LUKE 12:13-21 | WHEN MORE IS NEVER ENOUGH

WHEN MORE IS NEVER ENOUGH

LUKE 12:13-21

JULY 17, 2016

I CONFESS, I’M NOT A HUGE BASKETBALL FAN.  I DON’T FOLLOW THE GAME THAT CLOSELY.  I LIKE MARCH MADNESS, AND I USUALLY CATCH AT LEAST A GAME OR TWO OF THE NBA FINALS, INCLUDING THIS PAST YEAR’S GAME 7.

BUT WHAT REALLY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS IS THAT IT’S FREE AGENCY TIME IN THE NBA – THAT’S WHEN PLAYERS’ CONTRACTS ARE UP, AND THEIR OWN TEAM, OR OTHER TEAMS, HAVE THE CHANCE TO SIGN THEM TO NEW CONTRACTS.

AND WHAT CONTRACTS THEY ARE!  – THE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS SPENT ARE MIND BOGGLING!

HERE ARE JUST A FEW: DE MAR DEROZAN JUST SIGNED A 5 YEAR 139 MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT WITH TORONTO (THAT’S NEARLY $28 MILLION DOLLARS A SEASON.)  ANDRE DRUMMOND – 5 YEARS/$130 MILLION – ($26 MILLION A YEAR); AL HORFORD – 4 YEARS AT A $113 MILLION (ALSO $28 MILLION A SEASON).

CLOSER TO HOME – WE ALL KNOW HOW THE MIAMI HEAT LOST OUT IN RE-SIGNING FRANCHISE PLAYER DWAYNE WADE AFTER OFFERING HIM $20 MILLION A SEASON FOR TWO YEARS; HE WAS HOLDING OUT FOR $50 MILLION FOR TWO YEARS, AND WOUND UP SIGNING WITH CHICAGO FOR $47 MILLION.

TO HIS CREDIT WADE, OVER THE YEARS, HAS CUT DEALS WITH THE HEAT ACTUALLY REDUCING HIS SALARY, SO THE TEAM COULD REMAIN UNDER THE SALARY CAP, AND THUS BE ABLE TO SIGN BIG NAME PLAYERS LIKE LEBRON JAMES.  IN THE END IT MAY HAVE BEEN MORE ABOUT RESPECT THAN MONEY FOR D WADE.

NOW I REALIZE THAT THESE ARE SOME OF THE MOST ELITE ATHLETES IN THE WORLD – BUT I DO HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT SOME OF THE CONTRACTS LEFT ME SCRATCHING MY HEAD;

BECAUSE A COUPLE OF TIMES RIGHT AFTER ANNOUNCING THE CONTRACT SAY $30 MILLION DOLLARS FOR 3 YEARS, THEY’D ALSO QUOTE THE GUY’S STATS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR – AND HE WAS SCORING AN AVERAGE OF 9 POINTS A GAME.

NINE POINTS A GAME?!?  10 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR TO SCORE 9 POINTS A GAME?!?   IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I PLAYED COMPETITIVE BASKETBALL, BUT I THINK OUT OF SHEER DUMB LUCK; JUST GETTING OUT THERE AND THROWING IT UP FROM WHEREVER – I COULD SCORE 9 POINTS A GAME!!

PROBABLY NOT, BUT YOU GET MY POINT…

IN THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS I REMEMBER WHAT NBA GREAT SHAQUILLE O’NEAL ONCE SAID RIGHT AFTER HE SIGNED A HUGE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT.

“I MAKE GOOD MONEY,” HE SAID, “BUT I’M NOT RICH.  I’LL TELL YOU WHO’S RICH – THE GUY WHO SIGNS MY PAYCHECK.”

I GUESS IT’S ALL RELATIVE; BUT ANYWAY YOU SLICE IT, PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES MAKE A TON OF MONEY.  AND I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THEY WORK HARD TO GET THERE.

BUT HERE’S WHAT ELSE I KNOW; WHAT ELSE ALL OF THIS FREE AGENCY STUFF TEACHES ME – WHAT JUST BEING HUMAN HAS TAUGHT ME – MORE IS NEVER ENOUGH.

IT’S NOT; BY NATURE, NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE HAVE, WE ALWAYS WANT MORE.

MORE SOMETHING – IF NOT MONEY – MORE SOMETHING;

MORE WEALTH, MORE STUFF, MORE POWER, MORE POSITION, MORE REPUTATION, MORE ACCOLADES, MORE FOLLOWERS, MORE EXPERIENCES, MORE YEARS, MORE HEALTH, MORE INDEPENDENCE, MORE LOVE, MORE… FILL IN THE BLANK…

WE SPEND OUR LIVES LIKE OLIVER FROM THE PLAY WITH OUR BOWL IN OUR HANDS, BEGGING, “MORE PLEASE…”

THE PROBLEM WITH MORE, WITH SUCCESS, WITH ACHIEVEMENT, IS THAT IT IS A MOVING TARGET.  WE ALWAYS WANT MORE.

AS SOMEONE HAS SAID, “MANY PEOPLE SPEND THEIR LIVES CLIMBING THE LADDER OF SUCCESS ONLY TO COME TO THE END AND REALIZE IT WAS LEANING UP AGAINST THE WRONG WALL.”

AFTER ALL, EVERYTHING WE’VE EVER WANTED WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH.

KING SOLOMON, WHO ACHIEVED EVERY GOAL HE SET FOR HIMSELF, LAMENTS IN THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES AS HE COMES TO THE END OF HIS LIFE: “VANITY, VANITY, ALL IS VANITY.”

AND SO IT IS WITH THE RICH MAN IN JESUS’ PARABLE FOR THIS MORNING;

BUT BEFORE WE GET TO HIM, LOOK AT WHAT PRECIPITATED JESUS’ TELLING THIS STORY IN THE FIRST PLACE…

“SOMEONE IN THE CROWD SAID TO JESUS, ‘TEACHER, TELL MY BROTHER TO DIVIDE THE FAMILY INHERITANCE WITH ME.’”  THEY WERE FIGHTING OVER MONEY.

“BUT JESUS SAID TO HIM, ‘FRIEND, WHO SET ME TO BE JUDGE AND ARBITRATOR OVER YOU?’”

THEN JESUS WARNS THEM, AND NOT JUST THE TWO FIGHTING OVER THEIR FAMILY’S INHERITANCE, AND NOT JUST ALL OF THOSE IN THE CROWD, BUT US:

“TAKE CARE!  BE ON YOUR GUARD AGAINST ALL KINDS OF GREED; FOR ONE’S LIFE DOES NOT CONSIST IN THE ABUNDANCE OF POSSESSIONS.”

PERHAPS MY SADDEST EXPERIENCES AS A HOSPICE CHAPLAIN WAS WITH FAMILIES FIGHTING OVER THE INHERITANCE.

SADDER THAN THE PERSON’S DYING; SADDER THAN THOSE LEFT BEHIND; SADDER THAN THE AGE OF THE PERSON, OR THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES, OR EVEN THE COURSE OF THE PERSON’S ILLNESS, WHICH WAS SOMETIMES DEVASTATINGLY CRUEL;

…WAS A FAMILY FIGHTING OVER MONEY.  YOU WANT TO DESTROY YOUR FAMILY?  FIGHT OVER WHAT SOMEONE HAS LEFT BEHIND.

SO JESUS TELLS THIS PARABLE; THE PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL, IT’S CALLED; BUT BEFORE HE’S A FOOL, WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO GIVE THIS GUY HIS DUE.

THE FARMER IS CLEARLY SUCCESSFUL.  “THE GROUND OF A CERTAIN RICH MAN PRODUCED A GOOD CROP.”  CROPS DON’T PLANT THEMSELVES; THEY DON’T TEND THEMSELVES; THEY DON’T HARVEST THEMSELVES.

THE MAN ROLLED UP HIS SLEEVES AND WENT TO WORK.  HE PLOWED THE GROUND.  HE PLANTED THE SEED.  HE CHOPPED THE WEEDS; HE BEAT THE WEATHER TO GET IT IN THE BARN.

AND WHETHER HE DID ALL OF THIS ON HIS OWN, OR HAD HIRED HANDS TO HELP DO THE WORK, HE MAKES HIS LOT IN LIFE PRODUCTIVE.

(BY THE WAY, GOD, OR MOTHER NATURE, IF YOU WILL, PROBABLY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH HOW WELL THE MAN’S HARVEST CAME IN, BUT THAT THOUGHT NEVER OCCURS TO HIM.)

THE PROBLEM COMES, THE FOOLISHNESS STARTS, WHEN HE DECIDES WHAT TO DO WITH ALL OF HIS SUCCESS.

“WHAT SHOULD I DO, FOR I HAVE NO PLACE TO STORE MY CROPS?”

IF HE DID HAVE HIRED HANDS WHO HAD HELPED HIM GATHER IN SUCH A GREAT HARVEST, THERE’S NO INDICATION THAT HE GAVE ANY THOUGHT TO SHARING HIS ABUNDANCE WITH THEM.

THERE WERE, LIKELY, PLENTY OF PEOPLE NEARBY WHOM HE COULD HAVE HELPED USING HIS GOOD FORTUNE, BUT THAT NEVER CROSSES HIS MIND.

“I KNOW,” HE SAYS, “I WILL TEAR DOWN MY OLD BARNS AND BUILD BIGGER ONES, AND THERE I WILL STORE ALL MY GRAIN AND GOODS.

AND I WILL SAY TO MY SOUL, ‘SOUL, YOU HAVE AMPLE GOODS LAID UP FOR MANY YEARS; RELAX, EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY.’”

THIS WAS HIS RETIREMENT PLAN; AND WHAT WOULD SEEM TO BE A MIGHTY GOOD ONE AT THAT.

BUT GOD SAID TO HIM, “YOU FOOL!  THIS VERY NIGHT YOUR LIFE IS BEING DEMANDED OF YOU.  AND THE THINGS YOU HAVE PREPARED, WHOSE WILL THEY BE?”

(I GUARANTEE YOU – IF HE HAD ANY FAMILY AROUND – THEY HAD A HUGE FIGHT OVER WHO WAS GETTING WHAT!)

“SO IT IS WITH THOSE WHO STORE UP TREASURES FOR THEMSELVES BUT ARE NOT RICH TOWARDS GOD,” JESUS MORALIZES ABOUT THE STORY HE’S JUST TOLD.

IN 1923, A GROUP OF THE WORLD’S MOST SUCCESSFUL MEN MET AT CHICAGO’S EDGEWATER BEACH HOTEL.

THEY INCLUDED THE PRESIDENT OF THE LARGEST STEEL CORPORATION IN AMERICA, THE GREATEST WHEAT SPECULATOR IN THE STATES, THE PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, A MEMBER OF THE PRESIDENT’S CABINET, THE SMARTEST INVESTOR ON WALL STREET, THE FUTURE DIRECTOR OF THE WORLD BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS, AND THE HEAD OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST MONOPOLY.

WITHIN SEVEN YEARS, CHARLES SCHWAB DIED IN DEBT.  ARTHUR CUTLER DIED ABROAD IN OBSCURITY.  RICHARD WHITNEY BECAME INSOLVENT. ALBERT FALL WAS PARDONED FROM PRISON SO HE COULD DIE AT HOME.  JESSE LIVERMORE, LEON FRASER, AND IVAR KRUEGER ALL COMMITTED SUICIDE.

LIFE IS MORE THAN SUCCESS, FOR LIFE IS A MOVING TARGET.

AND LIFE IS MORE THAN STUFF. 

THE GUY IN OUR STORY HAD A LOT OF STUFF, EVEN MORE WHEN THE GREAT   HARVEST CAME IN.  HE HAD SO MUCH STUFF, HE HAD TO TEAR DOWN HIS BARNS AND BUILD BIGGER ONES.

IT’S ESTIMATED THAT THERE ARE OVER 32,000 SELF-STORAGE BUSINESSES NATIONWIDE; OVER 1.3 BILLION FEET OF RENTABLE SPACE TO STORE OUR STUFF.

ONE HUNDRED MILLION STORAGE CONTAINERS ARE SOLD EACH YEAR BY RUBBERMAID ALONE SO THAT WE HAVE A PLACE TO STORE OUR STUFF.

THERE ARE BUSINESSES THAT WILL COME TO OUR HOUSE, AND FOR AS MUCH AS $75 AN HOUR, HELP US ORGANIZE OUR STUFF.

WE HAVE A LOT OF STUFF.  BUT LIFE IS MORE THAN STUFF.

AND LIFE IS MORE THAN SECURITY. 

THE MAN IN OUR STORY FOR THIS MORNING BELIEVED THAT NOW THAT HE HAD ALL HE NEEDED, HE COULD TAKE LIFE EASY; “EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY.”  HE WAS SECURE.

SINCE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, THE WORLD’S BEEN OBSESSED WITH SECURITY.

WE HAVE LAYER UPON LAYER OF PROTECTION UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, AND OTHER NEWLY FORMED AGENCIES TRYING TO KEEP US ALL SAFE.

WE ARE IN A PERPETUAL STATE OF WAR WITH AL QAEDA, ISIS, FOREIGN AND HOMEGROWN TERRORISM, AND WHATEVER THE NEXT NEW OR NOT SO NEW THREAT THAT COMES DOWN THE PIKE.

IF THEIR AIM IS TO INSTILL FEAR AND SUSPICION IN AMERICA, THEY HAVE SUCCEEDED.

REQUESTS FOR ELABORATE HOME SECURITY SYSTEMS ARE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH.  YOU CAN’T BOARD A PLANE OR ATTEND A BALLGAME WITHOUT BEING SECURITY CONSCIOUS.

AND CERTAIN SEGMENTS OF OUR SOCIETY SUGGEST THAT THE ANSWER IS TO ARM EVERYONE TO THE TEETH WITH SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPONS AND OPEN CARRY PERMITS.

WHAT JESUS SAID WAS THIS, “FEAR NOT THOSE WHO CAN KILL THE BODY, BUT CANNOT KILL THE SOUL.  RATHER, BE AFRAID OF THE ONE WHO CAN DESTROY BOTH BODY AND SOUL.”

LIFE IS MORE THAN SECURITY; MORE THAN BEING SAFE.

IT IS ABOUT THE COURAGE TO CARRY ON, THE DETERMINATION TO HANG IN THERE WHEN THE GOING IS ROUGH AND THE ENEMY IS REAL.

IT’S ABOUT CARING ABOUT THE COMMON GOOD, AND BRINGING EVERYONE ALONG TOGETHER.

THERE’S MORE TO LIFE THAN BEING SAFE AND SECURE.

A LIFE THAT REALLY MATTERS IS A SOULFUL LIFE.

“BUT GOD SAID TO HIM, ‘YOU FOOL!  THIS VERY NIGHT YOUR LIFE IS BEING DEMANDED OF YOU.   AND THE THINGS YOU HAVE PREPARED, WHOSE WILL THEY BE?”

JESUS ALSO SAYS, ELSEWHERE, “FOR WHAT DOES IT PROFIT A PERSON TO GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD, AND FORFEIT HIS SOUL?  OR WHAT CAN A PERSON GIVE IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS SOUL?”

IN TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’ PLAY, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, BIG DADDY IS TALKING WITH HIS SON BRICK:

“I’M A RICH MAN, BRICK, YEP, I’M A MIGHTY RICH MAN.  Y’KNOW HOW MUCH I’M WORTH?  GUESS, BRICK!  GUESS HOW MUCH I’M WORTH!  CLOSE TO TEN MILLION DOLLARS IN CASH AN’ BLUE CHIP STOCKS, OUTSIDE, MIND YOU, OF 28,000 ACRES OF THE RICHEST LAND THIS SIDE OF THE VALLEY NILE!

BUT A MAN CAN’T BUY HIS LIFE WITH IT, HE CAN’T BUY BACK HIS LIFE WITH IT WHEN HIS LIFE HAS BEEN SPENT, THAT’S ONE THING NOT OFFERED IN THE EUROPE FIRE-SALE OR THE AMERICAN MARKETS OR ANY MARKETS ON EARTH, A MAN CAN’T BUY HIS LIFE BACK WITH IT, AND HE CAN’T BUY BACK HIS LIFE WHEN HIS LIFE IS FINISHED…”

A LIFE THAT REALLY MATTERS IS A SOULFUL LIFE.

A LIFE THAT REALLY MATTERS IS A SIGNIFICANT LIFE.

IN 1888, ALFRED NOBEL PICKED UP A FRENCH NEWSPAPER AND READ HIS OWN OBITUARY.  HIS BROTHER HAD DIED AND BY MISTAKE, THE NEWSPAPER PRINTED ALFRED’S OBITUARY INSTEAD.

IN IT, ALFRED NOBEL WAS REMEMBERED AS THE DYNAMITE KING, THE MERCHANT OF DEATH, A PERSON WHO AMASSED A GREAT FORTUNE OUT OF EXPLOSIVES USED EXTENSIVELY IN WARS.

ALFRED NOBEL DIDN’T LIKE WHAT HE READ.  HE SET OUT TO MAKE A BETTER NAME FOR HIMSELF.

HE ESTABLISHED, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE, AND LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR ALL OF THE OTHER NOBEL PRIZES AS WELL;

WHICH TO THIS DAY HONOR PERSONS AROUND THE WORLD WHO HAVE CHAMPIONED PEACE AND MADE DISCOVERIES THAT HAVE IMPROVED THE LIVES OF OTHERS IN THE WORLD.

A LIFE THAT REALLY MATTERS IS A SIGNIFICANT LIFE, HOWEVER LARGE OR SMALL THE IMPACT.

FINALLY, A LIFE THAT REALLY MATTERS IS A SAVED LIFE.

WHEN JESUS MORALIZES AT THE END OF TELLING THIS PARABLE HE SAYS, “SO IT IS WITH THOSE WHO STORE UP TREASURES FOR THEMSELVES, BUT ARE NOT RICH TOWARDS GOD.”

AND IN THE VERY NEXT SECTION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE, THIS IS WHAT JESUS HAS TO SAY ABOUT LIFE, AND WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE A SAVED LIFE.

“THEREFORE I TELL YOU, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT YOU WILL EAT, OR ABOUT YOUR BODY, WHAT YOU WILL WEAR.  FOR LIFE IS MORE THAN FOOD, AND THE BODY MORE THAN CLOTHING.

AND CAN ANY OF YOU BY WORRYING ADD A SINGLE HOUR TO YOUR SPAN OF LIFE?

AND DO NOT KEEP STRIVING FOR WHAT YOU ARE TO EAT AND WHAT YOU ARE TO DRINK, AND DO NOT KEEP WORRYING.  FOR IT IS THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD THAT STRIVE AFTER ALL THESE THINGS, AND YOUR FATHER KNOWS THAT YOU NEED THEM.

INSTEAD, STRIVE FOR HIS KINGDOM, AND THESE THINGS WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU AS WELL.  DO NOT BE AFRAID, LITTLE FLOCK, FOR IT IS YOUR FATHER’S GOOD PLEASURE TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM.

SELL YOUR POSSESSIONS, AND GIVE ALMS.  MAKE PURSES FOR YOURSELVES THAT DO NOT WEAR OUT, AN UNFAILING TREASURE IN HEAVEN, WHERE NO THIEF COMES NEAR AND NO MOTH DESTROYS.

FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO.”

THIS IS A LIFE THAT IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.