What about Wealth?

I Timothy 6: 6-19;Luke 16: 19-31

Jim Gilman

Introduction

What if you and 20 or so other survivors were adrift at sea in a life boat? And imagine the rich man, in Jesus’ parable, as captain of the ship, in charge of the rations and limited resources on the boat? What would life be like for the rest of the survivors in the life boat? Like Lazarus, most in the life boat would be scrambling for scraps and crumbs, just to stay alive.

Many Christian ethicists view planet earth this way, as analogous to a life boat adrift in the vast sea of cosmic space. There are a few countries on life boat earth, like America, that are wealthy; most of the rest of the world, like Lazarus, is not, scrambling for crumbs, just to survive. Some of us, like the rich man, have more, even much more, than we need to live comfortably. And many of us wonder why there is so much month left at the end of our pay checks.

I would like to integrate two of our bible lessons: (1) Jesus’ parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus; and (2) Paul’s instructions to his young friend, Timothy. So, imagine Paul speaking his instructions to the rich man of the parable. As we drift on planet earth and attempt to make decisions as Christians, what do Jesus and Paul have to say to us about material resources and wealth. How do Paul’s instructions speak to the rich man? To the captain of the life boat? To us?

Paul’s Instructions to the Rich

With his first instruction, Paul answers the question: When I die, what happens to my material possessions? He reminds Christians of what we all know already: “You brought nothing into the world, and when you die you can take nothing out of it.” Think about that: “You can’t take it with you.” So what are you going to do with it? It’s as if Paul is saying to the rich man and captain of the life boat, it’s as if he’s saying to us, You can’t take your wealth, such as it is, with you; so you might as well decide now to do something beneficial with it.

A few of the wealthiest people in the world apparently subscribe to Paul’s instructions to Timothy. Whatever else you might think of him and how he got his wealth, Bill Gates decided some years ago that his vast wealth would not go to his kids, but that he would use it to help Lazarus. Now, I don’t think his kids are going to suffer poverty; but he decided to use his extra, his Foundation, to help the poor of the world in a variety of ways: treating diseases in Africa, supporting women’s education throughout the world, and a host of other projects. We can do the same with what possessions are within our power. We can pass them forward to Lazarus; we can distribute it to the others in the life boat; because we can’t take it with us.

With his second instruction, Paul answers the question: as a Christian, how much material wealth should I be content with? Since I can’t take it with me into life eternal, how much in this life is enough? Paul’s answer to the rich man of Jesus’ parable and to us is: If we have the basics to sustain our life, if we have food and clothing and shelter, then we have enough; we can and should be content with them. They are enough!

One of the great deceptions of American culture is the belief that to find contentment we must accumulate bigger and better things, more and more resources (which, by the way, we can’t take with us). The irony of this deception is that by seeking contentment in the accumulation of material resources we become increasingly discontent with how much we have. In fact, Paul reveals to the rich man that he will never be content in this life. Why? Because he “sets his hopes on the uncertainty of riches.” Just think of how many Americans in the past 3 years have discovered the brutal truth of that fact; many of them are not even rich, but lost even the basic necessities of life. That material resources are temporal and fleeting, like withering grass, is no mystery. Then why, Paul asks us, do we hitch our hopes to them? We’re bound to be disappointed and frustrated, in this life and in the next.

With his third instruction, Paul famously warns the rich man (and us) that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” Here Paul’s instruction includes all of us, even those of us who are not rich. His focus is on “love” of money more than on the acquisition of it. You and I might not have much money, but I betcha we’ve all fallen into the temptation of lusting after it, of wanting what we don’t have much of. It’s that desire and preoccupation for always wanting more, that Paul speaks of now.

So, how is the love of money the root of all evil? Paul tells us. By lusting after money, by being greedy, we “fall into temptation,” he says, “and are trapped by senseless and harmful desires.” What is the temptation we fall into” And how are we “trapped by harmful desires.” Well, I think the temptation (Paul speaks of) is for always wanting more and more; and the trap is that more is never enough. Loving money, never being content with the basics, always wanting more, artificially invents in our psyches, like in the rich man, an unquenchable thirst and passion for one thing more; and it invents in our psyches an automatic restlessness and discontent so that the one thing more is never enough. In fact, loving money is addictive; like gambling; a little punishes us with an insatiable thirst for more.

In America this “love of money” manifests itself as consumerism. After 9/11, the advice given by some leaders to Americans was to go shopping. Such advice is not surprising. It reflects how a culture of consumerism deals with its fears and insecurities; it tries to find security in the most insecure things; in the accumulation of more and more fleeting and temporal things. The desire itself tyrannizes and enslaves us. We usually are not even aware of its hold on us; just as the rich man seem oblivious to the fact of his excess and that his excessive consumption harms Lazarus.

Fourth and finally. What if you are blessed with a profession in which you make more, maybe much more, than you need for the basics in life? Well, Paul tells Christians what they should do. He says, ”shun” “the eagerness to be rich,” and pursue instead eternal things; it’s eternal values that alone are able to provide us with ”everything for our enjoyment.” What are these eternal things? Paul mentions a bunch of things. But the most relevant thing he says is that Christians are “to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.” Aahhhaaa!!! So that’s how Christians are to be rich; not in the accumulation of more things, not by being trapped into the cycle of consumerism; but as Paul says it: “rich in good works; in generosity; in an eagerness to share with others.” How different it would have been for Lazarus if the man was rich in good works and generosity. How different for the captain of the life boat; instead of hoarding limited goods for himself and alienating others, he is content with the basics for himself and rich in good works, generously sharing with others. That generosity, that eagerness to share is the presence of God in our lives; that eagerness is how God’s grace makes us rich; rich in generosity.

Conclusion

There are many opportunities at Trinity for us to be rich in good works and generosity. Trinity attempts to provide a variety of ministries to Lazarus. These ministries help us put our money where our spiritual mouth is; they help us practice what we preach. So, recall with me the variety of ministries here at Trinity that help Lazarus, and inspire us to be rich in generosity: the noon lunch program, Honduras, Haiti, music outreach to assisted living homes, SACRA, The Valley Mission, the food bank, and so on.

This Fall, as we as a congregation begin thinking about our annual pledge to this church and to this community, we would do well to be reminded of Paul’s instructions regarding material resources: (1) you can’t take it with you; (2) be content with the basics; (3) shun the love of money; and (4) be rich in good works and generosity.

Our life boat has enough resources, and yet they are limited. May God grant us contentment with the basics and an eagerness for generosity and good works.