Snakes and Ladders

One of my favorite games as a child was the classic: Snakes and Ladders.

A key factor in a good Snakes and Ladders board is the final few spaces.

On that top row you are so close to winning you can taste it!

But the closer you are to winning, the closer you are to falling too!

A good Snakes and Ladders game will have a devastatingly long snake waiting right by the finish.

Landing on this snake will almost always cost you the game. This last long, ambush snake will take you practically all the way back to the start.

Today i want to make sure all of us understand the nature of 4 Snakes Jesus said were waiting right by the finish.

And even if we are so close to victory, landing on anyone of these snakes will not only cost us our victory, but also set us back months, even years in our progress.

The Snake of Covetousness

Luke 12:13–15 BSB

13 Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?” 15 And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

A man in the crowd asked Jesus to solve a family problem.

Rabbis were expected to help settle legal matters, but Jesus refused to get involved.

Why?

Because He knew that no answer He gave would solve the real problem, which was covetousness in the hearts of the two brothers.

As long as both men were greedy, no settlement would be satisfactory.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 BSB

10 He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.

These men had a need, they thought their need was legal assistance, but their need was actually deliverance from greed.

This is what greed does. It blinds us to our true needs.

These men diddnt need to get more money in their hands, they need to get rid of the money in their hearts.

Their greatest need was to have their hearts changed.

Like too many people today, they wanted Jesus to serve them but not to save them.

Covetousness

Covetousness is an unquenchable thirst for getting more and more of something we think we need in order to be truly satisfied.

It may be a thirst for money or the things that money can buy, or even a thirst for position and power.

What causes it?

Thankless, ungratefulness, unappreciative attitudes.

Never being content as we are commanded to be:

Hebrews 13:5 BSB

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

Jesus made it clear that true life does not depend on an abundance of possessions.

He did not deny that we have certain basic needs and He has promised us to meet these needs:

Philippians 4:19 BSB

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

But coveting has nothing to do with needs, its about our greed's.

When our needs are met in Jesus Christ we have already received the fullness of God’s love, grace and goodness.

And having received all from God, nothing we can ever buy on earth can make our lives anymore richer than what we have freely received from Jesus.

The Parable:

Jesus told this parable to reveal the dangers that lurk in a covetous heart.

As you read it, test your own responses to this farmer’s various experiences.

Luke 12:16–21 BSB

16 Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. 17 So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods. 19 Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ 21 This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Let us ask a few questions about this farmers situation:

1: How do you respond to the wealthy farmer’s dilemma?

Here was a man who had a problem with too much wealth!

If we say, “I certainly wish I had that problem!” we may be revealing covetousness in our hearts.

If suddenly you inherited a great deal of wealth, would it create a problem for you?

Or would you simply praise God and ask Him what He wanted you to do with it?

Wealth is not evil but there is a reason Jesus specifically talk about the difficulties of the rich to enter Heaven.

There are perils to prosperity.

Wealth can cause us to deny God.

Proverbs 30:7–9 BSB

7 Two things I ask of You— do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

Wealth can choke the Word of God.

Matthew 13:22 BSB

22 The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Create snares and temptations.

1 Timothy 6:6–10 BSB

6 Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

and give you a false sense of security.

Proverbs 11:28 BSB

28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.

Wealth has cost more men their souls than all of histories poverty put together.

When you loose your wealth you lose nothing. When you loose your health you lose something. When you lose your soul you loose everything!

2: How do you respond to the decisions of the rich man?

Are you saying, “Now that is shrewd business! Save and have it ready for the future!”

But Jesus saw selfishness in all that this man did, and He said the man was a fool.

There is certainly nothing wrong with following good business principles, or even with saving for the future.

But this man was saving for security.

This man’s HOPE was in his savings.

Jesus said:

Matthew 6:19–21 BSB

19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Money in the bank to pay the bills is good.

But money in the bank must never replace Jehovah Jireah as our provider.

3: How do you respond to the farmer’s desires?

Are you saying, “This is the life! The man has success, satisfaction, and security! What more could he want?”

But Jesus did not see this farmer enjoying life; He saw him facing death!

Wealth cannot keep us alive when our time comes to die, nor can it buy back the opportunities we missed while we were thinking of ourselves and ignoring God and others.

This man had a false view of both life and death.

He thought that life came from accumulating things, and that death was far away.

The end result of his delusion was that though he thought he was rich, he was actually very poor.

4: How do you respond to the death of the boastful farmer?

We are prone to say, “Too bad this fellow died just when he had everything going for him! How tragic that he could not finish his great plans.”

But the greatest tragedy is not what the man left behind but what lay before him: eternity without God!

The man lived without God and died without God, and his wealth was but an incident in his life.

God is not impressed with our money.

Who is the richest person here?

You might think that we will need bank statements are answer that question, but that assumes that our wealth is measured in rand's.

Do you know who the richest person here is?

That man is the richest whose pleasures are cheapest.

A rich man is not measured by how many things he buys. A rich man is measured in how many things he knows he does not need.

Conclusion:

Luke 12:21 BSB

21 This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

What does it mean to be “rich toward God”?

It means to acknowledge gratefully that everything we have comes from God, and then make an effort to use what He gives us for the good of others and the glory of God.

Wealth can be enjoyed and employed at the same time if our purpose is to honor God.

To be rich toward God means spiritual enrichment, not just personal enjoyment.

How tragic when people are rich in this world but poor in the next!