Put Your Trust In God, and Rely Not On Your Stuff

Brad Sullivan

Proper 21, Year C

September 25, 2016

Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, Bay City, TX

1 Timothy 6:6-19

Luke 16:19-31

Put Your Trust In God, and Rely Not On Your Stuff.

Have you ever noticed that in some organizations, the folks who have a lot of money are the ones who it seems really matter in that organization, and everybody else isn’t as important.  If we look at elections, most of us only get one tiny vote, whereas people or businesses with lots of money get their vote as well as enormous amounts of influence over the candidates and over policy.  Money gets people what they want in this world.  Influence, power, prestige, security, lots of really nice things. 

Wealth is also often seen as an indicator of success and even moral elevation.  Those with money worked hard to earn it.  They did well.  Those without money didn’t work as hard, didn’t earn as much.  They aren’t as good people as the ones with lots of money. 

Most people don’t really think this way, of course, and yet we hear statements that point to such ideas that equate having a lot of money with success, working hard, and good moral fiber.  In reality, success often comes without monetary reward; hard work pays well and also doesn’t pay well, depending on what the work is; and good moral fiber is just as likely or unlikely among the rich as it is among the poor.

In short, while our society values wealth quite a lot, God doesn’t care one whit about it, except in one way.  God expects those with wealth to share generously with those who are poor.  As Jesus said, “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” (Luke 12:48)

That is basically what Jesus had been saying in our readings for the last several weeks, and the Pharisees just weren’t buying it.  They mocked Jesus’ teaching about money, possessions and the requirement to care for the poor.  “You cannot serve God and money,” Jesus said.  Jesus even likened loved of money to idolatry.  The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, mocked Jesus’ teachings.  So, we heard today Jesus’ continued polemic against the Pharisees and against the idolatry of loving money. 

Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus to show exactly what was wrong with the love of money.  He gave an extreme example to make his point.  Rich man was so rich that he had a huge feast every day, the kind of feast you’d have for special occasions, state dinners, that sort of thing.  He ate like that all the time.  The poor man, Lazarus, on the other hand was so bad off that he couldn’t even prevent dogs from licking his sores.

Jesus was teaching against lovers of money who don’t obey torah’s commands to give help to the poor, and we see God’s desire for those with money to help those without money in the judgment the two men receive.  Rich man is in torment, not for being rich, but for not helping the poor man, Lazarus.  Lazarus, on the other hand, is cared for by God in the bosom of Abraham, gathered to his people, loved, and made whole.

Contra those who feel that the poor aren’t worthy of help or that if they were better people and tried harder, they wouldn’t be poor.  Jesus taught, “You are commanded to help those in need.”  The poor matter greatly to Jesus, just as the rich matter to him.

God’s desire for us is not that we would all be poor or all be rich, nor even that we would all be middle income.  God’s desire for us is that we would care for each other as much as he cares for us. 

The rich aren’t bad, and the poor aren’t good.  Both rich and poor matter to God.  At the same time, the rich are commanded by God to share out of their abundance with those who are in need.  Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy:

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life. (1Timothy 6:17-19)

In other words put your trust in God, share with others, and rely not on your stuff.  That’s pretty much what I’ve been preaching for the last three weeks, mainly because that’s pretty much what Jesus has been saying in our Gospel readings for the last three weeks.  Put your trust in God, share with others, and rely not on your stuff.

That sounds good as short quips go.  I can see those words on a poster with Mother Teresa giving soup to an orphan, or those words on a bumper sticker.  Folks would say, “Yeah, that’s right trust in the Lord, thank you Jesus.”

The challenge would then be, what in the world people who are inspired by those words would do to live them out.  Quips and posters are great as capitalism goes, but the Gospel of Jesus is a way, not a slogan, and Jesus’ way is meant to be lived day in and day out.

How do I put my trust in God and not in my stuff, and how do I know when I’m putting my trust too much in my stuff and not enough in God?  How much do I share, and how much do I keep?  We tend to like to quantify things, and wonder, “how much is enough?”  There’s no number I can give.  We could say 10%.  Give away 10% of what you have each year, 10% of your income, and also give up some of your possessions to help those without.  That’s a good biblical number.

Without quantifying it, though, think of it like this.  Give as much as you need to maintain your humanity.  People who don’t care about the plight of the poor or people who care and do nothing lose their humanity.  Look at the rich man in Jesus’ story. 

Even when he was dead and tormented in flames, he was still depending on his status, still thinking he was more important than Lazarus because he had been rich.  He wanted to command Lazarus to do his bidding.  This man had lost so much of his humanity, that he didn’t even see Lazarus as a human; rather as a thing to do his bidding.  Notice that in losing his humanity, the rich man had also lost his name.  He was just “rich man.”  The poor man, Lazarus, had a name.  Lazarus was a human being.  Rich Man, who loved money more than people, had lost his name; he had lost his humanity.  He’d traded his identity for “Rich Man.” 

     

As the story was told, he wasn’t unaware of Lazarus’ plight.  He even knew Lazarus’ name.  He simply didn’t care about helping Lazarus.  Rich Man was feasting every day, meaning he was having a full banquet-like meal every day.  He knew there was this broken down, likely crippled man named Lazarus who was starving near his home, and he did nothing but keep eating.  He did not obey the command of the Law of Moses to help this poor man, Lazarus.  He therefore lost his humanity, lost his identity, and lost his connection with God and others.

So what do we give, how much, and how often to avoid losing our humanity?  Well, rather than an amount and a self-serving goal to avoid punishment, we’re called as disciples of Jesus to let the same mind be in us that was in him.  I don’t think Jesus was worried about his reward or punishment.  Jesus loved God and people, and then he lived naturally out of that love.  We’re called to share Jesus’ love of God and people and to live our lives out of that love.  We’re called not to value wealth, but to see it as useful for serving one another in God’s Kingdom.  We’re called to share in the Jesus movement.  We’re called to share out of whatever abundance we have out of love, not fear.  We’re called live out our common humanity to its fullest.  We’re called to follow Jesus in his way and to put our trust not in wealth, but to put our trust in Jesus, in his way, his truth, his life, and his grace.  Amen.