1 CONFRONTING COVETOUSNESS LUKE 12:13-21 The dangers of wanting - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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CONFRONTING COVETOUSNESS LUKE 12:13-21 The dangers of wanting what we don’t currently have.  Especially stuff that other people do have!  Before anybody gets the wrong message . . . if you are blessed and have a bunch of really nice stuff, praise the Lord!  This passage is not about bashing God’s bountiful blessings, it’s about covetousness. CHASING THE CARROT THAT CAN’T BE CAUGHT 2

FIRST THE WARNING NOTICE JESUS SAYS BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS. THE REAL PROBLEM was not the inheritance!  It was a greedy heart.  As long as both men were greedy, no settlement would be satisfactory.  Stuff was not the issue . . . it was the lust, or love, of stuff.  Satan loves THE LUST FOR STUFF , because if he can get us to “love and lust after stuff,” then we have less time to love God and love each other! Stuff then becomes our God. 3

THE AMERICAN SICKNESS MATERIALISM: the quest for more stuff . . . at all costs.  Few things are more associated with America around the world than the abundance of the stuff we strive to possess.  Jesus made it clear that true life, godly life, even a happy life, does not depend on an abundance of possessions—earthly things—of any kind.  The good life is not simply the life with the most stuff; it is possessing whatever stuff you may have with eternity in view so that it has its proper importance.  Closets full of clothes that we never wear.  Yet, Jesus also did not deny that we have certain basic needs, so we must have balance. Matt. 6:31-32; 1 Tim. 6:17 4

THE REAL DEAL ABOUT WEALTH A FEW STARTLING STATS according to the World Banks’ calculations . . .  If your family income is $10,000 a year, which is way less than you get on the most minimal government assistance, you are wealthier than 81 percent of the world .  If it’s $50,000 or more a year, which is way less than the average family income per year here in California, you make more money than 98 percent of the world .  If you make $75,000 or more per year, you are in the global top one-half percent . Want to trip out a bit?  Go to http://www.worldwealthcalculator.org, plug in your family income or your assets, and prepare to repent of your whining. And, yes, they can and do back up their numbers.  So, when considered globally, today most American families are likely part of the so-called 1-2%, even on unemployment. 5

A REAL HEART PROBLEM Jesus told this parable to reveal the dangers that lurk in a covetous “give-me-more-so-I-can-be-content” heart.  As we read this passage, test your own responses to this farmer’s various experiences. 1. How do you respond to the wealthy farmer’s DILEMMA ?  Notice that the wealth was not the issue, contentment is the underlying issue. Phil. 4:11-13 6

TIME TO RUN SOME DIAGNOSTICS Here are some ways for us to do a bit of self-diagnosis . . .  If suddenly you inherited a great deal of wealth, would it create a problem for you?  There are plenty of perils to prosperity. Prov. 30:7-9  Wealth can choke out the Word of God. Matt. 13:22  Wealth can create snares and temptations. 1 Tim. 6:6-10  Trusting wealth can give you a false sense of security. Many people proclaim that “ money does not satisfy .” Part of the problem is that’s not accurate . . . it actually does satisfy if you want to live on that shallow and worldly level. 7

MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONS 2. How do you respond to the DECISIONS of the rich man?  Are you saying, “Now that is shrewd business! No wonder he is wealthy”? Do you envy people that have wealth?  Save and have it ready for the future, what’s wrong with that? Do you hoard your possessions and keep a death grip on all you have, fearing that it might slip out of your hands?  Actually, there may be little wrong with some of the basic stewardship in this passage unless you begin to trust in the wealth instead of God. 1 Tim. 5:8; John 6:12 8

DEALING WITH OUR DESIRES 3. How do you respond to the farmer’s DESIRES ?  Are you saying, “Ahh . . . this is the life”?  It is very interesting how we place so much value on things that are temporary.  The man has success, satisfaction, and security!  What more could he want?  But, Jesus did not see this farmer enjoying life; He saw him facing death, and that wealth would not take care of his eternity! 9

BALANCING ETERNAL vs. TEMPORAL 4. Finally, how do you respond to the DEATH of the boastful farmer?  Wealth can be enjoyed and employed at the same time if our purpose is to honor God. 1 Tim. 6:10  The truth is not one thing we possess on this earth will make the journey to heaven—it is all temporal.  The obsessive quest for stuff is like trying to ride a dead horse.  How tragic when people are rich in this world but destitute in the next! Matt. 6:19-24 So, as Jesus said, “BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS.” 10