while so often doing what we do not want to do.

Romans 7:15-25

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.

17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;

23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Objectification

My definition of objectification would be the inability to see something in light of the purpose for which it was created.  In light of that definition we can say that lust can be applied to a person, but it can be applied to an object – a possession – or a concept, such as power.  In fact, it might be accurate to say that the lust for power has been the most dangerous and, perhaps, most common expression, of lust over the ages.  Power is not always negative.  On the positive side, power I can organize people on a large scale in order to provide services and other helpful necessities.  When it becomes objectified, it becomes something very different.  Think about the stories from Scripture that tell us about the way in which power was objectified and hurt people.  A few weeks ago I used the story from I Samuel where the nation of Israel wants a king.  Samuel warns them what will happen if they have a king, that he will force their sons to become soldiers, their daughters will be forced to be bakers, and that he will take the best of their lands and their crops.  Though the people did not heed Samuel’s warning, it did not take long for them to find the reality of his warning, as Saul did exactly what Samuel had warned.  Think about history and all the examples of the abuse of power.  Think about our contemporary world – ISIS, Boko Haram, and the terrible war in Syria that has taken the lives of over 200,000 people and displaced millions.

We can also objectify people, and when we do, we see them only to be used for our benefit and our pleasure.  They are not a person, but an object.  The book of Genesis, in the first chapter affirms the goodness of creation, as God pronounces each stage of creation to be good, but at the creation of man and woman God pronounces it to be very good, which includes a good purpose, and that purpose does not include being the object of another person to be treated in whatever manner that person deems to be suitable.

Control

I think we can all sympathize with Paul’s struggle, as we have those times when it seems so easy to do what we don’t want to do but so difficult to do what we want to do.  Sometimes, I can be at home minding my own business when something takes control of my feet.  They pull me out of my chair and take me to my desk, where something takes control of my hands and takes out my wallet and car key.  I’m compelled to get in my car and a powerful force has me drive west on I64.  That force drives me to the exit and to the parking lot of the outlet mall, where my feet carry me to the Ghirardelli store, where I order a chocolate malt.  I didn’t intend to leave my house and get one, but something took over and before I knew it, there I was, sitting in the store and, very much against my will, find myself with a chocolate malt in hand!

Control is a major issue for most everyone.  We struggle, as Paul describes, to control ourselves, and often without much success, so we turn our attention to controlling others.

Psychologists tell us that control manifests itself in various behaviors, such as intimidation and passive aggressiveness.  Control is a form of abuse, and can take various forms – spiritual, emotional, physical, and sexual, and all those forms of control can cause great damage in the lives of those who suffer through it.

Control is not the way in which God operates in our lives.  Look around the world; obviously, God allows the existence of free will.  Sometimes we hear the voices of skeptics who will ask why doesn’t God do more about the evils that take place in our world?  In Mark’s gospel, we find the story of the rich young man (Mark 10:17-31).  This young man eagerly came to Jesus, asking what he must do in order to be saved.  Jesus replies that he should keep the commandments.  Answering that he had kept them all, Jesus then told him you lack one thing:  go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me (verse 22).  The young man turned away from Jesus and left, as he had much wealth.  And Jesus let him go.  It wasn’t for lack of love, as verse 21 says and Jesus, looking at him, loved him.  Jesus did not seek to control anyone, not wanting a robotic response, but appealed to the freewill choice of people.

Possession

We’ve all had the experience of walking into a store and our gaze turns to something we want, and we really want it.  We formulate a plan and we work and perhaps even scheme for how we will get that object and make it our possession.  When I think of the idea of possession, I think about a scene in the movie Finding Nemo (you can watch the scene here – https://youtu.be/H4BNbHBcnDI).  There is something about that video that strikes me as very descriptive of one of the basic dynamics of lust – it’s mine!

Lust elicits within us a reaction to say I want that.  It can be a possession or a person, and there is often great damage done in seeking to secure what we believe to be our rightful possession.

Lust does not, and cannot, seek the good of the other.  Love is always seeking to create the best self in the other person.  Lust says that someone else exist to serve us.  Lust is profoundly self-centered, while love is profoundly other-centered.

Philippians chapter two is one of the central passages of the Scriptures, I believe.  In 2:3-4 Paul reminds us that we should 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  Those words are an antidote to lust.

Always remember that you are not an object.  You were not created only to be controlled by someone else.  You are not the possession of another.  You are a person created by the love of God and called to demonstrate that love.  Allow love to triumph.  Allow love, not lust, to be the guiding force in your life!

March 6, 2016 The Seven Deadly Sins: Envy

I Samuel 8:4-22

As we continue our journey through Lent we come to the fourth in our series of messages based upon the Seven Deadly Sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth).  This week we study the sin of envy.

I am, unfortunately, an envier from way back.  In fact, thinking about envy has caused me to consider whether or not I should post on social media about upcoming sermons.  Last week, while talking with a friend of mine, the topic turned to something that caused me to reveal a bit of envy.  He turned to me, with a surprised look on his face, and said, aren’t you preaching about envy on Sunday?  I was busted!

But I take some comfort in knowing I am not the only one.  I believe all of us have an element of each of the Seven Deadly Sins within us, and the sin of envy is, I believe, the most universal.  Is there anyone who does not struggle with envy?  I don’t think so.

Our Scripture text for today comes from I Samuel, which tells of the time when the nation of Israel petitions the prophet Samuel for a king.  Once the people had settled into the land of Canaan, after the exodus from Egypt and a generation of wandering in the wilderness, the important matter of governance had to be determined.  During their early years of living in the Promised Land, the people were governed by a series of judges.  Unsatisfied with that arrangement, the people came to Samuel and expressed their desire for a king, so that they “will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles” (verse 20).  Is there a ring of familiarity in that verse?  A modern version would be but mom, but dad, all the other kids have an iPhone!  I want one too! 

Instead of reading this passage at one time, I am going to break it into sections and read a portion with each point I have to make.

1.  Envy preys upon dissatisfaction and the erroneous belief that possessing something that someone else either has or is will bring us satisfaction.

I Samuel 8:4-8

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”

6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.

7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.

8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.

There is an interesting tale of a custodian and CEO whose paths crossed one evening.  The CEO was working late one evening in his large, top-floor, corner office.  It has been a long, tough day for him.  He was facing budget and profitability pressures and had experienced a contentious meeting with his board.  The shareholders were unhappy and the board was unhappy.  He watched the custodian, working in the corner of his office, and felt a tinge of envy.  That guy has it made, he thought.  He comes in to work in the evening, when few people are here.  He doesn’t have a board to answer to.  He doesn’t have shareholders constantly demanding a greater return.  I wish I could have some of what he has!  The custodian, at the same time, was thinking of the CEO, that guy has it made.  A big, corner office.  A large salary.  Lots of people to do what he asks.  I wish I could have some of what he has!

It is important, I think, to note that there is a difference between envy and admiration.  In my first message of this series I mentioned my professor who taught my class about how good qualities have a shadow side.  A good work ethic, for instance, is a positive quality, but it has a shadow side – workaholism.  Envy is the shadow side to admiration.  Admiration is a positive quality.  Admiration allows us to learn from our teachers and role models and mentors.  We admire the good qualities of their lives and we seek to emulate those qualities.  Envy, however, is the dark side of admiration.  Envy twists admiration into something that is negative and destructive.

Looking at their neighbors, the people of Israel fell prey to envy, which led them to believe their lives would be better if they could only be like the nations surrounding them.  Be careful what you wish for would certainly be applicable to their situation.  Samuel warned the people that a king would take their sons and daughters to do his bidding and take their resources as well.  Despite his warning, the people were undeterred in their wish for a king, and they would quickly find Samuel’s warning to be accurate.

Envy is all around us, and that envy can, and often will, permeate every aspect of our lives.  Everywhere we turn are reminders of what we don’t have and we are awash in images of what someone – usually advertisers – believes we should have in our lives.  The overwhelming number of images will conspire to create envy within us.  As the character of Dennis the Menace once said, as he leafed through a catalogue, this catalogue’s got a lot of toys I didn’t even know I wanted.

Envy preys upon any kind of dissatisfaction we have in our lives.  Envy will cause us to think, if I get this thing I desire, then I will be satisfied.  My life will be complete in some way.  But that is seldom, if ever true.  Take a moment and reflect upon a time you greatly desired something, and eventually attained it.  Did it bring any lasting sense of satisfaction?  For a time, perhaps, but satisfaction can be very, very fleeting experience.  We too easily fall for the deceit that if I get something I desire – a new car, a new job – I will finally be satisfied, but this is rarely the case.  Envy is unique among the Seven Deadly Sins in that all the others can bring some sense of satisfaction, but envy can never do so.

Envy preys upon dissatisfaction. The great tragedy of envy is that it prevents any level of satisfaction.  Nothing is ever enough.  There is no level of achievement and no amount of gain that is enough.  Someone always has more, and as long as we see someone with more, envy will never allow us to be satisfied.

2.  Envy is built upon illusion.

I Samuel 8:9-17

9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.

11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.

12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.

15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.

16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.

17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.

Magicians, or more correctly, illusionists, perform their tricks by the use of misdirection.  Misdirection uses some type of distraction that keeps one from seeing what is really taking place.  It’s relatively easy for an illusionist to fool an audience, because they want to believe that what they see is real.  I once saw an illusionist perform a very impressive trick, and after performing it asked the audience how many people believed there was some type of magic involved.  Quite a few raised their hands, and I have to admit, it was so impressive that it was tempting to believe something else must have been at work.  He told the audience he would perform it again, but before doing so, he gave a partial explanation of how he did it and reminded them it was only an illusion.  After performing the illusion a second time, he asked the audience how many believe it was more than a trick and a number of people still raised their hands.  Envy finds its power in our desire to believe that an illusion is true.

Envy asks us to believe that what we see elsewhere is reality.  It asks us to look at the life of another person and to imagine how much better our life could be if it were like the other person’s.  I wish my family could be like theirs.  I wish I had such a great job.  I wish I lived in such a great neighborhood and house.  I wish I had a spouse like that.  Their life appears to be perfect, or at least as close to perfect as one can get. 

What we do not want to believe, however, is that what we see in another person’s life may be far from reality.  While on the surface we might see success, financial blessing, family harmony, and many other wonderful things, the reality might be far different.  I have worked with people for enough years to become convinced that what we see in the lives of others is not always reality.

I spent a number of years in great envy of a childhood friend of mine.  I envied his athletic ability, his outgoing personality, his large number of friends, and many other aspects of his life.  There was a time when I would have gladly traded lives with him.  I was wrong.  Behind the public face of his life was a great deal of difficulty and struggle.  And, sadly, the envy that captured my heart and mind blinded me to the gifts that were in my life.

Samuel gave the people a very stern warning about the reality of placing themselves under a king.  The king will take your sons and require of them to become his soldiers, and they will be the first ones to run into battle and the first ones to die.  He will take others of them and force them into indentured servitude for him, working his land, while still others are forced to manufacture the implements that he needs in his kingdom.  And he’ll take your daughters and force them to become his cooks and his bakers, and he’ll take the best of your land, and he’ll take the best of your vineyards and he’ll give them to members of his court to curry favor with them.  And then he’ll take a portion of the best of your flocks and herds and eventually you will become a slave to this king.  But the people wouldn’t hear of it.  No, they wanted to believe the illusion that somehow a king would give them a great life.

In spite of the fact that Samuel was telling the truth, the people could not believe it, and it was not long before they found that he did indeed speak the truth and all his warnings came true.

3.  Envy promises something better, but in the end delivers nothing of good.

I Samuel 8:18-22

18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.

20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord.

22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

There is a fable of an eagle who was envious of another eagle that could fly higher and further than all others.  One day, the envious eagle saw an archer with his bow and arrow and said to him, I wish you would bring down that eagle up there.  The man said he would if he had some feathers for his arrow, so the jealous eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow was shot, but it didn't quite reach the rival bird because he was flying too high. The archer said he needed another feather and the first eagle pulled out another, then another, and still another until the archer had come to his final arrow.  It was then that the archer turned his bow and took aim at the eagle on the ground, and that eagle could not fly away to safety because he had given away too many of his feathers.

So, if envy does nothing positive for us, how is it that envy can have such a powerful hold over us?  Rosanne Cash, in her song World of Strange Design, sings a line that gets to the heart of the question – we talk about your drinking, but not about your thirst.  The question is, what creates that thirst within us that then drives our desire, our envy, for what others have?

Envy is very much about failure and comparison.  We compare our lives to the lives of others, and we only see the ways in which we come up short.  We imagine a version of ourselves that we wish we could be, and that version of who we wish we could be is created by the comparison that we make between ourselves and other people.  Sadly, we convince ourselves that we almost always come out on the short end of the comparison.

Compared to someone else, we never seem to be happy enough, smart enough, attractive enough, wealthy enough, spiritual enough, blessed with enough friends or success, and never, then, are satisfied with who we are.

I officiated a funeral the other evening, for a family with whom I have long been acquainted.  At the conclusion of the service, the funeral directed gave opportunity for all the guests to pay their respects to the departed and to the family.  When the guests had exited the room, it was just myself, the funeral director, and the family remaining in the chapel.  Such a moment is a bit awkward for me, as I feel as though I am intruding on a family as they say their final good-byes to their loved one.  And this will sound a bit odd, but it was a time when I felt blessed by the observation of the family.  It was, certainly, a time of sadness and grief, but there was a shared connection among that family that was a blessing to experience.  There were hugs all around, and it was a blessing to watch sons hug their fathers, their uncles, and grandparents (it was a blessing because men often struggle to show their emotions).  There was an obvious bond of love among the family and a shared faith that connected them in a very deep way.  Their family will not be remembered in a hundred years or more, and they don’t care.  What mattered to them was one another, their loved one, and their faith.  It was a beautiful to witness what they experienced, and I admired them even more because of it.

It is easy in life to spend a great deal of time desiring the things that do not add blessing to our lives.  We too often desire – we envy – the tangibles of life rather than the intangibles.  We want the things that might bring a brief time of satisfaction and even joy, but do not add any real quality to our lives.

We must stop comparing our lives to those of others, we must stop believing in the illusion that some product or possession will bring us lasting satisfaction in life, and we must realize there are things that, instead of bringing us blessing, will only bring us difficulty.  Turn away from envy, and turn toward the blessings God has provided!

February 28, 2016 The Seven Deadly Sins: Greed

As we continue our series of messages on the Seven Deadly Sins, this morning we come to the sin of greed.  This morning’s text is one that is no doubt familiar to you, although most of us are more accustomed to Matthew’s version (Matthew 6:25-34).  I use Luke’s version today because it follows the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21).  That parable helps to set up the passage that serves as today’s text, as it tells of a man who had enough resources to tear down his barns and to build larger ones.  I have often wondered why he didn’t build more barns.  Why tear down the existing ones simply to build new ones?  Because he could.  It was a demonstration of his wealth.  But it also reminds us that no matter how much money one has, it can never insulate us against every potential problem in life and it can only provide a limited amount of security.

Luke 12:22-34

22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.

23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!

29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.

30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.

31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This passage is what I would call the castor oil of the Bible.  Has anyone here every taken castor oil?  I don’t know what it is, but I used to hear of it often when I was younger.  It sounded nasty to me and I hoped I would never have to take it.  My dad, my brothers, and I used to ride motorcycles, and in our two-stroke motorcycles we used Castrol Oil, and because it sounded so much alike I knew I never wanted to have to take castor oil.  This is a passage that is theologically beautiful, but very challenging on a practical level, as it sets the bar of life so very high.

It’s easy to read this passage and think, you know, it takes a lot of money to live.  And I can’t help but worry about having enough money to get by.  It’s expensive to raise kids, and medical care is very expensive, and when my kids get to college, how will we afford what that costs?  That’s why this passage is so difficult, because we simply cannot help but worry about having enough, and Jesus tells us not to worry.  How are we supposed to set aside our worries?  We worry about our lives and we worry about what we will wear, and we worry about food and we can’t get over our fear of tomorrow – or today – and we don’t want to sell our possessions, and our heart is often with our treasure. 

With those as some introductory comments, I have three brief points to make about greed this morning.

1.  Greed is sometimes – sometimes – shown in a desire for money.

It is often said that money cannot buy happiness, but in the words of one comedian, it can help us to look for it in much better places.

Greed is almost universally connected to money.  Many of you will remember the 1987 movie Wall Street, and the character of Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas.  In the movie, as he addresses a group of stockholders, he offered a phrase that became the buzz phrase for that movie, and, perhaps, the decade of the 80s – greed is good!  And, amazingly, a lot of people who saw the movie believed that statement to be correct.  But it’s what we call a false equivalency, where someone make a statement that appears to have an element of truth, but the fundamental assertion of the statement goes unchallenged.  A good work ethic is good; greed is not good.

We saw in 2008 that greed is not good, as it played a central role in the development of the financial instruments that led to the financial crisis, which crippled the lives of millions of people (by the way, has anyone yet figured out what a credit default swap is?)

We all feel the desire to have more money.  We all dream about hitting the big lottery prize.  Imagine what one could do with the winning ticket!  But what if I did win the big lottery prize, what would it do for me?  I have a house.  I could buy a bigger house, or more houses, but I already have one.  I already buy a car but I could buy another one.  I already have some guitars, but I could buy more of them.  Most of what I could do with sudden wealth would be to get more of what I already have.  Make no mistake, more money could make some things easier.  More money could help reduce the stress of financial emergencies and the constant worry of paying the regular bills, but money would certainly not provide me with any lasting answer, because it cannot bring a sense of ultimate satisfaction to my life.

So, greed is sometimes connected with money, but –

Greed is really about insecurity. 

Greed is not so much about getting more money as it is a search for security.  While money can take care of many of the tangibles in life (a house, car, etc.), it cannot assure us of the intangibles of life (security, for example).

In Luke 11:13-21, Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool.  This parable is often misread because of the way in which verse 20 is translated.  Verse 20 reads, in English, as this very night your life will be demanded from you.  While it sounds as though the man has been consigned to a physical death that is not what is meant.  The original language uses a verb tense that indicates a spiritual, not a physical, death.  The warning to the man is this – you are no longer the possessor, but are the possessed.  You do not own your things; they own you.  You have fallen into the trap of which Jesus speaks when he said “what good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?  Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew16:26).  The man had covered all the tangibles in life, but even with his vast well he was unable to provide for the intangibles.

Mark 10:17-31 is another passage that is often misread (this passage tells us of the exchange between Jesus and a rich young man).  Containing the famous verse it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (verse 25), Jesus is telling us not to have unrealistic expectations and beliefs about wealth, most notably, that it is not necessarily a sign of God’s blessing upon a person’s life.  In the time of Jesus many people believed that a wealthy person had arrived at that state because God had blessed them, so it was a shock when Jesus said that a wealthy person could not enter into the kingdom of God.  That belief is still alive and well in what is commonly referred to as the prosperity gospel.  The prosperity gospel interprets the words of Jesus about an abundant life – I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10, NASV), as referring primarily to material wealth and possessions.

Greed is really about insecurity. Greed is often seen as the desire to accumulate more of something – money or possessions, for instance.  But greed goes deeper than simply accumulating for the sake of accumulation.  Greed is a driving force in our lives, really, because of insecurity.

Insecurity is the feeling that enough is never really enough to protect us against all the possibilities we might encounter, so we try and accumulate even more, with the hope that we will some day have enough to protect us against every potential difficulty, but there is no amount of money that can protect us against every difficult of life.

Our hearts are always searching for something deeper, and filling that desire with stuff and with money will never bring ultimate satisfaction. Insecurity drives us to seek more of something – money, love, affirmation, or possessions, for example – that we believe will fill what can be a gaping hope within us that longs to be filled.

I’m not naïve enough to say that a certain amount of money won’t relieve some stress and make life simpler in some ways, but it’s not the ultimate answer in life, I can assure you of that.

Greed is a matter of what owns our hearts.

I told a friend of mine that I often wondered what it would take for me to take a prized possession, bring it to church, and place it on the communion table and say it’s yours God.  He thought that was a great idea, and added that maybe I should encourage people to do just that, and load it all into a truck and take it all away and donate it.  My first thought was hold on a minute.  Let’s not go crazy.  I was simply thinking out loud!

About eight months after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, I traveled with a group to Waveland, Mississippi, where we worked for a week helping to clean up and to rebuild.  The town of Waveland is smaller than Shelbyville and many of its residents had left for other areas, leaving a population of less than half what it was before the storm.  Even though it was months after the storm, the town was still overwhelmed by the destruction. 

The week we were there we stayed in the back of an auto parts store, or what was left of it.  There were about 75 – 100 people sharing that space, which was one big, open room in the back where we slept, men on one side and women on the other.  There were two restroom facilities and two showers for all those people, which certainly made things challenging.  We slept on cots, that bowed down in the middle, so that when you got in your sleeping bag it was like getting swallowed up to the point that it was difficult to move.  And out of all those people, I believe I was the only person who did not snore.  It was a choir of people snoring and creaking in folding cots, every night, all night.  

In one way, it was a crazy way to spend a week, but it was such a fulfilling week!  Why?  Because it spoke to our hearts.  Everyone there had given of their time and resources.  We slept in one big, open space, in uncomfortable surroundings, getting little sleep after long, hard days of work.  But we were doing the work of God.  We were the hands and feet of Christ in a community that has suffered much devastation.  Our hearts were not given over to the accumulation of earthly treasure, but to heavenly treasure.

Our hearts are indeed searching for treasure, but it is treasure of the heavenly sort, not the earthly type.  Allow God to fill your heart with the treasures of his kingdom!