Parables - Greed
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GREED!
Contrary to some, greed is not good.
Greed is probably one of the most exercised vices, even within the church.
It ranks right up there with lust.
Yet we often try to cover it with pleasant terms like:
fairness, equity, or some modified form of justice.
But what greed really is, is the desire to have more.
And the most common for of greed is to have what someone else does.
Do would those in the church recognize greed?
Especially the greed in their own heart?
Rich Fool
Rich Fool
Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
There are few things that can tear a family apart like an inheritance.
I was the executor of an estate, and I can tell you from first-hand experience, that money changes things.
So here is this guy from the crowd, and he wants Jesus to tell his brother to share the inheritance with him.
Notice, there is no back story, no information about whether this brother was due part of the inheritance or not.
Only a “demand” that Jesus tell his brother to share it.
How does Jesus react?
But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”
Does anyone remember Jesus’ admonition in chapter six?
“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Jesus knows the story between these two brothers, even if we do not.
Just as we should not jump into a situation, neither does Jesus.
But He does use this as a learning opportunity.
And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
We tend to judge everything by numbers.
Who has the biggest house, nicest car, best job.
Who goes to the biggest church, with the most programs.
We often judge people by those same numbers.
We vilify the rich for being rich.
We demand “our fair share” without having to work for it.
Or even defining what would be “fair”.
Jesus tells us to beware of focusing on the abundance of things,
He calls this covetousness.
We call this greed.
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 4124 πλεονεξία
greedy desire to have more
Jesus then tells us a story.
Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’
We find this rich man, with lots of stuff.
So much stuff he doesn’t have room for it.
So the man makes a plan, he’ll tear down his old barns and build bigger better ones.
We have lots of stuff.
To 90% of the world, we are the rich man
And how much of our time is spent finding room for our stuff?
We build garages, attics, and sheds to store all of our stuff.
We rent places to store the stuff we cannot fit in our houses.
We pay insurance to protect us from the loss of our stuff.
And we squirrel away stuff so we can retire and be comfortable.
To eat, drink, and be merry.
In other words, we are just like this rich man.
But what happens in the rest of the story?
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
We make all those plans for our future, never knowing if we will actually get there.
We miss the chance to enjoy so much of today as we hoard for tomorrow.
Don’t get me wrong. Scripture says we should provide for ourselves and our families.
That it is good to consider the future, but not to obsess over it.
To leave something to our children, but not at their expense.
How does Jesus describe us?
“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Rich in treasure, but not rich toward God.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Ambitious Guest
Ambitious Guest
So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:
Greed isn’t always about money.
Sometimes it’s about position or title.
Take for example, this parable.
“When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.
We may not think that where you sit at a table is all that important.
Just tell that to a bride trying to work out the seating arrangements at a wedding.
Now imagine, you show up for the reception and take a seat very near the couple, possibly even at the head table.
Only to be asked to move because that seat is for a family member.
And you find the only seat left is way in the back,
Somewhere between the kitchen and the restrooms.
How embarrassing would that be?
We are often greedy for status, title, and position,
And that often leads to our fall.
Just think about Haman.
So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ ” Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”
Haman thought he had the position, that the king wanted to reward him.
He wanted a seat at the head of the table.
Only to find out, it was reserved for Mordecai.
Haven’t you wanted a position, only for it to go to another?
Haven’t you been jealous of the success of another?
Haven’t you complained about how rich someone is, or how they choose to spend their money?
What is the follower of Christ to do?
But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.
We assume a humble position.
We seat at the back.
Not BECAUSE we want to be moved up, but because we honor others more than ourselves.
IF we are invited to move up, we do so graciously.
But if not, we should be content to be where we are.
As Jesus says...
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Unjust Servant
Unjust Servant
He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
Have you ever been called on the carpet and asked to explain how you handled what was in your charge?
As a deacon at another church, every year my accounts were audited.
I was asked to show that I was being a good steward of what was in my charge.
It was not fun, but I recognized it as necessary for people to trust me.
Apparently, there was something to this accusation, as we can tell from the next verse.
“Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
The steward expects to be let go, so he makes plans.
He knows he is not strong enough to dig, and is to proud to beg.
So what is his plan?
“So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that this servant was called to account.
He just gave away a significant portion of his master’s stuff.
Today, we call this embezzlement.
What does the master say about this?
So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.
The master commends the thief?
He said the steward was had dealt shrewdly.
Jesus says the sons of the world are more shrewd that the sons of light.
“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.
If you are going to act wordly, then make friends among them for when you fall.
Not exactly what you would expect to hear from someone trying to grow His ministry.
And exactly what you might see in a church today.
He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?
If you are not faithful in worldly things, how can you expect to be faithful in spiritual ones?
If someone cannot trust you with their things, how can anyone trust you with their souls?
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
You cannot serve two masters, you must decide whom you will serve.
Will it be God, or the world?
Will it be Jesus or money?
Conclusion
Conclusion
While we are ready to point out greed in others, we are often blind to it in ourselves.
And frequently, we like to cover greed with nice sounding terms like fairness and equity.
Sometimes we’ll disguise our greed with terms like preparation, or saving for a rainy day.
But when does preparation become making friends with unrighteous mammon?
None of us know if we will see tomorrow,
So we should prepare for either possibility.
Desiring titles and position is just another form of greed or covetousness.
Putting the position above the work.
Will you only glorify your Master in Heaven is He gives you a title commensurate with who you see yourself to be?
If you prepare for tomorrow without thought about God’s timeline,
If you gather without thought of others, or of enjoying today.
If you strive for positions and titles,
Then you should buy friends with your unrighteous mammon,
You will need them to cushion your fall.