We all have money and we all have stuff. We have also all been tricked into the worlds way of thinking about our possessions. The world says we need more and we believe it. How many of us have stood before a full closet of clothes bemoaning the fact that we have nothing to wear? The world says old is not good you need some things new and we agree. How often do we buy new things even though the old ones work fine but look a little worn (electronics, furniture, shoes, kitchen items). The world says you have worked hard for your money you deserve to spend it on yourself and we listen and become greedy, selfish and stingy.

Luke 16 is all about the love of money. Wealth, in and of itself, is not bad. Luke himself was a doctor and would probably have been well off. Possibly one of the wealthiest of Jesus’ disciples. Other people in the Bible were wealthy, like Abraham, but they knew the place money and wealth had compared to godliness.

The Pharisees, on the other, despite all their religiosity, were very money minded. They wanted to look good and believed that wealth was a sign that one was blessed by God.

So the stories that Jesus tells were designed to expose what was inside the Pharisees hearts, specifically in regards to money. One of these stories is about a very wealthy man who was covered in the best clothes and lived in luxury while a very poor man, Lazarus,  was covered in sores laying at the rich man’s gate hoping for some scraps of food.

Both of these men die. Lazarus goes to heaven and the rich man goes to hell. While in hell the rich man asks that Lazarus wet his lips with some water. When he realizes that all is lost he asks that Lazarus be allowed to warn his brothers. Abraham says “They have the word of God, that is what they need to listen to”. But the rich man doesn’t think that is enough. He thinks that if his brothers could see someone come back from the dead then they would repent but Abraham knows the condition of man’s heart. He tells him that if they don’t believe God’s word then they won’t believe even if someone comes back from the dead.

A real man named Lazarus did come back from the dead and the Pharisees did not believe. Jesus himself was raised back to life and people have continued to reject him.

People’s hearts are set on the wrong things and therefore do not believe or follow God. We can also fall into this same trap.  We become preoccupied with the pleasures of this life over the life to come. We are more interested in the gifts then the giver. How do we avoid this pitfall? We must place money and our possessions in their proper place.

1. Remember

We must always remind ourselves where all the good things we have come from (James). But we must also look beyond the material things and realize that it is God who has given us and our spouses the talents, brains and desires to get an education or find a job that brings in the money that allows us to buy things. Is it possible that God allowed all of these things to fall into place so that we could help others?

If we want to curb our [ungodly] passions we must remember that all things are made for us, with the purpose that we may know and acknowledge their Author. We should praise his kindness toward us in earthly matters by giving him thanks. – John Calvin

2. Stay Thankful

Thankfulness will keep us humble and it will protect us from abusing or misusing the good gifts that God has given us. It will keep us from turning our material possession and our money into idols. We must protect ourselves from stinginess as well as wastefulness and being thankful will help us.

3.  Look for opportunities

We must look for opportunities to serve with our finances as well as with our material belongings. Could you bless a missionary with a package? Are there people in your lives whom you could spoil with a home cooked meal and an evening of fellowship? Maybe we can donate items in our house that are sitting around collecting dust. Don’t hold on to things thinking that maybe, one day, when the kids are grown, you could use it again. Trust that God will provide for you when the times comes and give those things away to someone who can use them now.

God has called us to love and care for others. The things we own and the money we have will not last forever, but what we do with them can have eternal consequences both for good or for bad.

Looking to Jesus,

Most of us are very familiar with the parable of the prodigal son. In this story there is the outright rebellious younger son who asks for his inheritance early. By doing so he was basically wishing his father were dead. He had no regard for what was right and lived a selfish life of partying, luxury, and immorality which resulted in destruction and misery. In the end he returns home, a broken man, and is joyfully embraced and accepted by his father.

Then there is the older son who was morally upright, hard working and a rule follower. He did everything he was supposed to, outwardly respected his father, and yet his heart betrayed his good works. He was filed with bitterness towards his brother, a love of things over the love of his father and self righteousness.

The two brothers reflect the two kinds of people in the word. Those who are openly rebellious towards God and do not think they need him, and those who are self-righteous and don’t believe they really need him. One of the truths in this parable is that everyone is lost. The religious as well as the rebellious are dammed without Christ. The Pharisees, with their religious rule-keeping and the prostitute with her immorality both need to be rescued. There is no one righteous, not even one. (Romans 3:10)

Can you identify with either of these brothers? I can identity with the older one. I was always the rule keeper, the “good girl” who never got in trouble. It was easy for me to try and rely on myself more than on God. It was easy to think “I’ve got this.” But there is no one good enough in the eyes of God. We all need Christ and the work he did on the cross.

Did you know that there is actually a third son in this story (Driscoll). This is the son who was neither rebellious nor religious. He was not selfish or greedy. He wasn’t immoral or self righteous. He was perfect. Actually he is the one telling the story. While we may be able to identify ourselves with one of the two imperfect brothers, it is in Christ, the perfect Son, in whom we must find our identity. It is Jesus who saves us and leads us in the right way. We need him for everything. Just like both brothers needed to be saved from the sins of self-righteousness and blatant unrighteousness so we need to be saved from our sins.

Our dependence on Jesus goes deeper than we can ever comprehend. Through his death Jesus accomplished our salvation but a person’s need for Jesus doesn’t stop there. He gives us a righteousness that we cannot earn and a power to live godly lives and overcome sin that we cannot muster up on our own. He gives us wisdom that we can’t  learn on our own, and grace for every moment of our day that we don’t deserve. He holds our very lives together by his word. He wisely and sovereignly determines when we are born and where we live. He is master over the weather and has the power to give and to take away. We are nothing without him.

Can you identify who you are–the older or younger brother? Until you can you will not be able to identify your savior who rescues you from your sin and yourself.

Check out Tim Keller’s book “The Prodigal God” as well as his free sermon series by the same title.

Looking To Jesus,