The stuff of our lives
8/4/13 Reinbeck UMC
How many of you have a garage in which you can no longer park because it is filled up with so much "stuff?"
How many of you have found somewhere other than your house for some of your stuff (a storage unit, a barn, a shed) We have too much "stuff" to keep in our homes, so we move some out but keep our visitation rights to see our "stuff?"
I've seen how much stuff you bring to the garage sale every year. It's almost a sin to have that much extra stuff.
The late comedian George Carlin proclaimed that the "meaning of life is trying to find a place to put your stuff" and that "A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff."
Then there are the "reality" TV shows about stuff.
· First, there is American pickers- I love American pickers. Where one man's junk is another man's profit.
· Less to my liking, but still in this stuff genre, "Storage Wars" up the ante. Confiscated storage lockers (the original owners are either dead or unable to pay storage fees any longer) go on the auction block. After the locks have been cut, there is a bidding war among the "stuff scavengers" hoping to make a profit off someone else's left behind stuff.
· Then there is when "Storage wars go bad" actually called "storage nightmares."
· Most extreme are the very sad and shocking shows about hoarders. These are the truly tragic programs detailing the lives of people swallowed up by their "stuff." Unable to throw anything away, their whole identity, and I mean every aspect of their life, is defined by their collected piles of stuff. Unless they are surrounded, even drowning, in their "stuff," their lives have no meaning.
Now, I don't know that any of you are hoarders to that extent, but I have my suspicions that some of you or maybe all of you have too much stuff. I will admit, however, that if you saw my storage room or my garage you'd draw the same conclusions about me.
The question is with all our overflowing stuff…Are we "fools" like the rich man in the parable?
I hope not. Let's take that parable apart.
Firs there is the set up. The man comes and complains about his brother. Jewish law gives 2/3 of the estate to the older brother. 1/3 to the rest of the brothers. I could be wrong, but when I hear his question, I hear him wanting his older brother to split it 50/50 with him. You might be surprised how often splitting an estate or coming into money will drive a wedge between family members. If I am right about my interpretation, he is jealous that the law gives his older brother more. This greedy, greedy little man wants Jesus to make his older brother generous for him.
Just as with Martha last week, Jesus ignores the question because it is only superficial. Jesus is not about to get involved in that.
Jesus does give us a peek below the surface. We see that the core problem is "every form of greed." We don't know what forms Jesus was thinking about, but I could guess
· stinginess like scrooge,
· selfishness like the rich farmer in the next story,
· greed for sexual pleasure,
· greed for power like many politicians,
· greed for attention like a two year old,
· greed for praise. Let me tell you, we don't have to look very far and we can name 5 kinds of greed without breaking a sweat.
Then Jesus breaks out in parable. "There was once a rich man who owned the biggest farm in the county. His crops were so abundant he didn't know what to do with them. There was no co-op in those days, so he built bigger barns.
That night, the man died. He stood at the judgment and Lord speaks…. "FOOL." Well right then and there, you know he is in trouble. "Fool," God says - "for this night your soul is required of you. Now who will get what you have accumulated?"
There is a clue to what is happening here.
Who will get his stuff? I told you earlier the law was very specific about that. The question only makes sense if there is no one. No sons, so spouse, no friends no one. There is no relationship important enough to receive his stuff. There is no charity that he has supported that it can be given to. There is no cause for which he worked. There is no young man he took under his wing. There is no one. Now who will get your stuff?
The man is not condemned because he has a lot of money and grain. He is condemned is because all he has is money and grain. All he has is the physical stuff. He has nothing of any eternal value. Look at the nouns and pronouns he uses throughout the story…
· He thought to himself
· What should I do?
· I do not have space in my barns
· This is what I will do
· I will tear down
· I WILL GATHER my grain
· I will say to myself
There isn't one other person in this whole story. It is all about him, him him, me, me me, I, I , I , mine, mine, mine.
· Jesus does not condemn him for being prosperous.
· Jesus does not condemn him for having a lot of stuff.
· Jesus does not condemn him for saving wisely
· Jesus does not condemn him for looking toward the future.
· Jesus does condemn him for building bigger barns.
· JESUS CONDEMNS THE MAN BECAUSE THAT IS ALL HE DID.
Once again, this parable is not about being rich in material things. It is not a condemnation of wealth, of hard work, or investing of caring for the future, of buying long-term care insurance, or anything like that.
God calls this man a fool because even though he has prepared his house, his barns, his crop, all his stuff, he has neglected the one thing that is needful: relationship… especially relationship with God.
That is what precipitated that scary announcement, "Fool this night your soul is required of you." Can you imagine how his heart must have sunk?
He thought he was all set. He thought he was headed for a beech in Jamaica. He thought he was going to live the easy life. You know like he said, Eat drink and be merry….but instead "FOOL."
He is a fool, first, because he wasn't grateful;. Nowhere does he recognize that everything we have comes from someone else. Everything we have is a gift. I worked, I grew, I created, and I prospered. But where is the gratefulness? Where is the gratefulness to God, the sun, the rain, the hired hand, the miracle that a seed can grow into wheat or corn or a fig tree? Where is the gratefulness?
Robyn tells me that she is now 1/10th of the way through her project of naming 10,000 blessings. That is her way of giving thanks.
Alex Haley, the author of Roots had an unusual picture of a turtle in his office. It was unusual because the turtle was sitting on top of a fence post. When asked about it Alex Haley answered, "Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words & think that they are wonderful, & begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post & remember that he didn't get there on his own. He had help." Gratefulness is recognizing that we had help. And sometimes we are only here because someone helped. He was a fool because he thought he was the source of all he had, and he wasn't grateful.
Second, He is a fool because he wasn't generous. Now, you have to understand that I am making some assumptions here from this brief 4-sentence description of his life. He doesn't think of anyone else.…He was all I, ME, MY, MINE.
Generosity is related to gratefulness because it is sharing what isn't really all yours to start with. That's what the tithe is all about. Tithing is the basic form of generosity. When we moved here, we started, for the first time in our lives giving 10% of our income to the church automatically taken out of our account every two weeks. Why? Because it isn't ours to start with! We tithe because we are grateful. We give because we have received. We share because God is good.
I can't talk about generosity without thinking of Richie's 13th Birthday. I've told you this before. He had completed his first heart surgery and was so grateful for that he wanted do something; Instead of gifts he asked for stuffed animals to take to the university for other kids having heart cath procedures. Again, generosity grew out of thanksgiving.
It has been said, "You can't take it with you…, but by being generous you can send it on ahead." Think about that. You can't take it with you, but by being generous, you can send it on ahead.
The man in the story was a fool because he wasn't generous.
Finally, the man in the story was a fool because he wasn't godly. His God was wealth and the illusion of security that comes from wealth. He believed that his salvation was in the barns. He believed that all he needed was safely stored away.
o Bills paid, check
o Mortgage paid, check
o Barns built and paid for. Check
o Ira, check
o 401k, check
In I Tim. 6:17-19 Paul says, "Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed." Not on the uncertainty of riches, FOOL.
Without a relationship with God, there is no eternal life, No faith, no salvation, and no heaven. To those who fail to give thanks, fail to be generous, fail to do anything but accumulate wealth, and the terrible word comes echoing through the ages: "FOOL. This night your soul is required of you. You about to embark on a heavenly journey and you have packed the wrong stuff." You are about to enjoy the eternal spirit and all you have packed is the temporary and material. In other words what good does all this do you when you have not loved God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength? What good does all of this do you if you have not used it to love your neighbor as yourself?
I don't care if you have barns upon barns, or if you have almost nothing. If you have God, you have wealth and future beyond anything that stuff can provide. Be grateful, be generous, be Godly.
