There is one good thing about a recession. It sobers us up. If we’re lucky it causes us to turn our back on things we don’t need and to hold close the things that really matter. After all, periods of recession usually follow periods of wretched excess.
Martha Bolton and Phil Callaway, in their book It’s Always Darkest Before the Fridge Door Opens, tell about strolling through a mall one day laughing at all the things in the mall they didn’t need. Here are some of the things they found that they could do without:
A water fountain for their cat.
- A cell phone that works underwater.
- Alarm clocks that project the time on your ceiling in the middle of the night (when you should be sleeping) but can’t be read during the daylight (when you should be getting up).
- Gas-powered blenders for the backyard.
- And, most interesting of all, pants that talk. These talking pants say "Zip me!" (1)
Now, there may come a time when we might need these, but I suspect that, for the most part, most of us can do without pants that talk to us.
Many people still have more money than sense, but people seem to be acting a little more responsibly in 2009 than in 2007 or even the first part of 2008. That’s why it’s important for us to deal today with the rich young ruler. You know the story well.
A young man ran up to Jesus and fell on his knees. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus was a little brusque with the young man. "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’"
"Teacher," the young man declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."
Mark tells us Jesus looked at this young man and loved him. He was a good guy. "One thing you lack," Jesus said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
At this the young man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
He was a good guy, but that was not good enough. Jesus wanted him to divest himself of all his wealth. It’s a tough story for many people. It’s made even tougher by what follows. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" Wow! Jesus will never be invited to speak to a meeting of the Republican Party . . . or to the local country club.
The disciples were amazed at his words. You have to understand that this was a contradiction of everything they had been taught. In the Old Testament, the faith of their fathers, wealth and material goods were considered a sign of God’s favor. But Jesus wanted to demolish that myth forever. Listen to his words, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
The disciples were even more amazed when he said this, and they said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said something very interesting, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." What did he mean?
I want to tell you some Good News about money. You’d like to have some good news in these tough times, wouldn’t you? So, let’s get started.
Let’s begin here: you and I are rich. It’s true. We’re rich. Now I say that with some hesitation. This has been a difficult year for many people. Across our land jobs have been lost, incomes have fallen, in some cases, homes have been lost and with all that, there has been an unbelievable strain on family relationships. Many of us do not feel very rich. Yet, compared to most of the people who have ever lived, we are rich.
Let me read you a prayer written by scholar William Boice: "Dear Lord, I have been re-reading the record of the Rich Young Ruler and his obviously wrong choice. But it has set me thinking. No matter how much wealth he had, he could not ride in a car, have any surgery, turn on a light, buy penicillin, hear a pipe organ, watch TV, wash dishes in running water, type a letter, mow a lawn, fly in an airplane, sleep on an inner spring mattress, or talk on the phone." Then William Boice adds these words, "If he was rich, then what am I?" (2) He’s right, isn’t he? We’re rich.
In fact, church consultant Loren Mead likes to ask church audiences this question, "Are you rich?" He says the response to that question is always the same. There will be a murmur. A sort of collective, "Wait a minute. What right has he to ask me that?" Then a few hands will go up, tentatively. Somebody will blurt out, "Compared to what?" He writes, "If I hold the silence long enough, I’ll start to get comments such as, ‘With my mortgage and tuition payments, I’m darned near broke!’" Then, he says, there will be nervous laughter, always nervous laughter.
"Why do we work so hard to hide the fact that we are rich?" Mead wonders. Why do we hide it even from ourselves? (3)
We are rich . . . most of us. I am not making light of the difficult struggle that many of you are having, but sometimes it helps to put things into perspective.
Some of us are rich in material things and some of us are rich in the things money can’t buy. There are some things that money can’t buy, aren’t there? If we forget that, we will lose our soul.
I don’t often quote the Dalai Lama, but this Buddhist leader said something in a recent book we need to hear. He writes that when traveling in the USA, he is frequently invited into the most luxurious mansions imaginable including, I’m sure, Hollywood mansions. He says those who reside in those mansions want for nothing. They have it all, according to the world’s standards. And yet, he says, he feels loneliness and sadness in those mansions in a way that he never feels it when he is visiting the poor little villages of impoverished countries, including his native Nepal.
He says members of these tiny communities in what we call "The Third World" don’t feel the same greed, envy and deprivation that we do, because everyone is in the same boat, and keeping body and soul together is a common goal. In Western societies based on consumerism, we look to THINGS to make us happy instead looking to each other. We believe that the latest iPod, the newest fashions, and a cable TV hookup with five hundred channels will fulfill us. And we suffer for it, because when the thrill of a new acquisition wears off, we feel a vague, nagging sense of dissatisfaction. And so we look for new products to buy, rather than examining the deficits in ourselves and our intimate relationships. (4)
Christian missionaries to impoverished places like Haiti often say the same thing. Material affluence is like a powerful narcotic. It satisfies for a while, but then it breeds nothing but emptiness within. Whereas, people who have very little in the way of things, look for their happiness elsewhere.
The Rev. Charles Booker-Hirsch tells a story that puts matters into perspective:
One day, a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to a rural area with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad," the son replied.
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" the father inquired.
The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them."
The boy’s father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are." (5)
Some of us are rich in material things and some of us are rich in the things that money can’t buy, but most of us are rich.
That leads me to say a third thing that must be said: you don’t have to give up everything to follow Jesus. Now some of you are heaving a sigh of relief. No, Dad, you don’t have to give up your new widescreen to follow Jesus.
Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell everything he had, give it to the poor, and to follow him. This was not a prescription he gave to everyone. Jesus knew that this young man didn’t own his wealth, it owned him. Please note this: Some people, if they knew that Jesus really was asking them to give up all their worldly possessions, would do it in a heartbeat. In fact, there have been people throughout history who have given up everything they own to go and serve the least and the lost. And there still are people like that today. The world is a better place because of their sacrifice. But this is not required of everyone. This was a test of this young man’s faith and commitment, and he failed it. It is not a test that Christ gives to everyone.
Having said that, though, let me add this caveat: You don’t have to give up everything to follow Jesus. However, if you have never given up anything because of your love for Christ, then you ought to examine your level of commitment.
At the heart of the Gospel is the power of giving. Nineteenth-century British missionaries knew this. Departing from England for Africa, many packed their possessions in long, narrow wooden boxes: their own coffins. They knew that, more than likely, they would return home in those coffins. Felled by disease, exhaustion, and violence, many did. (6)
God has not called most of us to be missionaries. God has not called us to give everything we own to the poor, but if you have never given up anything because of your faith in Jesus Christ, then you ought to take your spiritual temperature. Most of us do give sacrificially, and that is all Christ calls us to do. For some people that means a tithe, 10% of our income to God. Most highly committed believers are tithers.
However, some of us give only a pittance of our time, our talents, and our money to serving Christ. It’s true, and we can do much more. If that makes you feel a little guilty, I’m sorry. Guilt is sometimes called for. As the old agnostic once commented, "If I believed what you Christians believe, I would be willing to crawl through broken glass to tell the world about it." We don’t do enough and we don’t give enough. We don’t reach out to the least and the lowest as we should. Think about that when we begin our financial campaign. Many of us could do more, even in these challenging times. You don’t have to give up everything to follow Jesus. However, if you have never given up anything if you are not giving sacrificially because of your love for Christ then you ought to examine your level of commitment.
Here, however is the greatest Good News about money: Salvation is not determined by what we’ve given up for God, but what God has given up for us. We are not saved by our tithes, but by our ties to the Man from Nazareth. That is good news, isn’t it? It’s called grace, amazing grace. We have not given all we should, but God has given enough for everyone. The disciples were startled when they heard Jesus say that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, and they asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." In other words, salvation doesn’t depend on what we do, but on what God has done in Jesus Christ. God has accepted us as we are.
A young woman named Karen was waiting to board a bus to New Jersey. She noticed a tall disheveled man trying to get on the same bus. He and the bus driver were arguing, because the man didn’t have the right amount of money. Finally the man got out of line and stumbled against all the other people. Then he spied Karen. He asked her, "Would you please give me some money so that I can get on the bus?"
What would you do in that situation? Karen hesitated and said, "When I get on the bus I will see." In the next 30 seconds as she walked up the steps to the bus and dropped in her $1.25 fare Karen quickly thought through what she should do. She said the sort of things we say to ourselves. "Why should I help him? Why should he get a free ride? There are so many other people who have greater needs." Karen had noticed he was carrying some mail with a check on top. "He just needs to go cash that check. It’s probably a welfare check. He’ll just spend it on something ridiculous."
On the other side Karen reasoned with a mind of faith: "Don’t you have any compassion? Where is your Christ-likeness? Okay, Lord," she asked, "what should I do?" And before she knew it she said to the bus driver, "Wait, don’t close the doors. Leave them open and let him in. I will pay for him." The bus driver opened the doors, the man ran up the steps, looked at her and smiled and just said, "Thanks."
Then God seemed to speak to Karen and this is what God said, "Karen, do you see? That’s what I did for you. No, that man didn’t deserve your $1.25. He didn’t do anything to earn it, but you gave it to him as a gift. And you did nothing to deserve my acceptance either. I sent my Son for you. My Son died on the cross saying, Open the door Lord; open the door, Father, let her in. I will pay for her." And in that sobering moment Karen realized again the grace of God in her life. (7)
You and I are rich in many ways. Christ isn’t calling us to give up everything to follow him, only to give sacrificially. What matters most of all is not what we do for God, but what God has done for us. God has given God’s own Son to throw wide the gates of heaven . . . and it was for us. "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound . . ."
1. (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2006), p. 139.
2. What Really Counts (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005), p. 303.
3. Loren B. Mead, Financial Meltdown in the Mainline? (The Alban Institute, Inc., 1998), p. 114. Cited by Charles Booker-Hirsch, http://www.northsidepres.org/sermons/sermon/123/.
4. Ethics for the New Millennium. Cited by Marla Corwin, http://www.columbineuuchurch.org/sermons/corwin_sermon1.html.
5. Charles Booker-Hirsch, http://www.northsidepres.org/sermons/sermon/123/.
6. Charles Colson, Being the Body (Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2003), pp. 315-316.
7. Rev. George Antonakos, http://www.centralpc.org/sermons/2002/s020505.htm.