Well, last Sunday we heard of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, how he had been invited over to the house of a Pharisee for a meal.
And Jesus could hardly sit down at the table before they had found fault with him.
And so Jesus gave them some strong words of rebuke and warning about their hypocrisy.
And then Jesus just walked out.
And the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, they came out after him and they began to attack him with all kinds of questions.
And a very large crowd gathered around to listen.
And Jesus began to warn his followers in the crowd not to follow after the hypocritical ways of the Pharisees who did things to be esteemed by others.
He told his followers to fear God rather than men.
He told them they should not be ashamed to publicly acknowledge him before others.
He told them that when they're brought before synagogues and rulers and authorities, they shouldn't worry or be anxious about what to say.
Because God would give them the words to say through his Holy Spirit.
And then all of a sudden, a man in the crowd calls out to Jesus,
Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.
We almost have to laugh at this guy.
I mean, we wonder, is this guy listening to Jesus at all?
No.
But what he says here has absolutely nothing to do with what Jesus has been teaching about.
I mean, Jesus is talking to his followers about how they should fear God.
How they should trust him.
And this man just sort of totally interrupts the teaching moment.
Totally unrelated.
It's not even a question about something Jesus has said on another occasion.
He's come to Jesus to try and get Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance with him.
We almost have to laugh at the social awkwardness of this moment.
I mean, in the middle of this very large crowd,
this guy's trying to get Jesus to tell his brother what to do.
Because he wants his part of his father's estate.
And Jesus' response to him just makes me smile.
Verse 14.
Jesus replied,
Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?
I love this.
Of course, the answer to that question is nobody.
No one has appointed me to settle personal disputes.
Now, of course, one day Jesus will judge the world at the end.
But at this moment, he has not come to settle people's personal disputes with each other.
So we have to wonder what this guy was thinking.
We don't know.
Maybe he thought he could use Jesus' words as leverage
to get his brother to do the divvying up of the property with him.
Maybe he thought Jesus would take his side
because his brother was treating him unfairly.
Perhaps the man even thought that by calling out like this in public,
in front of all these people,
it would sort of shame his brother into action.
But Jesus just refuses to get involved.
And what happens next probably made him feel pretty embarrassed
for having tried this.
Verse 15.
Then Jesus said to them,
Watch out.
Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.
Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.
So maybe at first this man had wanted a sort of public vindication.
But what Jesus gives him is sort of a public rebuke.
He warns the whole crowd about being greedy.
And it seems implied here that this was the true heart of this man
who had just called out to him.
Greed.
And one thing we don't want to miss here is the shift.
Notice the shift in who Jesus is talking to.
First it's the man.
Man.
Then he said to them.
So Jesus shifts from talking to this one guy
to talking to his followers in the crowd.
Just like with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees moments ago,
Jesus turns this into a teachable moment for his disciples.
And I think this shift is really important to notice
because it could be really easy for all of us here to say,
Wow, look at that guy.
He sure struggled with greed.
To be able to do that in front of all those people.
But now Jesus isn't just talking to that guy anymore.
He shifts to talking to all of his followers
because greed is something we all need to watch out for.
Greed is a temptation we all need to be on guard against.
And I think what Jesus says here deserves careful consideration.
One thing that I noticed here for the first time just this past week
as I was reading this again,
Jesus says,
Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.
Or as another translation puts it,
Every form of greed.
Every type of greed.
Have you ever stopped to think about
how there are different forms,
different kinds of greed?
Greed has many different faces.
It can show up in many different ways in our lives.
Here are just a few that I thought of.
Of course, there are fights over money and possessions
like we're seeing between these two brothers in the passage.
A fight over who gets what when a parent dies.
We see sort of this greed
raising its ugly head at the end of a person's life.
But even at the beginning of someone's life,
greed is a factor there too.
As children fight over toys,
it's mine.
We see it all the time as parents.
And I don't mean just of our own kids.
I mean of kids in general.
We watch a child gather up all of a particular toy.
And then another kid comes along
and he just wants to play with one of them.
But the child with all of them
refuses to share even one with the other kid.
And so greed is at work in the heart
from the time we are young
as we fight over belongings.
We can also kind of probe into
sort of the meaning of the word greed
that Jesus uses here.
It means to desire more than one's share
or do.
A greedy heart
is never satisfied.
It always wants more.
It never has enough.
It can't be content
with just some of a good thing.
It wants as much as possible of it.
Or all of it,
if possible.
I haven't really thought through this
the full way yet,
but I wonder if our strong impulse
to collect all sorts of things
is driven
by greed.
I have to get them all.
Why?
What's wrong with just having three of them?
How much of our hard-earned money
do we spend on collecting things
that we don't really need?
Coins,
stamps,
cards,
toys,
figurines,
miniatures,
board games,
books,
tools.
Truthfully,
people are known to collect anything
and everything.
And it's often marked by some level
of obsession
and attraction
to a particular thing.
Followed by an inordinate number
of purchases
and dollars spent.
people collect
Coke cans,
McDonald's paraphernalia,
traffic cones.
This lady has a collection
of banana stickers,
water bottle labels,
and yes,
even barf bags.
Can you imagine that?
Come check out
my barf bag collection.
Maybe both.
I don't know.
In fact,
we even collect junk.
Straight up junk.
Because it's always good
to have more stuff
we reason.
There's value in that stuff
we tell ourselves.
Now,
I'm not going to go so far
today
as to try to tell you
where the line is
between an honest
and reasonable hobby
and a collecting
driven by greed.
Only God can truly know
and search our hearts
in those areas.
And so,
I want to encourage you
to open your heart
to Him
and ask Him about it.
Another kind of greed
wants to have
all of something
in order to keep it
from others.
To have it all
for oneself.
Another kind of greed
desires everything
that's new
and shiny.
There's a discontent
that starts to rise
in your heart
over the old one
that's just slightly worn
and doesn't have
all the latest features.
And this one
has 10% more battery life.
And it's made of
aircraft-grade aluminum.
It's got a higher
resolution camera
and a better
accelerometer
if we even know
what that part
of the phone does.
And if I could just
get that one
I'd be happy.
Then there's the greediness
about having only
the things
of the highest quality.
The things that will
last a lifetime
that are built
of the premium
materials.
The solid oak.
The marble
countertops.
The stainless steel.
The top of the line.
And then there's even
that covetous
side of greed.
The side of greed
that wants it
only because
somebody else
has it.
We wouldn't have
even thought of that
but then the neighbor
came out with
that new lawnmower.
There's even
the proud side
of greed
that just
wants to boast
to others
to show off
the stuff
that we get
and accumulate
to others.
The point here
is that greed
has many forms
and faces
and Jesus
wants us to guard
against all of them.
Be on your guard
against all kinds
of greed.
greed.
Life does not
consist
in an abundance
of possessions.
That's the lie
of greed.
That life
consists
in an abundance
of possessions.
That the more
we have
the better
the life.
Jesus says
no.
It's not so.
it does not
consist
in an abundance
of possessions.
Collecting
amassing
having more
having better
is not what
life is about.
True life
is about
something else.
It's about
something far
greater.
And now
Jesus
reinforces
this warning
this big
truth
with the
parable.
he gives
us an
illustration.
And he
told them
this parable.
The ground
of a certain
rich man
yielded
an abundant
harvest.
He thought
to himself
what shall
I do?
I have no
place to store
my crops.
Then he
said
this is what
I'll do.
I will tear
down my
barns
and build
bigger ones
and there
I will
store
my
surplus
grain.
And I'll
say to
myself
you have
plenty
of grain
laid up
for many
years.
Take life
easy.
Eat
drink
and be
merry.
But God
said to
him
you fool
this
very night
your life
will be
demanded
from you.
Then
who will
get what
you have
prepared
for
yourself.
This is
how it
will be
with whoever
stores up
things for
themselves
but is
not rich
toward
God.
So
this
parable
is about
a farmer
who gets
an
exceptionally
good
harvest.
The man
was already
rich.
He was
a rich
man.
But then
God blesses
him with
this unusually
good harvest
and the
yield is so
great that
he doesn't
have enough
storage space
for all
the crop.
And so
he comes
up with
this plan
to tear
down his
barn or
storehouse
and build
bigger ones.
The
translation on
screen here
misses it a
little bit
but some
others have
sort of the
detail.
It's not
just a place
to store
his grain
but all
his goods.
There I
will store
all my
grain
and my
goods.
And what's
maybe surprising
about this
example up
till now
is that it
doesn't sound
all that
bad.
Does it?
I mean it
kind of sounds
almost prudent
doesn't it?
He's thinking
ahead.
He's dealing
with the
problem of
not having
enough space.
We do
this too
right?
We've run
out of
space in
this home
or in
this vehicle
and so
let's sell
or leave
this one
let's get
a bigger
one right?
What's
wrong with
that?
But notice
the attitude
and the
thoughts
of the
rich man.
First we
notice that
there's
absolutely
no mention
of God
or of
giving
thanks to
God.
That's
totally
absent.
Next we
notice that
this man
seems only
concerned with
himself.
Look at
all the
pronouns
he uses.
What
shall I
do?
I have
no place
to store
my crops.
This is
what I'll
do.
I will
tear down
my barns
and build
bigger ones
and there
I will
store my
surplus
grain and
I'll say
to myself
even the
sentence is
totally
directed to
himself.
I love
the English
Standard
Version.
It gives a
very literal
translation.
I will
say to
my soul
soul
you have
ample goods
laid up for
many years.
Relax
eat
drink
and be
merry.
money.
This man
is storing
up only
for himself.
He is
thinking
nothing
of others.
There is
no thought
to giving
or sharing
the surplus
with anyone
or even
selling it
to those
around who
may be
in need.
It's all
about piling
it up
for me.
money.
And then
we notice
what his
plan is.
His plan
now that
he has
accumulated
so much
is just
to relax.
To take
it easy.
To indulge
himself
with food
and drink
for his
own pleasure.
Now
strictly
speaking
he may
legally
have the
right to
do whatever
he wants
with his
crop.
It's his
crop.
He could
keep the
whole thing
for himself.
But when
we factor
God into
all of
this
let's
ask the
question
has God
put him
on earth
and blessed
him with
this wealth
so that he
can use it
only for
himself
and indulge
himself for
the rest
of his
days?
In
fact
God has
created
work
with an
inherent
goodness
to it
such that
by our
work we
bring benefit
to others
we help
others.
This man
now that he
has more
than enough
for himself
he says
I'm not
even going
to do
that anymore
I'm just
going to
take it
easy
I'm going
to relax
I'm just
going to
live off
what I've
accumulated
and it's
all about
me.
I have
all I
need.
well then
comes the
voice of
God
in this
parable
and as
we expect
it's a
word of
rebuke
verse 20
but God
said to
him
you fool
this
very night
your life
will be
demanded
from you
then
who will
get
what you
have prepared
for yourself
this is
sort of
the surprise
and the
irony
the man
at first
he just
appeared to
be prudent
but God
straight up
calls him
imprudent
fool
why
because he's
not thought
about
God
or others
but only
of himself
he's not
thought about
where he
stands with
God
after his
life is
over
but only
of his
life
here and
now
he has
been
wicked
selfish
and greedy
and because
of that
will come
punishment
from God
and he
has spent
the life
that God
gave him
making
preparations
for
himself
but God
says
you're not
going to
get to
do
what you
planned
with this
great
harvest
because
you will
not
live
many
years
I'm
taking
back
the life
I gave
you
tonight
and then
there's a
sobering
question
God asks
here
then
who will
get
what you
have
prepared
for
yourself
and the
answer is
not you
but
someone
else
you will
not get
all you
have
prepared
for
yourself
but
somebody
else
will
and
here's
the
irony
he
spent
his
life
storing
up
things
for
himself
only
to
lose
it
all
when
he
dies
Jesus
himself
gives
the
moral
of
the
story
in
verse
21
this
is
how
it
will
be
with
whoever
stores
up
things
for
themselves
but
is
not
rich
toward
God
let's
not
miss
that
word
whoever
just
like
with
the
man
in
the
crowd
this
is
not
just
a
story
about
one
man's
foolishness
selfishness
and
greed
Jesus
says
this
is
a
picture
of
how
it
will
go
for
whoever
stores
up
things
for
themselves
but
is
not
rich
toward
God
Jesus
is
warning
his
disciples
he's
warning
us
so
that
we
don't
make
the
rich
fool's
mistake
we
are
not
to
store
up
things
for
ourselves
but
we
are
to
store
up
things
for
God
we
are
to
be
rich
toward
God
that's
kind of
an odd
phrase
but
I think
the
parallelism
here
helps us
understand
it
greed
is the
passionate
pursuit
of
earthly
things
for
ourselves
for
our
own
benefit
but
we
are
to
passionately
pursue
heavenly
things
for
God
for
his
gain
for
his
name
and
his
glory
and
his
kingdom
and
his
pleasure
I think
that's
what it
means
to be
rich
toward
God
only
then
will
we
receive
from
God
the
commendation
that
I
think
we
all
long
to
hear
well
done
good
and
faithful
servant
so
how
do
we
do
this
how
do
we
learn
the
lesson
that
Jesus
wants
us
to
learn
here
and
how
do
we
respond
to
this
well
let
me
just
point
us
back
to
the
first
thing
Jesus
said
back
up
in
verse
15
he
said
be
on
your
guard
against
all
kinds
of
greed
be
on
your
guard
against
it
normally
when we
use
that
phrase
it's
about
external
dangers
right
like
be
on
your
guard
against
thieves
or
identity
theft
or
whatever
but
here
Jesus
tells
us
to
be
on
our
guard
against
something
that's
inside
our
own
hearts
that
can
happen
in
our
own
hearts
greed
is
not
just
a
behavior
it's
a
sinful
attitude
or
desire
of
the
heart
that
leads
us
to
act
in
greedy
ways
and
so
how
can
you
guard
your
heart
against
greed
I
think
the
first
thing
to
do
is
to
pray
to
ask
God
to
convict
us
and
to
reveal
to
us
the
ways
that
we
have
been
greedy
the
greed
that's
in
our
hearts
to
help
us
understand
and
see
that
within
us
and
of
course
as
he
does
we
need
to
repent
of
that
we
need
to
confess
it
to
God
we
need
to
ask
for
his
forgiveness
but
often
times
we
don't
even
get
to
that
because
like
the
two
men
that
we
heard
about
do
we
even
see
the
greed
in
our
own
lives
others
may
see
it
but
do
we
and
so
we
need
to
pray
we
need
to
ask
God
to
show
it
to
us
and
again
let me
put
before
you
those
famous
words
of
David
which
you
can
use
in
your
own
prayer
to
God
about
this
I
love
these
words
from
Psalm
139
23
and
24
he
says
search
me
God
and
know
my
heart
test
me
and
know
my
anxious
thoughts
we
could
put
greedy
thoughts
in
there
too
see
if
there's
any
offensive
way
in
me
and
lead
me
in
the
way
everlasting
!
Open
your
heart
before
God
to
the
possibility
that
you've
been
falling
short
of
what
God
has
for
you
in
this
area
of
your
life
does
your
monthly
budget
reflect
a
generous
heart
and
kingdom
priorities
or
does
it
reflect
the
accumulation
of
possessions
stuff
that
you
didn't
need
but
bought
because
it
looked
good
on
the
shelf
or
because
someone
else
had
one
think
back
over
the
past
few
years
are
there
some
spending
sprees
or
big
purchases
you can
think
of
that
deep
down
inside
you
know
we're
motivated
by
greed
and
have
you
owned
that
and
confessed
that
to
God
or
are
you
just
sort
of
trying
to
pretend
like
it
didn't
happen
or
continue
to
justify
those
things
to
yourself
to
ease
your
guilt
here's
the
good
news
if
we
confess
our
sins
God
is
faithful
and
just
and
he
will
forgive
us
our
sins
and
cleanse
us
of
all
unrighteousness
because
he is
merciful
gracious
and
loving
he is
eager
to
forgive
us
for the
times
we
have
wasted
or
mismanaged
what
he has
entrusted
to
us
Jesus
died
to
atone
for
all
of it
so
that
we
don't
have
to
carry
that
guilt
with
us
through
the
rest
of
our
lives
some
practical
things
we can
do
to
guard
against
greed
one
is
to
actually
have
a
budget
to
have
a
plan
for
what
we'll
do
with
the
income
God
gives
us
because
it's
really
there
on
the
page
that
we
can
prayerfully
evaluate
what
we're
spending
on
and
who
we're
!
spending
on
and
how
much
who
we're
giving
to
and
how
much
another
practical
thing
we can
do
to
guard
against
greed
is
to
minimize
our
time
just
letting
our
eyes
wander
over
stuff
that
we
don't
need
if
off
the
top
of
your
head
you
know
that
you
don't
need
something
from
that
store
chuck
that
flyer
straight
in
the
garbage
don't
even
open
it
if you
live
in
town
here
chuck
it
in
the
recycling
bin
or
if
you
know
there
is
something
you
need
from
that
store
just
flip
through
it
fast
looking
to
see
if
it's
in
there
and
on
sale
and
if
not
throw
that
thing
away
the
same
principle
applies
to
scrolling
on
Amazon
or
wandering
through
stores
just
to
kill
time
there's
always
some
sort
of
sale
on
and
there's
no
end
to
the
new
and
shiny
things
that
we
can
buy
you're
not
missing
out
on a
once
in a
lifetime
opportunity
to
get
that
thing
we
have
to
take
our
boredom
somewhere
fruitful
and
productive
discontentment
and
greed
rise
so
quickly
when
we
spend
our
time
just
wandering
through
the
stores
or
scrolling
online
discovering
all the
things
that we
don't
have
and
that
we
didn't
even
know
that
we
needed
and
when
we
do
come
across
something
that
we
want
to
buy
another
practical
thing
we
can
do
that's
probably
necessary
for most
of us
is just
practice
slowing
down
see it
but then
walk away
from it
pray about
it
do I
really
need
that
how has
life been
without that
thing
if I've
been
managing
well
enough
is it
really a
tool that
will increase
my
productivity
and help
me in my
work
or is it
just a
toy
is it
just
something
I
want to
have
so
that
I
can
play
with
it
and
add
it
to
my
collection
sometimes
choosing
just to
delay
a few
days
or a
week
or even
a month
or two
on larger
purchases
helps us
to just
get over
that
urge
to have
it
and then
we might
even
realize
we didn't
even
really
want it
in the
first
place
or need
it
we might
realize
that
there's
other
things
more
important
that we
need
to be
saving
for
or
giving
to
or
spending
on
so
practice
just
slowing
down
take
a deep
breath
and
just
walk
away
if
the
Lord
wants
you
to
have
it
it'll
still
be
there
the
next
time
you
come
back
or
maybe
you
can
make
do
with
the
used
one
or
maybe
we
could
just
ask
him
for
it
and
he
would
give
it
to
us
these
are
just
some
practical
suggestions
but
more
important
than
those
is
that
we
fight
the
battle
in
the
heart
that
we
guard
against
greed
in
here
and
the
way
greed
works
is
by
us
seeing
things
and
then
believing
that
we'll
be
happier
if
we
have
them
or
have
more
of
them
and
ultimately
much
of
greed
goes
right
back
to
believing
that
lie
that
life
consists
in
an
abundance
of
possessions
there's
no
better
place
to
weaken
the
power
of
that
lie
than
by
putting
our
mind
onto
some
of
the
truths
about
life
and
money
and
the
kingdom
that
God
has
given
us
in
here
finally
this
passage
reminds
us
of
who
we
belong
to
that
God
has
not
put
us
here
just
to
live
for
ourselves
but
that
our
lives
are
in
a
sense
on
loan
from
God
we
belong
to
him
we
are
to
live
for
his
pleasure
and
not
just
for
our
own
truly
though
our
greatest
pleasure
in
life
is
found
in
living
to
please
God
because
we
were
made
by
him
and
for
him
and
so
I'll
leave
us
with
that
word
of
Jesus
be
on
your
guard
against
all
kinds
of
greed
life
does
not
consist
in
an
abundance
of
possessions
let's
pray
Lord
Jesus
we
thank you
for
these
words
and
they
make
us
squirm
and
they
convict
us
but
we
know
that
we
need
these
words
we're
surrounded
by
a
culture
of
greed
and
so
we
invite
you
to
come
and
do
that
work
in
our
hearts
of
exposing
that
to
us
helping
us
see
it
and
helping
us
to
turn
the
other
way
and
to
live
for
you
and
for
eternity
for
the
things
that
matter
most
open
our
eyes
to
those
things
so
that
we
can
pursue
!
them
with
passion
for
your
glory
we
ask
this
in
your
name
!