| When Will Enough Be Enough? Luke 12:15-21 10-5-08 I heard a story about a rich man who was determined to take his wealth with him. He was very controlling and he made his wife promised that when he died, she was to get all of his money together, place it in a bag and hang the bag from the rafters in the attic. He said, “This way when I die and my spirit is caught up into heaven, I will take hold of that bag and take it with me.” Well, one day he did take that last breath. The woman ran to the attic and of course the money was still there. She said to herself, “I knew I should have placed the money in the basement.” Sometimes people will say preachers talk too much about money. I don’t think this can truthfully be said of me. However, our Lord talked a great deal about money and God’s Word says a great deal. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables have to do with how to handle money and possessions. In the Gospels, one out of every 10 verses deals directly with the subject of money. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions, which tells me that money and how it is used or misused was very important to our Lord and perhaps something that we ought to look at more often. In the parable of the rich fool, Jesus gives us a lesson on the failure of selfish over- indulgence. This man really loved himself and was concerned only with what he could gain in the world. Six times he proclaims his selfishness: What shall I do…. I have no room…..I will do this….I will pull down my barns……There I will store all my crops…….I will say to my soul. When a person is always thinking about “self” we can be sure that they aren’t thinking about others, or about God. This kind of thinking is of course foolishness and our Lord said so, warning US of the danger of such an attitude towards money and possessions. You know the word “I” is used more than any other word in our language. How much do you need to be content? When John D. Rockefeller was the richest man in the world someone asked him how much money was enough. He replied, “Just a little more.” It is sad to say, but many people who are well off still have that same mentality. They never have quite enough. As a Christian, as a child of God, our happiness does not depend upon what we have according to the world’s standards, but what we have because we are children of the Heavenly Father. God desires that we enjoy a rich, complete and balanced life and He has made provisions through His Word for us to be fulfilled in that way. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they might have life and might have it abundantly. In Philippians 4:19 we read that HE will supply all our needs and He has promised to give us the desires of our hearts, providing that they are in line with His will. Covetousness, on the other hand, will always lead to despair. A person cannot be truly happy if he’ s always seeking more. The word covet as used in the Bible has more than one meaning. There is, in a sense, a time in which covetousness is all together proper. There are certain things, certain values, that we have a perfect right to desire with earnest. For example, every person has the right to covet the realization of his best possibilities as a Christian. Paul wrote, “Seek the very best that God has for us.” When we do that, we are not being selfish, because we know when we receive from God; we have something to share with others. Every person has the right to covet to know God’s will and it is something that every believer ought to covet. We still live in the richest country in the world. Perhaps we have had it too easy for too long. I am afraid that many have lost sight of what is truly important because of having it so good for so many years. If one is not careful, he will find himself in the same boat as the one which we read about this morning. The more he gained, the more he desired. The more he saved, the more he wanted and the more he desired material things, the less he cared about the world to come. And thus, he finds himself doing more for self and less for God. Friends, God wants us to keep our priorities in order. And the number one priority for the Christian is to “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” When we put Him first, our needs will be met and everything, everything that is truly important, will be given to us. When does desiring something becomes coveting? Someone said a good test is to ask ourselves, “Do I love God enough to be content with what I have and do I love my fellow man enough not to be envious of his belongings? Covetousness is a desire, a craving, for something that you have no right to have and it will cause one to believe that his happiness will come from things rather than God. It is craving for material things, rather than spiritual things and thus it leads us to indulge in the desires of the flesh. Regardless of whom you might be, if we are not careful we will find ourselves coveting something that belongs to someone else. In the Wizard of Id comic strip, one monk is putting up a sign on the new marquee (outdoor) sign, while another monk from another parish is watching. The sign reads, “Thou shall not covet,” and the visiting monk says, “Boy, I wish we had a sign like that.” Thou shall not covet is one of the Ten Commandments. Since it is a sin to covet, we need to ask ourselves how we can conquer this sin. It is one of those sins that we so often over-look. We can help ourselves first by refusing to fix our attentions on the forbidden. It is no telling how much time people spend gazing upon things that they know they cannot have. You can refuse to look at that which you know can never be yours. Focus instead, your eyes, your hearts and your minds upon Christ. You can have HIM, ALL of HIM and friends when you have Jesus, you have the best. Paul said, “In whatever state I am, I am content.” Paul learned that by spending time with the Lord and reminding himself of what He had in Jesus to be content, to be happy. You and I can learn it the same way, providing we are willing to spend time with the one we call Lord. In the Scripture which we read this morning there are some important things that we need to not only see, but to realize the truth that is recorded in God’s Word. Wealth is not a permanent possession. Someone else gets what we have when we die. As the Bible says, we brought nothing into this world and we take nothing with us. Our wealth does not impress God. It might impress other humans, but friends, I’m telling you; God is not impressed unless you are using it for the up- building of His Kingdom. Our Lord called this man foolish ---- which of course he was. I cannot help but wonder how many believers are foolish in the Lord’s sight today. In just a few moments we will be observing the Lord’s Supper. Friends, if you truly know Him as Lord and Savior, you ought to be content. You ought to realize that not only is HE going to meet all of your needs in this life, but that’s HE is planning a much better life that will be given to all who know Him at His coming. Perhaps then we will know contentment. |
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