It Came From Within: Greed
Introduction
Luke 12:15-21 NIV
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “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?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Guilt says, "I owe you." Anger says, "You owe me." But, greed says, "I owe me." The person whose heart is coated by greed believes that they have earned everything that they possess and therefore that they have the right to do whatever they want with it. They have a supersized sense of ownership. What most greedy people do not recognize is that they are all too often motivated by fear. The question that is underneath the layers of excuses we hear the words, "But what if...?" Greed is often fear in disguise. The greedy person doesn't think God will or can take care of them and therefore they are determined to take care of themselves. Greed leads to hoarding.
There are principles in the book of Proverbs that teach us wise stewardship. We should do things like prepare for retirement and save something to give to our children when we are gone. These are good things and this is why greed is so tricky. Our hearts can be dominated by greed and covered up with a seemingly righteous or prudent practice. The human heart is very tricky.
Some people fall into BBS (Bigger Barn Syndrome). That is what happened to the man in the parable in our text. Jesus began the parable emphatically, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” He says it is something that we really have to be discerning about, greed! The things that come from within and defile us, can live deep down inside and lay there festering undetected for years. Greed is that way. Greed is difficult to self-diagnose.
Jesus shines the light on the greedy heart with the words, "life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." It should be obvious, but greed is tricky. After this Jesus launches out into our parable. There is a man who lives in an agrarian society and happens to have an amazing year. He, of all people, should know that there are many factors that contributed to him having such a great yield. There were factors beyond his control, the weather being one of the major factors. The seed, and so forth. But greedy people often cannot see the obvious and they think that they have earned everything that they have. In our own nation, this is possible. A person who works hard can achieve anything, we say. But that is not always true. We are fortunate to have the opportunities that we have. There are people who will live and die without ever having the opportunities that you take for granted every single day! Since this landowner thinks he has earned all that he has, God has no place in his thoughts. Even if he does, he does not imagine that God has given him the extra for any other reason than his own consumption. God gave you what you have by his grace. The question that the man should have asked himself is, "Lord, what do you want me to do with the extra?" Say it with me for fun. :-) He doesn't think that way, and often neither do we. He has BBS. He decides to hoard what God has given, after all, he earned it. He OWES it to himself. Greed says, "I owe me."
Daniel and Robyn in our own congregation actually make money for helping those less fortunate by buying up storage units of people who had BBS. People who have so much excess that they could not keep it in their homes and so had to rent a place offsite to store it all. Often they pass on out of this world and their stuff winds up going to someone else anyway. The stuff may go to someone who needs it and will use it along their journey through this life, or it may go to someone else who will like them, hoard it up until they too pass from this life, BBS.
Greed will often hide behind something good. If Jesus parable had ended with the man saying, "I have many goods for many years, let me build some storage units to keep it all in," it might be a story about prudence. But it doesn't. He made the assumption that having plenty of things assured him of plenty of time. He left God out of the equation from beginning to end. The landowner did not realize that he was dependent upon God for all the time he had, and he was dependent upon God for the stuff he had too. It was all an act of grace. God asks him, "now that you are going to die, whose is the stuff going to be?" The obvious answer, "Someone else." This man whose heart was dominated by greed was going to give his stuff up to someone else, not because he was generous, but because he was dead.
Moral of the story: Eventually, everything that we claim to own will be owned by someone else. Someone else will get it. It is just a matter of when and how. Jesus ends it this way, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (v. 21) Here is Jesus's definition, and the Heartknower's, test for diagnosing a greedy heart. "Being rich toward God" is Jesus's way of talking about someone who is generous to those in need. A greedy person is one who saves carefully but gives sparingly.
This parable doesn't promise longer life for givers, or shorter lives for the stingy. There is a bigger picture Jesus is conveying. This man experienced a total loss once he died. He thought much stuff equaled much time. He lost everything he thought he owned in this life and had nothing to show for it in the next. He even lost his opportunity to be generous, if he wanted to be. He lost everything that he considered to be "life." Jesus calls him foolish.
One writer said, "'Your money or your life.' We know what to do when a burglar makes this demand of us, but not when God does." (Mignon McLaughlin) This parable teaches us two things. It gives us God's definition of greed and the solution for overcoming a greedy heart. Like most heart-healthy things, it is not a one-time fix or a pill. It is a habit, the habit of generosity.
A great question to ask ourselves ever-so-often is, "Why do I have so much?" Some of you may be like Martha Stewart when she made her first million. She said, "It's not enough." Human appetites are never fully satiated, ever. All of us probably have more than those who went before us. We live where we do in human history and location for a reason, so we must ask ourselves, especially as Americans, "Why do I have so much?" Our consumeristic culture is constantly appealing to what we do not have. Our entertainment industry exists because of advertisements. When we are constantly driven by the quest for something more. With the latest update, the newest designer shoes, purse, vehicle, we tend to think that everything that we have is for us. Consumerism is not a heart-healthy environment for us because we are so prone to greed. Martin Luther said, "The human heart is an idol factory." The apostle Paul said, "Greed is idolatry." (Col 3:5) It is placing our ultimate hope in something other than God and placing things above people.
The wealthy landowner was shortsighted. He felt like he owed himself all the stuff that he thought he earned. It didn't occur to him to ask, "Why do I have all of this excess?" "Why has God provided me more than I need?" Often when we feel like we do not have enough we are quick to question God, "Why?" When we experience a miracle and God gives us what we need, we thank Him! He answers prayer and meets our needs as an outflow of His love and grace. He is outrageously generous. And we testify about it, and sing songs about it!
When we don't have enough we wonder why. Why don't we wonder why we have more than enough? Why are we so hesitant to ask the same question when we have more than we need? Why has God given you so much?
1. A Few Possibilities
To leave our excess to our children and grandchildren. While there is an element of prudence that goes along with this, it is not a promise that you are setting them up for success. You may be setting them up for failure.
So you will not worry. This would be contrary to Jesus's words in the Sermon on the Mount. Having more does not necessarily give us peace of mind. Excess may make us more neurotic and worried.
So you can elevate your standard of living. Probably not. Think about all those people who are pursuing things they can't afford to impress people they do not like. Often the more we make, the more we spend. We leave ourselves little margin because our hearts are shaped by a consumeristic culture. What God graciously gives us in excess, we already have spent. And that puts pressure on us, not gives us peace of mind.
So you can retire early. That's what the rich man in the parable thought. But, he never thought about being generous with what he had been given. He thought he owed himself. Some people have been given excess by God so that they can spend more time doing other things for his kingdom. Other people may have a gift of making money, and God has called them to work and multiply the excess He has given them so that they can give to those who have need. You can't put God in a box. Each person must ask the question for themselves, "Lord, why have you given me more than I need?"
Big Barn Syndrome is a heart-disease. God did not give us more than we need simply to store it away for ourselves. The patriarch Joseph knew the purpose for which God had given seven years of plenty to Egypt. He collected it because he saw what was coming and he knew that there would be seven years of famine when he would have the opportunity to be generous to others.
If God is filling up your barns faster than expected, it may be good to stop and ask why!
2. Conquering Greed
Do you remember what your mom told you when you had two cookies in your hand, and your sister had none? She said, "Quick, eat them both as quick as you can before she can snatch one out of your greedy hand!", right? No, she said something that we often tell our own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and children in our Sunday School. Mom said, "Share."
When we see someone eating two cookies right in front of someone who has nothing we feel like they should share. Jesus said, "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." (Matt 5:42)
We don't people to critique capitalism. We don't like people to critique our consumerist culture. We can become so adamant against things like hard socialism and communism that we cannot see the dangers of our consumerist culture in our hearts. What if we saw the whole world through the analogy of the kid with two cookies?
If we are consuming and saving to the point that there is nothing to give, are we being dominated by the heart-idol of greed? Does the stuff that we have, have us?
Are our hearts pulled by compassion sometimes for those around us but we don't think we will have enough if we decide to give? Generous thoughts and feelings cannot conquer a greedy heart, a heart dominated by the fear that we will not have enough. Greed is tricky because we may not feel it like we do guilt, anger, and jealousy. But even though we do not feel it, doesn't mean it is not there.
A TEST:
Greedy people talk and worry often about money.
Greedy people are not cheerful givers.
Greedy people are reluctant to share.
Greedy people are poor losers.
Greedy people quibble over insignificant amounts of money.
Greedy people talk as if they have just enough to get by.
Greedy people create a culture of secrecy around themselves.
Greedy people will not let you forget what they have done.
Greedy people are reluctant to express gratitude.
Greedy people are not content with what they have.
Greedy people try to control others with money.
Greedy people are not always rich by the world's standards. Greed is not a financial issue. It is a heart issue. Greed knows no socioeconomic boundaries. So, be careful when you call the wealthy out about greed.
Greed is not about what you have or do not have, it is about your stewardship of what God has given you to manage during your present earthly sojourn.
We often do not think about all of the principles behind God giving the Sabbath to the Jewish nation. It is more than a day of worship or just a day to reflect and rest and prepare for more work. The Sabbath is a form of resistance against the tyranny of greed. God commanded Israel to refrain from working for one day each week. He commanded them to go up to Jerusalem three times a year for extended religious feasts. He commanded them to let their entire land rest for an entire year every seven years and a Jubliee year every fifty. During the Jubilee year, every debt was written off. Every slave was set free. Land that had been sold went back to its previous owner's family (Lev 25). That is a lot of resting! What was God saying through this? He was resisting greed! He was putting it into the hearts of his people through habit that their dependence was not on themselves but on him. We do not owe ourselves anything, we owe God our all and he has invested in us so that we can invest in others!
3. New Habits
Our hearts are shaped by what we do. Consistent habits like walking and a heart-healthy diet over time make our physical hearts more healthy. The same is true of our core person. Feelings don't change anything, actions do.
The way to conquer greed is through generosity. Generosity is not a feeling, it is an action.
Our habit of spending all our excess on consumption is something that our culture shapes us to do from the time we are children. Part of my life was spent watching Saturday morning cartoons at grandpas house. Ever-so-many minutes there was an advertisement in between episodes of Bugs Bunny or Captain Planet. These commercials were specifically designed to shape the loves of those who watched. Our hearts are shaped by habits.
The mall culture was a thing when I was a child. And the ritual of the mall. The mall had high ceilings like a cathedral. Its icons beckoned from glass windows calling us to come in and buy the wares of those stores so that we might be beautiful or handsome or cool like those gods on the posters. Standing in line to give the priestess at the register our offering to appease the heart idol of greed. Today it is popups on our phones and computers and cookies that track everything we search and everywhere we go trying to get us to consume, consume, consume. Our culture props up the idol of greed.
We need new habits. And the prescription is there in the Bible, the habit of generosity.
Becoming generous can be a scary thing and so God has given us a plan. In the OT starting with Abraham we find the practice of percentage giving. Abraham gave 10% to a Canaanite priest-king named Melchezidek (Genesis 14:20; Hebrews 7:1-6). His grandson Jacob promised the God of Bethel that he would do the same (Genesis 28:20-22). The law of Moses prescribed that they offer to God a percentage of the increase that God gave them. Rather than putting it in barns, they were to offer it to God. This percentage was for the maintenance of those who ministered to them, the Levitical priests, and to take care of the poor (Numbers 18:21, 26; Lev 27:30-34; 2 Chron 31:4-5; Mal 3:8-12).
The book of Proverbs 3:9-10 says, "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."
The word tithe means 10%. Historically, Christians have interpreted this to mean that the practice of percentage giving is something that should still be done and that this is the way to compensate ministers for their service to the church. Paul said that "In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:14).
A great habit to begin is "percentage giving." This is something that I personally practice and have done over the past two decades of my life. Currently, I give 10% of anything that I receive as compensation for ministry to the ministerial organization that I belong to. I also give 10% of any other sources of income to this church. I never miss it and realize that it is serving the kingdom of God. I cannot take it with me and I love when I see it being used for ministry here and now. I am being generous now and laying up treasure in heaven because God is taking an account of what I am doing. For me, it is a simple matter of stewardship. We also give a percentage to another ministry.
Maybe starting out with 10% seems drastic, but there are promises for those who do. I encourage you if you do not feel like you can do it. Just try and see what God will do if you do. The only place in Scripture where God asks Israel to test him is on this particular issue of percentage giving.
Malachi 3:8-12
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
When people start to practice percentage giving they often experience what has been described as a "redemptive lift." God blesses the percentage that they keep more than what they gave!
Here is a challenge. Try percentage giving with 2% of what you earn and see what happens. I already know what will happen. You will be so blessed that you will find yourself wanting to give more until 10% is not enough and you find yourself wanting to give it all! Give first to your local church. Listen for opportunities to give in the local church.
Another habit to develop is spontaneous giving. A generous heart is always looking for how to invest God's treasure in others and thus in heaven. When you see a need, you just give to that need immediately. In the NT times, Christians gave to the local needs around them and then to the needs of the larger church. There is no end to opportunities to give. There are hungry people all around us, and compassion alone will not feed them. When we give to organizations that care for orphans we are doing what God has called us to do with the excess He has given us. When we give to Global Missionaries who are sharing the gospel, we are doing what God wants us to do with the excess. . .
It is amazing what happens when we allow the principles of God's Word to guide what we do with what He has given us. He has a tendency to give us MORE.
CLOSING:
1 Timothy 6:17 NIV
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."
Ephesians 4:28 NIV
Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
This heart issue seems more subtle in some ways, but its remedy is simple. Begin tonight to give. Give a percentage and then give spontaneously. Give according to what you purpose in your heart. No one will guilt you into giving. No one will coerce you into giving. But the Bible says it this way,
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 NIV
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
We do not give to get, that would be greedy. But when we give we will get free from the idol of greed and the fear of not having enough. And God will give us more to invest. It is all his. Would you ask God to tell you what he wants you to do with all the excess in your life? Share.
