For the Love of Money

Introduction

Good morning church,

This morning we are in week 4 of our series on Counterfeit Gods. We’ve spent the last few weeks talking about the counterfeit gods of love, success, power and glory. And this week we are going to be talking about the love of money.

It’s interesting that I get this topic because I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life talking about money. As an accountant that was my life, that was what I talked about, what I read about, what my nightmares were about. I spent most of my days counting and then recounting the wealth of companies and people.

I remember this one time as a young accountant fresh out of university, I was auditing the books of a Members only Golf Club in Bermuda. And if you don’t know what auditing is it is simply someone checking the records of the person who is doing the day to day accounting for a company. On this particular job I had to review the accounts receivables of this club, this is money owed to the golf club, and on the list of people who owed money was the whose who of wealthy people in Bermuda, the people who would be considered the top 1% or upper class of the country. And I remember wondering what it would be like to live that way. To have a ton of money to be able to do with what I wanted when I wanted. Then I considered what it must’ve took for these people to get this money. For some of the people that where on the list I had there were stories of them being very unscrupulous business people who would do whatever they needed to do to get ahead; they would lie, cheat and maybe in some cases take what wasn’t theirs in order to have the large amount of money they had.

And you know what as as young accountant my focus too was on the money. My goals and desires revolved around what I needed to do to work my way up the corporate ladder to increase my pay, which would allow me to buy more stuff and to do what I wanted to do. And a lot of what I thought about during that time in my life was what I needed to do or how I could be better than the person sitting next to me to get to the next level or to get a bigger bonus than they did. I hope in what I just said you were able to pick out what the common denominator was; ME. My focus in getting more money and more authority that came with the money was myself.

During this time in my life I was blinded by the seductive power of money. I can recognize now that I was greedy for more and more in order for me to satisfy my own desires of stuff and doing things that made me happy. And the funny thing is that in the midst of all of this I had no idea that this was the condition of my heart. I considered myself an upstanding member of society, a decent Christian, a person who would give to others as it was required of me. But it really wasn’t until I spent time later a few years later, and then I was reminded as I spend time reading this chapter in Counterfeit God’s, that I realized that I had fell into the trap of greed. Money for this time in my life was a god of mine. Tim Keller states, “Jesus warns people far more often about greed than about sex, yet almost no one thinks they are guilty of it”. This is where I found myself in as a young accountant.

Tim Keller also shares this quote by Friedrich Nietzsche which says, “What induces one man to use false weights, another to set his house on fire after having insured it for more than its value, while three-fourths of our upper classes indulge in legalized fraud . . . what gives rise to all this? It is not real want—for their existence is by no means precarious . . . but they are urged on day and night by a terrible impatience at seeing their wealth pile up so slowly, and by an equally terrible longing and love for these heaps of gold. . . . What once was done “for the love of God” is now done for the love of money, i.e., for the love of that which at present affords us the highest feeling of power and a good conscience.”

Keller, Timothy. Counterfeit Gods: When the Empty Promises of Love, Money and Power Let You Down . Hodder & Stoughton. Kindle Edition.

Nietzsche talks about the idea that money in Western culture, would become perhaps its main counterfeit god. You see in our culture the pursuit of money, wealth and things has become the main focus, the main desire of many people. Now I’m not saying that money in of itself is bad. Money is a useful tool; we need to buy houses, groceries, pay for utilities and to get from place to place. What the issue that we need to consider and confront in our lives is whether we are making the pursuit of money our main thing, our god.

And so with all of this in mind we must ask ourselves, we need to consider whether we are making money or the pursuit of money our god. Are we making that the main thing in our lives.

Our passage this morning is in , would invite you to turn there with me. It says, “Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much! 9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.””

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013. Print.

* 19:10 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013. Print.””

Background

We see just before our passage this morning that Jesus is just coming off a bit of a teaching series. We see him teaching both the disciples and the pharisees, prophesying about his death and healing people.

Then in our passage we see the book of Luke introduce us to a man named Zacchaeus. He is described to us as a tax collector and not just any tax collector but the chief tax collector. I learned through my accounting classes that the tax agency is both a feared and not very well liked entity here in Canada. And this was no different than in ancient Israel.

During this time Israel was a conquered nation, they were under Roman rule. The Romans had their own system of taxing the nations that they conquered so that the wealth would get transferred back to Rome. That’s where Zacchaeus comes in. He was a local person who was contracted by the Roman authorities to collect the taxes on their behalf. The only people who lived in comfort and ease at this time where the Romans and the local people who collaborated with them, the tax collectors. Now these tax collectors were obligated to collect the tax requested by the Roman rulers but in order to gain their wealth they added a bit more on top so that they could get rich.

As a tax collector people like Zacchaeus were despised by the people, why would anyone throw their own people under the bus and not only work for the Romans but extort more money from the people? The tax collectors were both the wealthiest people and the most hated people in society.

You see what is different about the time in our passage is that here in Jericho there was a stigma that was attached to wealth and spending money on things that might be unnecessary. Zacchaeus wasn’t worried about any of that. He was willing to sacrifice everything to get the money, to get the wealth.

And so this brings us to our first point, which is ultimately a warning for us. I want you to remember our main question this morning which is to consider whether we are making money or the pursuit of money our god?

1. Money as a Master ()

Is money our master? In the beginning of this passage through Luke sharing with us about Zacchaeus we see Luke is emphasizing to his readers that greed is a form of idolatry. Everyone reading this gospel would have known about the tax collectors and that their main focus was on getting wealthy. That their main goal in life was to gather as much money and wealth as they could. What I really believe that Luke is trying to communicate to his readers and to us today is that the pursuit of money and the desire for it to either hoard it or to use it for our own selfish desires is a form is idolatry. This is placing money and the pursuit of it above everything else in our lives, making it god and master.

And as I shared before I was in this mindset. I might’ve not been cheating people out of taxes but the desire to get wealth to be able to spend it on what I wanted was my goal, it was the thing that was my focus at that time in my life.

And I want to encourage you that this is something that we need to fight against. It is a nature that we need to push back on.

We see Jesus in , where he tells his listeners, ““Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”” You see for Jesus greed is not only love of money, but it’s the excessive anxiety about it, the constant worry about it. Jesus is telling them that their lives, there self worth, who they are isn’t measured by what they own or what they consume. Their identity isn’t and shouldn’t be wrapped up in how much is in their bank account or how big their house is or how many things they have. And really consider the words of Jesus here, he is saying to beware or watch out for this. Sometimes we are blind to the fact that we might be people who put money or the pursuit of it as our god. Young Germiko was someone who was blind to the fact that he was seeking after money and wealth. Folks we need to be careful and to be regularly taking stock of where we are and what our hopes and desires are drawn to.

You know for people whose life is wrapped up in money and things, when they lose it they feel like they’ve lost themselves. Tim Keller sums this up quite well when he says that, “Their personal wealth is based on their financial wealth”.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013. Print.

We see Jesus then goes on to explain this further in , “13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. 15 Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.”

I don’t know about you but Jesus has a way with words that just stops you in your tracks. His words hit people to their core.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013. Print.

Keller points out that according to the Bible idolaters do three things with their idols, “They love them, trust them, and obey them”. He goes on to say that those who are, “”Lovers of Money” are those who find themselves daydreaming and fantasizing about new ways to make money, new possessions to buy, and looking with jealousy on those who have more than they do. He says that “Trusters of money” feel they have control of their lives and are safe and secure because of their wealth”. And then “Obeyers of money” look for their significance and security in money and possessions and are driven to serve and obey it.”

My question to you and to myself today is whether we find ourselves in any of these buckets. Are we lovers, trusters or obeyers of money or things? You see these are all conditions of someone heart and so each of us are required to see where we are at and we need to determine if we fall into any of these categories. When we recognize that we have placed money, wealth or the pursuit of things as our main desire we can then go to God and confess to him that we’ve placed something over and above him.

You see when God becomes and is placed at the centre of our life, that will replace and push aside money as the main thing. When we place our trust, hope and identity in Jesus money or wealth no longer is able to control us through worry or desire. Just like Jesus said in it’s one or the other; either we serve God or we serve money or wealth.

So as we consider our question for this morning, which is “Are we making money or the pursuit of money our god?” We need first recognize whether we are making money our master and in response to this we need to remember that...

2. Jesus still desires and seeks us out - 9:3-10

In the second part of our passage we get a glimpse of this short man Zacchaeus going through a great length to see Jesus. He obviously couldn’t see over the taller people and the people weren’t going to make way for someone like him to see Jesus. What is significant here is that traditionally in this culture it was taboo for any grown man to climb a tree. For someone to do this was them surely asking to be mocked and ridiculed. So Zacchaeus who was already on a delicate standing with the folks in this society was risking being sent down even further on the social ladder in this town. But what we can see is that he was desperate to see Jesus. And you know what Jesus who was making his way through that town through, walking through many respectable religious people singled out the “most notorious sinner”. In the face of this crowd he noticed Zacchaeus and calls for him to come down and he says that he’s coming over and will be a guest in his home. As usual all the religious people where offended that Jesus would spend time with someone like Zacchaeus.

What we see from Zacchaeus is so different. He approaches Jesus not with pride but with humility he quickly climbs down the tree and is excited to take Jesus to his home. Tim Keller says it great when he says, “He did not stand on his dignity and wealth; instead he put aside his station in life and was willing to be ridiculed in order to get a glimpse of Jesus.”

You see it isn’t wasn’t Zacchaeus who asked Jesus into his life, it was Jesus who asked Zacchaeus into his and we see some amazing things happen as a result. When Jesus acknowledged Zacchaeus in that tree it set off a chain reaction of change in his life. Jesus starts by seeking a personal relationship with him, he wants to come and do one of the most personal things you can do with someone; to sit down and have a meal with them. We see that this personal interaction with Jesus causes Zacchaeus to begin to follow Jesus, and we see that he immediately knew that if he wanted to follow Jesus with all his heart he needed to do something with his issue of money that he had. And so we see him make two incredible promises; to give away half his wealth to the poor and if he cheated people out of their taxes to repay them fourfold.

In response to these promises we see Jesus saying “Salvation had come to this house”. What we should notice is that Jesus didn’t say to him “if you live like this then salvation will come to your house”. It has already come. Keller notes, “God’s salvation does not come in response to a changed life. A changed life comes in response to salvation, offered as a free gift.”

This was the reason for Zacchaeus’ new heart and his new life. If his salvation was gained through obedience of any moral codes his question to Jesus likely would have been “How much must I give?” But we see that his response to Jesus through these promises are lavish and generous with him asking “How much can I give?”. He moves from being an oppressive person in this town to someone who champions justice and serving the people of this town at the expense of his own wealth.

Folks what we are getting from this story is that Jesus ultimately replaced money as Zacchaeus’ saviour. It wasn’t something that he sought after or desired but was something that he could use as a tool for serving Christ and the people around him. You see his identity was now rooted and wrapped in Jesus who had begun transforming his attitude toward money and wealth.

Folks I want to tell you that Jesus is seeking to do the same for each one of us. He wants to replace whatever has become our saviour; whether it be money, power, success, love. He wants to be your main desire. says, “10 For the Son of Man* came to seek and save those who are lost.”

* 19:10 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.

9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013. Print.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013. Print.

I can tell you now from here that money isn’t something that directs my life anymore. For the most part isn’t something that I dream about or worry about. I don’t say that to sound pious or holier than thou but I share that because it is something that I’ve had to work through and seek God in. You see the cool thing is that when I recognized that and allowed God to direct this part of my life I’ve seen him show up in incredible ways. I also been able to be generous and to give as required of me. There are moments where I may stumble and get a bit anxious but I believe those are moments that God uses to get my attention and to remind me that I’m not doing this on my own strength but it is God who is at work in me.

For us in the W

Conclusion

Church I want to go back to our original question one more time this morning, “Are we making money or the pursuit of money our god?” I hope that this is a question that we are all asking ourselves. I truly believe that when we ask this question of ourselves and ask it of the Lord that he will help us to examine our lives and to see if we are. And if there are instances of this I would encourage you to take it to the Lord. Give it to him and ask him to guide you through this. And like Zacchaeus allow Jesus to take a hold of this area of your life. And see how God can use your money and wealth for his glory.

Let’s pray.