What to Do with Worldly Wealth
October 26, 2014
Church of the Valley
Pastor Mike Clark
Apple Valley, CA
Jesus told great stories. One of them is perfect for us in America today. It is found in Luke 12.
Then he (Jesus) told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced
fine crops. 17He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my
crops.’ 18Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then
I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19And I’ll sit back and
say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now
take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
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Wow, that is the true American success story. This man worked hard on his land. With all his
work, his farms produced really good crops and a lot of them. He sold a lot of his produce and
made a lot of money. With his hard work, the money and the crops just kept multiplying. He
had the Midas touch to turn everything into gold. With all that money and more crops waiting
for harvest, he needed bigger barns to store it all. He was set for life. He could live for years on
his crops and profit. He felt really good about his life. Eat, drink and be merry was his motto.
Yup, he fulfilled the great American dream.
The trouble was, he did not have years to enjoy all his good things. He would not even make it
to the next day to eat, drink and be merry. There is still more to this story. Jesus brings in the
realistic truth; that real life stuff that intrudes on our dreams. 20“But God said to him, ‘You
fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
Whoa! We didn’t see that coming. All that work with all that profit and he never got to enjoy it.
All that hard work - gone in one night. All that stuff could not add one day to his life. He came
into this world with nothing and out he goes the same way.
Then he said, “Beware! Guard against
every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” Jesus warned us
Now here is how Jesus introduced that story,
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about trying to make material things god in our life. That god has no life, but takes away real
life. That god makes empty promises of joy and merriment. That god is a tyrant taskmaster that
takes and takes but cannot deliver the real good. Our life is not measured by our bank
accounts, financial portfolios, homes, cars, boats or toys. We all die and cannot take any of that
with us. Here is how Jesus sums up this story, 21“Yes, a person is a fool to store up
earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
How foolish are we? As we have established, this world is a preparatory school for eternal life.
We pass or fail this school by what we do with the great Gift of God – Jesus Christ. Without
Jesus we can never truly enjoy life. Without Jesus we never gain eternal life. Without Jesus we
waste our life on temporary things. That is foolish. With Jesus we gain eternal life. With Jesus
we have a rich relationship with God in this life and for eternity. With Jesus we gain all the
riches of our Heavenly Father. Eternal life begins the moment we receive Jesus as our Savior.
Riches that last forever come with a rich relationship with Jesus. Now that is wise!
So we are learning to be rich in this life. We are learning to take the riches of God and use
them to bring greater life for ourselves and those around us. This means that with Jesus
everything we have in this world is a tool to prepare us for eternity. So we want to make sure
we are wise not foolish; that we will use our resources for greater things, not waste them on
temporary things. We will turn away from greedy, selfish, worldly life and discover His greater
life of purpose, love and joy.
Andy Stanley shares about this in his book How to Be Rich, “Jesus taught his followers a rather
interesting definition of greed. He said that greed is the assumption that everything placed in
our hands is for our consumption.” Andy Stanley, How to Be Rich: It's Not What You Have. It's What You Do With
Greed has become all too common in
American culture. We see it in our media. It is modeled by the rich and famous. It infiltrates our
thinking. Everything I have is for me. All I have is for my enjoyment. The entitlement culture
takes this even further. It says that, not only is all I have for me, but everything you have is for
me. What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine too. You give to me and we will all be better
off. I sat at a local courtyard the other day with a friend and a woman came up interrupting our
good discussion. She asked for money. I told her that we give our help through Crisis Ministry
at COV and directed her to go there. She said she did not want anything to do with church and
demanded we give her some money. I explained that I represented the church and that was
how we helped. She was indignant and stormed off. Then a young man walked by and asked
why we didn’t give her money. I told him we tried to help, but she refused our help. He thought
we should have just given her our money. Give me, give me, give me. It’s all about me. Such a
sad time for America. This attitude is breaking down our communities, families and nation.
What You Have. (Kindle Locations 649-650). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Consumerism is harmful. Studies show that the ‘me’ mentality of greed where everything placed
in our hands is for our consumption leads to; lower happiness not higher, lower satisfaction in
life, and fewer pleasant emotions. Materialism leads to higher incidence of depression, anxiety
and substance abuse. People are less generous, empathic and cooperative when money is
central to them. We cannot get enough, although we think we need more and more. Andy
Stanley writes, “Whenever we have more than we need, our natural assumption will be that it’s
for our own consumption. But that’s the wrong mindset. And in his practical way, Jesus was
exposing the flaw in that way of thinking. If we simply store up for ourselves and are not rich
toward God, then everything we possess will be a total loss. At some point, everybody leaves it
all behind.” Andy Stanley, How to Be Rich: It's Not What You Have. It's What You Do With What You Have. (Kindle Locations
689-691). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
We heard the problems associated with making life all about possessions and getting rich from
the Apostle Paul as he wrote to his apprentice Timothy. 1 Timothy 6, 9Those who want to
get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires
that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all
kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and
pierced themselves with many griefs.
Therefore, to not fall into the temptations, traps, trials and troubles of trying to get rich; to not
plunge into ruin and destruction; to not put our hope in uncertain material things; but to put
our hope in God so we can discover His riches of enjoyment, we need to do the following as
Paul teaches: 17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant
nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God,
who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
God wants us to succeed. He wants us to enjoy life. So we need to put our hope for life, not in
worldly riches which are so uncertain, but in the One who richly provides for us everything for
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our enjoyment. Paul then instructs us how we put our hope in the Lord in 1 Timothy 6:18
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing
to share. Here are 4 ways we can find the riches of God in our relationship with Jesus for this
life and for eternal life. In these 4 ways we discover how to use the gifts that come from God;
our time, talents and treasures, to build up a better life for ourselves and those around us. And
guess what, none of these 4 ways includes being greedy and living for ourselves. You and I
know that to be true. Meaningful, healthy and joyful life, as God created us to live, means to
live by giving as Jesus gave.
1) Do good! Good life comes in doing good deeds; helpful, caring, encouraging, uplifting,
deepening relationship actions and behaviors. The more we do them, the better we feel and
live. Jesus listed these good deeds in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-9); to realize our
need for God every day and seek Him and His help, to be humble and not try to be more nor to
be less than we are in Him, to hunger for righteousness by living in ways that honor God and
help others, to be merciful as we forgive as we have been forgiven, to strive to have a pure
heart with integrity in our lives from inside out to our actions, and to work for peace and
reconciliation in our relationships and of those around us. I guarantee that if you do these good
deeds, your life will take on a rich character that will most certainly be noticed and appreciated.
2) Be rich in good deeds! The good things we do become our riches! Show me your bank
account and investments as your list of riches. I will show you my list of good deeds. That
becomes our testimony, our witness to others, the resume of our character. When hiring people
for jobs, the number one factor employees look for is character. Will you do what you say? Will
you carry out your responsibilities? Will you deal with people honestly and fairly? Will you be a
team player not a prima donna? Those rich in good deeds display their resume every day.
People want to know them. People want to be their friends. People want their help and trust
them. They are remembered in their communities by their good deeds. These are the people
who get streets, parks and buildings named after them in honor of their good deeds.
It is not what we have received but what we gave away that makes us rich. Our acts of
kindness and compassion stand as eternal memorials to our lives. Think of the people who you
admire and are thankful for. They are the ones who made a difference in your life. So, it is
reasonable to understand that our eternal riches and rewards come in the ways we have
demonstrated the love of Jesus to those around us. I look forward to meeting people who will
come up to me in the eternal Kingdom of God and thank me for what I did for them, and most
importantly for helping them to get there. I work hard to increase that number for it is the only
reward that will last for eternity. I hope there will be many I have helped and that I have not
wasted my life being too much for myself. What about you? Will there be people who will come
up to you in God’s eternal Kingdom and thank you for helping them get there?
3) Be generous! Don’t be stingy. Be generous with your time and your possessions. Use
temporary treasures to build up eternal relationships. What is more important – to keep your
carpet clean or to let people into your home to build up relationships in Christ? What is more
important – to watch more TV or to take time to care for someone who is lonely? What is more
important – to go buy that new smart phone that does pretty much the same thing your old
phone does now or to buy some bags of candy and open the trunk of your car so little children
can enjoy today’s COV “Trunk or Treat” at the Fall Festivities and Fun, and to buy some extra
food to be handed out at Crisis Ministry, and to help us put in some new carpets to spruce up
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our buildings and keep someone from tripping and hurting themselves (all of which you can do
for the price you saved by not buying that new smart phone)?
Real generosity is found in the lifestyle of Jesus who went above and beyond what was thought
to be ‘enough’ in caring for others. He gave His time and energies every day to people who
needed his help as He healed, taught and turned their lives toward God the Father. In the
parable of the Good Samaritan we hear of this generosity lifestyle. The Samaritan, even though
his people and the Jews were basically enemies, took care of the beaten and robbed Jewish
man. He did this even though it was inconvenient, dangerous, messy, and costly. Jesus makes
the point, that we should not wonder “who is my neighbor?”, but “Am I a good neighbor?” As
Andy Stanley notes, “Jesus walked right into the middle of that culture and announced that his
kingdom would be different. His would be based on the kindness economy. In Jesus’ kingdom,
people would give and not expect to be repaid. In Jesus’ kingdom, people would lend knowing
they might never get it back. In Jesus’ kingdom, you would do for others what they couldn’t do
for you in return. He even said to love your enemies! Do good to them. You know they’re not
going to pay you back. When you show kindness like that, he says, then your reward will be
great. Then you will be children of the Most High.” Andy Stanley, How to Be Rich: It's Not What You Have. It's
What You Do With What You Have. (Kindle Locations 1208-1212). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
4) Be willing to share! You don’t always have to share, nor is it good to always share, but it
is important to be willing to share – especially when it points people to Jesus. Ask the question,
“Can I use my resources to make a difference for Jesus in helping with this situation or with this
person or these persons?” We need discernment as we have limited resources to use carefully.
We need a plan and priorities for our resources. That is called a budget. We need a budget for
our money and a budget for our time! We need to take care of our responsibilities, but we must
also be open to the Lord leading us to places and people where we can truly help. We don’t
want to waste our precious resources on those who are just using us to fulfill their selfish
desires. We want to use them where it will make a significant difference; even an eternal
difference. When we ask Jesus how we can use resources wisely for Him, we are becoming
more and more the eternal people He intends us to be.
Now don’t start doubting yourself because you think you don’t have much. Share what you
have, not what you don’t have. When Peter and John went to the Temple, a lame man asked
them for money. Peter said, (Acts 3:6) “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll
give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
Peter gave the man what he had, the power in Jesus to heal him, change his life, and show him
the love of God. What can you give? What resources can you use to make a difference in our
community? Andy Stanley asks “What would it look like for you to honor God with all of your
stuff?”
Andy Stanley, How to Be Rich: It's Not What You Have. It's What You Do With What You Have. (Kindle Locations 11341135). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
“…do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” (1
Timothy 6:18) That will make a big difference. That will lead you closer to Jesus and His joyful
lifestyle. That will store up riches for you in heaven. That will help you to put your “hope in
God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
Remember, “It’s not what you have that matters. It’s what you do with what you have that will
count either for you or against you in the kingdom of heaven.”
Andy Stanley, How to Be Rich: It's Not What
You Have. It's What You Do With What You Have. (Kindle Locations 143-144). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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