This sermon about greed mainly talks about Jesus’ teachings about our treatment with material things. Greed does create troubles in life. Therefore it is important that we understand his words about it. This is the second part of Luke 12 series. You can see also check What Did Jesus Says About Persecution
Text: Luke 12:13-21
A. Be on guard in all kinds of greed (Luke 12:15) “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;
B. Life is not about material possessions (Luke 12:15) “…life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
C. Store richness toward God (Luke 12:21) “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Conclusion
Jesus in verse 21 said: “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Let me ask you a question right now, how do you treat material things in your life? Do you treat them as tools to enjoy and live life? How about using it to bless others? How about glorying God by the use of it?
Do you want to win over greed? Focus on things that will give you richness in heaven. Greediness will only give you troubles, pains. Trust God everything even the material things
The Manuscript of this sermon:
Today, we will be talking about greed. Greed comes in different ways and people becomes more vulnerable to this kind of sin when there is a huge need. This sin is present to all kinds of people, rich or poor, young or old, nearly everyone is guilty of greed.
In this passage, we can see someone in the crowd asked Jesus to be an arbiter between him and his brother on an inheritance. We have seen this many times. When it comes to inheritance many siblings will fight over the inheritance they get from their parents.
This attitude of people over inheritance is not different even during the time of Jesus. People may not notice it, but in one form or another greed will exist among the siblings creating broken relationships, conflicts and mistrust.
But what does the Lord says about greed and what can we do to prevent it?
NOTE: You have to be a member to be able to see the rest of the content. Click here to be a member
[s2If current_user_is(s2member_level1) OR current_user_is(s2member_level2)]Be on guard in all kinds of greed (Luke 12:15) “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;
Jesus’ answer to the man who asked him to be an arbiter is two part. The first part is to be on guard against all kinds of greed. Again, greed comes in a very subtle way. Even the mellow sibling can fall to greed.
This is why the Lord Jesus started the warning with “Watch out” which means that we have to be attentive, to be alert, to easily sense or identify greed. Anyone can fall on it without much warning especially when we are on a desperate need of something.
So let us say if one of the siblings is in dire need to have the land because his family is dependent on it, he will do his best to secure that to whether or not hurt his or her other siblings. And sometimes, other siblings will also retaliate and show the same greed to protect their own interests.
In my personal experience in the ministry, engaging in relief operations gave me an opportunity to witness both the good and the bad side of response. Some are very thankful for what they receive, while some exposes the greediness in their hearts because of desperation.
This is why we need to watchful, to be attentive, to be alert because we can easily make excuse due to our desperation to practice greed. Even plain and simple statements like: “why would I help when we are the ones that need help” is a form of greed. It is a valid feeling, but is also a form of greed.
Life is not about material possessions (Luke 12:15) “…life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
The second part of the warning of the Lord concerns the status of our heart’s desire. I am pretty sure that most of us have our own dreams for our family. Perhaps everyone desires to have an abundant life which is valid. But what the Lord is pointing out here is that life into just about material possessions.
You can be poor yet rich and you can be rich yet poor. So when does it happen? Man does not various things in his life. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains us a lot of things about the behavioral patterns of humans when it comes to need.
On the other hand, Jesus quoted in the Old Testament in Matthew 4:4 “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Life is not just about material things. Material needs is just a part of it. However, when greed comes in, we tend to focus on the material things. And that focus destroys the very life that we want to protect.
Material possessions are temporary. This is why it is not wise to gather and focus on them. Most of these things rot, can be stolen, or can be destroyed.
One of the things that we can reflect in this pandemic is the value of these material things. Let us say you have a great car. But how can you use it in this time of lock down even if fuel cost is very low? You can’t go too far to enjoy driving it.
Always remember, life is not just about material possessions. It’s more than that. How is your life right now? Where is it directed? Do you really think you are fulfilled? When you love money more than anything else, I assure you, you are lost and fulfillment is far from you. Draw near to God.
Store richness toward God (Luke 12:21) “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
In reflection of what Jesus said, he gave the Parable of Rich Fool. The story is about a man who had an “abundant harvest”. So he thought for himself, why not tear down his barn and build a bigger one that can accommodate all these harvest.
Look at his plan (v.19)“And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’”
Sound familiar? Yes, we are like this sometimes. When we experience abundance, we tend to forget others. All we see is ourselves and our “unending needs” at least on our personal perspective. This is why we need to be more careful because greediness is very subtle. At times we do not know that it is already greediness.
Is thinking about yourself wrong? Not at all. But ONLY thinking about yourself and the focus of everything you need is wrong. Why? Because it is foolishness. It is God who owns this life. Look what God said (v.20), ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
Have you ever thought of what can you bring in the after life? Nothing. That’s a sad reality. Not even your physical body that rots. If there’s nothing that you can bring then why spend your entire life and dedication for something that will not last?
Conclusion
Jesus in verse 21 said: “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Let me ask you a question right now, how do you treat material things in your life? Do you treat them as tools to enjoy and live life? How about using it to bless others? How about glorying God by the use of it?
Do you want to win over greed? Focus on things that will give you richness in heaven. Greediness will only give you troubles, pains. Trust God everything even the material things
[/s2If]