Money and Security
We’re going to start a new message series today about America’s number one obsession and what the Bible has to say about it. The series is entitled: “Right on the Money: Revealing America’s #1 Obsession.” It’s truly an issue for nearly every person in this worship center, if the statistics are true about us. This can be a problem for almost all of us. Basically, in capitalist America, the accumulation of wealth has always been a well-respected endeavor, but now money—more and more money—dominates too much of the talk and the thought in the lifestyles of most Americans. Just for the record, money is America’s #1 obsession, work is #2, and sex is #3.
I don’t usually carry a lot of cash. But recently I officiated at a funeral and my honorarium was $100. So right now I’m carrying a $100 bill in my wallet. Now let’s suppose I was to give you this hundred dollar bill. I’m not going to, but suppose I would. What would you do with a hundred dollars? There are a lot of things you might do with this hundred dollars and the first response that came to your mind generally speaks of a pattern in the way you use money. Whatever your first thought was about what you might do with this hundred dollars generally speaks to an attitude, a lifestyle, a pattern, or a direction that you have established in how you utilize this $100 bill. If you are a child or youth, the value of this $100 bill would take on a different attitude or pattern than an adult. I’m going to put this $100 bill back into my wallet and monitor the spending of it over the next four weeks. I’ll share with you weekly an update on my spending of this money.
Let’s continue this message with a fun activity.
[I’m so excited because I found this old bottle with a note inside. It must be a treasure map! Take out the map and read the title, which says, “The Key to Riches.” Would anyone like to see where it leads? I need a volunteer to help me find “the key to riches.” Here are the instructions on the treasure map: “Find a person wearing blue. Move three people to the left. Go two rows back. Find the closest person wearing glasses. Move one row forward, and then take five steps toward the center of the worship center. Finally, go to the closest person with a birthday in this month. Look under the person’s seat for the treasure.”
The key is most likely not under the seat that they land on. So say, “perhaps we misread the directions. Anyway, everyone look under your seat and see if you can find the hidden treasure!” Will the person who found the “key to riches” please come forward and reveal what the hidden treasure represents? Ask this person to read Matthew 6:19-21 aloud which is printed on the key.]
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.
These words from Jesus are really a treasure. This passage has the greatest instruction that we could ever receive regarding our money and security. It shifts the focus from saving up treasures here on earth to saving up treasures in heaven. It advises us to shift from worldly, materialistic things to the things of God. If money is America’s number one obsession based upon the value we place upon it, chase it, and work for it, then we must be convinced that for those who are Jesus-followers, it’s also our number one spiritual problem because money can so often put a hammer lock on our hearts.
The great American philosopher Forrest Gump said, “When someone says to you I’m here to help you, hang on to your wallet.” This series can be an encouragement for us to hang on to our wallets because over the next four messages we want to talk about some things the Bible has to say about money. Money issues are real issues and this is not going to be a series only about giving. We will talk about why giving is important to us, but it’s really more important for us to think in terms of how God views our money because the Bible has a lot to say about money. In the next message we will discover all the stats about how many verses there are about money and possessions.
What is Money Anyway?
Money is simply “a medium for exchange.” Money, in and of itself, does not guarantee security because it is merely acquired in exchange for labor and traded for goods or services. It is nothing more than a piece of paper or cut metal with an allotted amount imprinted or stamped upon it.
The Bible talks more about money than nearly any other topic, because it can get in the way of our relationship with God. Money issues are real issues and there are some numbers to back that up.
If we were to look at current surveys,
55% of us in the United States worry about money. According to these surveys this is what we think about a great deal of the time. If we were to say that some of the time we’re anxious about money that number would go up to over 90%.
90% of all crime is committed for money.
89% of all divorces in America list finances as one of the primary reasons for conflict in the relationship.
96% of Americans will retire financially dependent on the government or family or charity to make ends meet on an average household lifestyle.
2% of homes in America are debt-free or paid for, and the #1 cause of stress for all of us is finances.
60% of our health issues are stress related.
Money’s a problem. Whether we want to think it is or isn’t — for almost every person in this worship center, money becomes an issue for us. What we do with it, how we handle it. The Bible has a lot to say and we want to look at a story today because we’re going to discover three things. Jesus gives a warning and a principle, and then he tells a story to illustrate that warning and principle.
Jesus has been teaching and thousands of people have shown up to listen to him. While teaching, he is interrupted in Luke 12:13-21…
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with those who store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
I put a lot of time into my messages. I guesstimate that I put in about thirty-minutes for each minute that I talk. But no matter how well-researched the message is, how interesting or challenging the message is, some people may miss the point of it. Usually this is due to some dilemma or personal tragedy.
Jesus had the same problem. He had been preaching on hypocrisy, hell and unforgivable sin. But this guy in the crowd didn’t hear a word of it. He had a problem that so distracted him that he could think of nothing else. So it wasn’t an uncommon thing in Jesus’ day that people would even bring their legal disputes into the public forum and ask a teacher to settle them right there.
So here is someone saying in a contemporary frame of mind…
“Hey teacher, my brother has ripped me off. My brother has withheld some money from me. Tell him to give me my share.” Jesus replied, “Hey man, who appointed me a referee to make a judgment call on hassles in your home life?” (Luke 12:13-14).
Commentators think that this was probably a younger brother asking this question who was bothered over the fact that according to the Levitical law, family inheritances gave 2/3 of the possessions to the older son and only 1/3rd to the younger son. We’ve all seen families fight over inheritances, or questions and accusations leveled against business associates. Were they lining their pockets? Were they embezzling? Were they greedy?
Jesus sized up the situation, and decides to use it as a time of teaching and practical application for those listening. He knew that the problem went much deeper. This man’s problem was not how he could help him receive a bigger inheritance, but it was how he could overcome selfishness and materialism. But Jesus answers the man. Let’s look at Jesus’ response of warning and principle.
A warning: be on guard against greed!
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed”…
Jesus gives this warning. Warnings are a good thing aren’t they? When a sign says “caution,” it’s usually wise for us to slow down just a little bit. When one of the lights on our dashboard begins to flash we probably should pay some attention to that eventually. When someone says to us, “hey, be careful with . . .” Almost everything we eat today and the stuff that we drink all have warnings on it. The surgeon general puts a warning on everything.
We should put a warning on our currency: Be careful – money can be hazardous to your heart.
Why? Because it can get a hold of our heart in a way that can create a whole bunch of poor choices for us. Now the Greek word for greed that Jesus uses here means “an unquenchable thirst or desire, something that cannot be resolved, insatiable.”
Greed is forever discontented. It’s an insatiable craving for more and more and more and more. What we have isn’t enough; we want just ‘a little bit more’.
Larry Burkett, a Christian financial expert who a few years ago passed away from cancer, did a great deal of counseling with people in financial trouble. He said that 95% of the couples he counseled were in financial trouble because of overspending. How many of us think it’s because of the wife’s overspending? The husbands? He said that 95% of the couples he counseled were in financial trouble because of the husband’s overspending. He said that women tend to splurge on things like clothes and food. Men tend to splurge on things like new SUV’s, boats, and satellite dishes.
Spending and hoarding may be different in process but both are rooted in greed, this insatiable desire for more things. That’s why we buy on credit, and why we refuse to get rid of what we have. The shopping season really kicks in at the end of this week. We must be careful how much we put on our magical credit card. The bill will come due in four weeks. The storage business is a booming industry because people buy more than they need or could ever use and then they are not willing to part with their stuff, so they pay to store it.
A principle: be on watch against stuff!
15 … “life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Jesus gives this principle: Your life is not your stuff. “A person’s life does not consist in an abundance of possessions,” Jesus says. For so many of us we find our security, our value, our worth based on the car we drive, the clothes we wear, the house and neighborhoods we live in, the places we eat, who sees us, and how we vacation. Those things that somehow give us a sense of value and all of us want to be valued and the way we keep score today is with our money or the fruit of our money. We become adept at justifying our ability to buy anything like a new car every year, an upgrade to our home, new clothes.
We must listen to Jesus’ principle on accumulating stuff. Jesus implies that if we will fix this problem we’ll fix all the other issues in our lives. If we can get this issue resolved we will experience more peace and freedom, that we will find more satisfaction in our lives and our relationships, and that we will see God a lot clearer, if we can just resolve this financial issue.
If we were running a fever and were breaking out all over and had chills and it lasted several days we would probably go see a doctor. If our car were sputtering down the road, eventually we’d go see a mechanic or try to figure out what is wrong. There’s no embarrassment if we’re in some financial issue right now, because all we have to do is look around the worship center and most everybody else whether they’re going to admit it or not, is in a similar situation. The embarrassment should be that we choose to do nothing about it.
So Jesus gives a warning, he gives a life principle, and now he tells a wonderful story.
A Story: when security is failure!
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with those who store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
Jesus often taught in parables. We could call this parable “When Security is Failure,” because Jesus gives us a hypothetical situation here but it would describe what we might experience, and it describes some attitudes we ought to watch out for. This isn’t the first wealthy person to get into trouble. Just read the newspaper and we’re always hearing about people who have billions of dollars going bankrupt. That’s always amazing.
A young couple had been married for about a year. They were struggling financially and decided to do something about it. They would develop a strategy. They sat down one day to talk about their finances, and after much analysis, the young wife said to her husband, “If we miss two payments on the refrigerator and one payment on the washing machine, we’ll have enough money to make a down payment on a new plasma television set.”
Does that sound familiar? That little story echoes the truths that we can see in this parable:
1. We already have more than we think we do.
16 …”The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.
The rich man didn’t get rich because he had the good crop. He was already a rich man! He already had plenty! He just didn’t know it.
I remember as a youth pastor thinking that I didn’t have some of the luxuries that others who lived around me possessed. But then I took the youth on a couple of mission trips. Many of the youth were thinking the same thing. We realized how rich we really were. We saw people in poverty conditions, sick with cancer because they didn’t have iodide in their salt, and living in huts made of twigs and cardboard. We discovered that we were really rich.
Friends, we are rich. We have things that many of the people we have met in this world can only dream about. Yes, we are rich … we already have so much more than we think we do.
2. Greed will never allow us to be satisfied. The more we get, the more we want.
17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”
Did we see all of the personal pronouns in those verses? I, I’ll, me, my, myself … This guy was really wrapped up in himself, wasn’t he? He had a great crop, a great opportunity, so what did he decide to do with his security? Build more and bigger barns so that he could store all of his stuff … and more! He gave absolutely no thought to blessing anyone else with what he had received. He simply had more, and he wanted more.
This is the cycle of greed. Once it has its grip on us, it is so difficult to escape. Once we get a taste of something more, we have this unquenchable desire for even more. As we have discovered already, greed can never be satisfied. It can never be happy and fulfilled. It can only consume and destroy.
My brother and I when we were growing up expressed greed time and time again, he’s on my side of the room, or on a vacation, in the back seat of the car, his arm is on my side, or he’s got more ice cream than me, or he gets 3 pieces of pizza and his three were bigger than mine. And when my mom would tire of our bickering, she would quietly say to us 5 words that summarized the situation and reminded us of our greed. She would simply say, “Always a little bit more.”
A Little Bit More
Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray my plasma TV to keep. I pray my stocks are on the rise, and that my analyst is wise. That all the wine I sip is white, and that my hot tub’s watertight.
That my jogging won’t get too tough, that all my sushi’s fresh enough. I pray my wireless phone still works, that my career won’t lose its perks. My microwave won’t radiate, my townhouse won’t depreciate. I pray my health club doesn’t close, and that my money market grows. If I go broke before I wake, I pray my Lexus they won’t take.
And, sadly, whether we know it or not, many of us in this worship center are entangled in the grip of greed. We think we have a handle on our desires, but we really don’t. And for us Jesus-followers, this desire for more eats into our effectiveness and our passion for serving Christ.
3. No matter how much we get, we really can’t take it with us.
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
It really should make us wonder. If we cannot take the material things of this world with us when we die, why are we so totally and completely focused upon accumulating those things? Why do we invest so much passion in getting stuff? No matter how much we get, we really can’t take it with us.
There was a very wealthy man who died. Shortly after the funeral one neighbor asked another neighbor, “How much did he leave?” The wise woman responded, “Everything.”
It has been said that “a u-haul trailer never follows a hearse.” So those rich in heavenly reward will not be sifting gold coins through their fingers as they giggle uncontrollably. They will be rich in God’s pleasure, able to enter into the joy of their Master. They will enjoy wonderful intimacy with God.
4. God has a much better investment plan than we do.
21 “This is how it will be with those who store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
Jesus-followers, God has other priorities for us. Replace selfishness with selflessness. Replace stuff with people. Replace investing in our own desires with investing in the kingdom of God. It won’t make much sense to the world … but it makes complete sense in God’s investment plan. If we could only shift our financial focus from ourselves onto the things of God. If we could only focus upon the eternal, and not merely the temporal.
A well-known pastor was invited to dinner at the home of a very wealthy California rancher. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area. Pointing to the barns covering the landscape, the rancher boasted, “Twenty-five years ago I had nothing. Now they’re all mine.” Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of grain, he bragged, “They’re all mine.” Then he turned east toward huge herds of cattle, and bragged, “They’re all mine.” Then pointing to the west at a beautiful forest, he said, “That, too, is all mine.” Then he paused, expecting the pastor to compliment him on his great success. But the pastor placed one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointed heavenward, toward the sky, and simply asked, “How much do you have in that direction?” Good question: how much have we invested in the heavenly direction?
Many people, even many of us Jesus-followers, haven’t taken enough time to think of this lesson … think of things heavenward, things that really matter.
Some people make some big mistakes in life:
> planning for themselves, they forget others.
> considering their material goodies, they forget the Giver.
> providing for their bodies, they forget their soul.
To become a Jesus-follower…
ADMIT that you are a sinner who needs a Savior.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
BELIEVE that Jesus is the only Savior available.
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
CHOOSE to follow Jesus.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)
PRAYER: “Jesus, thank you for loving me so much that you died on the cross to pay in full for all of my sins. I am sorry for going my own way for so long. I now admit that I am a sinner who needs a Savior. I believe that Heaven is a gift that you alone can give me, a gift that I cannot earn and will never deserve. Help me to become your child—the individual you created me to be as I choose to follow you and become a worldchanger.”
Too many people take part in life the way many people handle money. They get so focused on accumulating the things of this world that they take their focus off of their Savior. Let’s listen to Jesus’ warning. It doesn’t matter how much we accumulate in this world, if we lose our soul, if money puts a hammerlock on our hearts, then we lose everything—our money and our security! Amen.
