The Two Ways: Greed or Generosity

Today we’re continuing to look at this theme throughout the Scriptures, both the Hebrew and Christian texts, of the two ways: there is a way of life and a way of death. It might feel overly simplistic to frame life this way, but truly, there are ways that lead us into life and there are ways that diminish and guide us down the path toward ruin and death.

Last week, we looked at the way of idolatry, which leads to death; and the way of mystery, which, although it lacks certainty and physicality, leads us deeper into life.

And I’m sure we can appreciate this divide in our own lives. For me, for instance, there is a way of life which is exercise, activity, and healthy living. There is also a way of death, when I sit around, eat more than my share, or ignore my health for comfort’s sake.

Consider, for a moment, what is a way of life and a way of death that you are faced with, challenged to grow with?

Today’s readings lead us into the two ways by looking at greed and generosity. The way of greed and the hoarding of wealth leads to death. We think of Ebeneezer Scrooge, living miserly, accumulating and ultimately losing his self. And there is the way of generosity, the Christmas morning Scrooge, buying the best cooked goose, giving away gifts to the children. He finds life and we celebrate that story.

Today, we’ll have two readings, one from the Hebrew prophet Amos, criticizing those who follow the ways of death with their possessions and money, ways that lead to the death of the poor and the struggling. And we’ll hear a parable from Luke’s Gospel, where Jesus seems to undermine the whole system of wealth accumulation to yield, instead, relationships, connection, and release of debtors.

Let’s hear the word of the Lord...

Amos 8:4–7 NRSV

4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, 5 saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, 6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.” 7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

Be warned, the prophet speaks!

And now, a parable, another angle on understanding wealth, from the teachings of Jesus in Luke.

The New Revised Standard Version The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

The manager is first wasting opportunities with the master’s property. He is neglectful of the accounts and scattering the goods he’s responsible for.

We have to think about this outside of our traditional capitalistic framework. In our context, we’d likely see this manager owe his master the full amounts from each account, plus interest or some kind of penalty. This is lost profit, opportunity wasted, and someone has to pay for it.

We see this story and struggle to connect because we operate in a world where the aim is to accumulate as much wealth as possible. We see this happening in honest ways, as people work hard, pay off debts, and save for the future. We also see this occuring in dishonest ways, where speculation and insider-trading give some an edge at the expense of others. But ultimately, it is the accumulation of wealth that matters, honestly or dishonestly, right?

The struggle, then, with this passage, is that the manager is rewarded or at least commended for his action of recouping the lost profits at a lower rate.

This makes me wonder, first off, about how we understand the value of the work we do or the possessions we have.

Let’s compare this story with a few events that are occuring in this season, specifically non-profit benefits and auctions. Habitat for Humanity, who is with us today, had their annual auction just this week. Interfaith Coalition of Whatcom County’s Hope Auction event is tonight. A few weeks from now, Skookum Kids will host their annual benefit. These are only a few organizations among the many who are in the process of raising funds for the 2023 fiscal year budget. All good things, all good organizations.

But let’s consider what happens at these events: Putting it plainly — people who have some level of financial freedom and security pay more than the value of a meal to eat together and then bid up higher than the value of a gift, freely given to the organization for its benefit, to raise funds.

I remember going to the auction for my private elementary school when I was a kid. My parents bid on the silent auction and I wandered around with friends in our school gymnasium. I remember one year when I somehow convinced my parents to bid on a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie baseball card, something I longed for as an avid 4th grade card collector. I don’t remember how much they paid for it, but I do remember it was at least as much as the baseball card price card called for, which at that time, I remember was something like $100. A $100 baseball card that could have been found in a $0.75 pack.

I’m grateful to my parents for buying me that card. And I’m struck by our collective notion, especially as people of the church who believe in these non-profits, of paying more than an item is worth because of the benefits it offers to the mission of the organization.

Auctions and benefits are an awesome way to illustrate how we are to be with our money. And, like the shrewd manager, they highlight a whole different orientation to possessions and wealth.

Let’s go back to the exchange between these two people again: Vs. 8 says the masted commended the dishonest manager because of his shrewd actions. Jesus goes on to say that making friends by means of dishonest wealth is a way to ultimately welcome them into our eternal homes.

What? What is this about? What?

Again, we have to understand that the ways of understanding wealth in the kingdom of God are different than what we expect in our current world…and they’re better. Jesus is teaching us that accumulation of wealth is less important than actually giving wealth away, building relationships, paying off debts, closing financial books, so that real relationships may be salvaged.

Here’s my guess: The debtors who are given a deal and and opportunity to pay back at a lower rate, I bet they go back and have more business with this manager. They got a good deal. And it is clear that this master and manager have a different sense for what is truly valuable in an exchange. It is better to lose money and establish a relationship. It is better to give what we have away so that it might benefit the poor. And when we are faithful in this way, God offers us more opportunities to be faithful.

Luke 16:10–12 NRSV

10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?

Are we learning dishonesty here? Is Jesus teaching us to swindle or cook the books?

I don’t think so. In fact, I think what this parable illustrates is the need for us to take our accounts and balances and accumulation of wealth much less seriously and, instead, find generosity as our focus and purpose.

Let’s go back to our prophet Amos, now, and hear his words again through this lens of generosity.

Amos 8:4–7 NRSV

4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, 5 saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, 6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.” 7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

Amos is criticizing his listeners for operating from the wealth accumulation, the greed, angle. They want to be done with the times of celebration or sabbath or forgiving of debts, so that they can get back to the business of making money. They want to start selling grain again, making little pieces of bread (the ephah) and charging a high price for them.

Compare this with the manager who devalued the jugs of oil to recoup some of his profits.

An ephah would be a measure of grain, basically a ration or portion doled out to the purchaser. If you’ve seen the most recent trilogy of Star Wars movies, you might think of Unkar Plot selling rations to Rey on the planet Jakku, where his prices soar depending on his mood with no regard for the struggles of the poor junk collectors. Get the most for the littlest, right?

The prophet Amos is laying it out plainly that this way of accumulating wealth will not stand in the house of God. God’s way is that of generosity and relationship. Even if it costs profits. And Jesus’ parable tells it straight as well — you cannot serve God and money, so serve God first.

Let’s close by thinking about this in our own church, our own lives.

How are you being invited to rethink your relationship with wealth and possessions?

What might it look like to release ownership and give what we have away?

What if there are different economic systems we could operate within, outside of the constant need to accumulate wealth? What if we could be a people who shared what we have with each other more? What if that looked like opening our homes to share meals, but also it looked like giving away what we have to others in need.

One of the most powerful ways we’ve been able to do this as a church over the last couple of years has been through our church assistance fund. We have a fund, set aside, that any of us can contribute to, that when another member or participant in our community has a need, we are able to offer some support. I work with our church deacons to make sure we know if there are folks in need and, if they need, we can give away resources to help them. It’s really simple and it’s radical — it’s us sharing what we have.

In a few weeks, we’re going to look at our stewardship plan for 2023. This will be another way to choose the way of life and consider how to give radically, humbly, faithfully, to the way of Jesus that we are practicing here at St. James.

Friends, don’t hear that money is bad. That’s not the point here. Money and wealth can be so good, as we use them to the right ends. What we are hearing today is to serve the way of God, the way of life, over money. We cannot have two masters. And the way of God, the way of life, is generosity. It is the giving away of all that we are to build each other up, to care for those in need, and to bring glory to God in doing so.

Amen.