How Much is Enough?

Intro

There was a saying made popular back in the 90’s and is attributed to Malcolm Forbes. Mr. Forbes was a wealthy American entrepreneur who was also the publisher of Forbes magazine.

His saying went like this. “He who dies with the most toys wins”. You have heard it haven’t you?

It was his belief that whoever could amass the most wealth and material possessions before they died would be the ultimate winner of some cosmic game we all play called life.

Mr. Forbes wasn’t unique in this view of his. Since humanity’s existence there has been a love for and the pursuit of material possessions.

Entire civilizations were built around a cast system that delineated between the wealthy who were consider superior in every way to the poor.

Many ancient religions, and some modern ones tied their beliefs about the afterlife to how much wealth they could amass before they died.

There is a reason when archeologists have uncovered ancient Egyptian tombs they often find furniture, cookware, gold and fine jewels.

It was because they believed the comfort in ones afterlife was based on the things they were buried with. The more they had the more comfortable their eternity would be.

Other religions believed that when you died you had to pay your way into heaven or at least their version of heaven. The more money you had when you died, the higher a payment you could afford.

Regardless of the belief, there was this idea that you could take your stuff with you.

I mentioned the saying, “he who dies with the most toys wins”. A better saying should be, and this isn’t my saying I have read it before, “he who dies with the most toys still dies”.

And, as followers of Jesus, we know this to be true. We know that where we go after we die has nothing to do with how much we accumulated in this life, and has everything to do with Jesus’ death and resurrection, and our acceptance of that truth.

Yet, so often we live our lives driven by the pursuit of more money, more comfort, and more stuff as if when we die we can take it with us.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been talking about idolatry. We said that idolatry isn’t just the worship of statues and carvings.

Idolatry is looking for what only God can give us in anything other than God.

It is when we elevate anything to a place where it is of more importance than God and living our lives in a way that honor and serve him.

There are a lot of exercises we can use to help us identify idols in our lives. I didn’t come up with this one, but it is called the “life-lie”.

the life-lie is a lie we tell ourselves about our lives. A life-lie states, “Life only has meaning, or I only have worth if…,” and then the sentence is finished with a life that ties into an idol.

One of them is “Life only has meaning, I only have worth if I have a certain level of wealth, financial freedom and very nice possessions.”

This belief, simply put is idolatry. More specifically, it is materialism idolatry. It is this kind of idolatry that is so pervasive today, especially in the Church among God’s people.

So this morning our text looks at someone who met Jesus but suffered from materialism idolatry.

Power in the Text

Mark 10:17-27 NLT 17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”

20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” 21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. 27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

Here, the Gospel of Mark tells about a young man who wishes to follow Jesus. His name is unknown, so we remember him as the “rich young man.”

This title comes from the description of him in 10:22 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Sometimes when we read this we tend to look down on this man. We ask the question “how could he choose his wealth over Jesus?”

But there is more to this man than his wealth. We read that he had a genuine desire to learn about faith (v. 17) 17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

As Jesus begins to repeat the 10 Commandments we also read that he had a strong knowledge of the law, having kept the commandments since he was young (v. 20)“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

The contemporary comparison might be that he is someone from a middle- to an upper-middle-class family who was raised in the church.

But then Jesus challenges him to sell his possessions and follow him (v. 21) 21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

We read that the man runs into something he cannot let go of. He can’t let go of his possessions, so he leaves Jesus, feeling “disheartened” and “sorrowful” (v. 22) 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

We learn something here. Having faith or even a heart that genuinely wants to please God doesn’t mean you can’t have idols.

Jesus points out the man’s idol right away: money and possessions.

Big Idea/Why it Matters

This man’s idols were in control. He is given the opportunity to follow Jesus; all it will cost is his money.

But it costs too much, so he refuses the offer. It’s a good example of what idols do to us: When Jesus confronts us and says, “Choose between me or the idol,” what is our response? Do we accept the offer, or do we refuse to give up the idol?

If Jesus asked you to give all your money away and follow him, would you be able to do that?

I think more of us than we are willing to admit would struggle to do that. To just get rid of it all and go follow him where he leads.

And the reason is because to do that requires an immense amount of trust. Because the outcome of such a move is so unknown and uncontrollable by us.

Now God may never ask you to do what he asked this young man in the Gospel of Mark to do, but he does ask us that we have enough faith and trust in him that we would, should he ask us to.

Because if we don’t, then that shows that we have made our money an idol because we are looking to it to give what only God can truly give.

Whether that is comfort, peace of mind, or security. Those things can only truly come from God. Because if they could come from money then we wouldn’t always be seeking more of it.

As the old saying goes, “how much is enough? Just a little bit more”

Application/Closing

So you may be asking yourself this morning, how do I know if I have made or am on my way to making money an idol?

Start by answering these four questions honestly.

How often do I think about making more money?

How often do I wish for other people’s stuff?

How often do I want more?

How much and how often do I give?

Your answer to these questions will tell you a lot about yourself and your relationship to you stuff.

At the end of the day, the answer to this idolatry problem is really quite simple. It is so simple, yet we miss it so easily.

The solution to money being an idol is to learn to be content where you are now.

It is recognizing that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It is taking the time to slow down and enjoy where you are and what you have now before moving on to the next big thing.

If you are a parent, you may not realize it but your child is living in a world where they are always comparing themselves to others.

They are more attractive than me

They have nicer clothes than me

They are thinner than me

They have more friends thane me

They are smarter, funnier, and more athletic than me.

So what do they do? They believe the lie that their identity is based on what they do or don’t have in comparison to others.

As a parent, that should concern you. It concerns me.

My job as a parent is to teach my kids that their identity is in Christ. That their value and meaning come from God and not the brand of shoes they wear.

But here is the thing. If you have have made money or stuff an idol. They are watching you do the exact same thing.

When you learn to be content you will break the hold money has on you.

You will be able to own things rather than having things own you.

You will be able to give generously and freely.

You will discover who you are and show your kids who they really are in Jesus.

You will sleep better at night and your stress levels will go down.

You will develop a faith and trust in God you didn’t know was possible.

The sad reality is that idols promise a lot, but they never deliver on those promises.

The rich man went away sad. He didn’t leave satisfied, fulfilled, or free.

Yet he can’t conceive of a world without the very thing that has formed the basis of his identity.

That’s the frightening part about Jesus’s invitation: he wants our total commitment. Jesus doesn’t want part of our heart; he wants all of it.

If we find that we are serving money or possessions instead of God, we need to change.