As I was studying today’s Scripture lesson – “the parable of the rich fool” – I was reminded about the biggest lottery jackpot ever won. It was a Powerball prize in 2016 and three people shared the winnings. How much was the jackpot??
1.586 BILLION DOLLARS!
I found myself thinking about what I could do with all that money – ONE POINT FIVE EIGHT SIX BILLION DOLLARS!
Well, at least a third of it!
A friend of mine once told me about a time his son called to tell him he had bought a Powerball ticket for his dad. The young man said there was only one condition: if his dad’s ticket won the jackpot his dad would have to pay for his wedding that summer, buy he and his fiancee a new house, get him a red Lamborghini, and throw in a speedboat and three wave runners.
As the dad considered how much money 1.586 BILLION Dollars would actually be, he found himself feeling very generous. So he said, “Son, I think I’d rather just give you, say, a couple million dollars and you can buy whatever you want.”
The son said, “Oh no, Dad, you’re not getting off the hook! I want the wedding, the house, the car…”
The boy evidently hasn’t the foggiest idea of how much 1.586 BILLION DOLLARS really is. He’ll probably never be a winner on The Price Is Right! either!
1.586 BILLION DOLLARS!
Which brings us to the parable of the rich fool.
You may find it interesting that this is not a story found only in the Bible. It occurs elsewhere in Middle Eastern literature, and also in the Gospel of Thomas. What’s different about it here is how Jesus uses the story to make an important point.
The story starts, of course, when someone in the crowd complains to Jesus about his cheapskate brother who has evidently withheld from him his rightful share of an inheritance. Jesus gently puts his arm around the guy and says, “Buddy, I’m not going to get between you and your brother. But think about this: be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
Its striking to me how Jesus almost never gets fooled by curve balls. What I mean by that is that – time after time in the Gospels – people come to Jesus presenting what seems to be one kind of problem (fastball), but it turns out to be another (curveball). At first glance, it appears to be a belt-high fastball, but then, at the last second, that fastball develops a big hook and reveals itself as something else – a curve ball! And though you and I may find ourselves swinging away at what we think is the high hard one, Jesus just holds back a bit until the ball hangs out over the plate, and then knocks it out of the park.
Now here’s a guy who thinks his problem is his brother (the fastball). If only his brother can get straightened out, he can become happy. And we understand this because there are people and circumstances in our lives that we think stand in the way of our happiness. If only my husband…my wife…my boss…my job…my stock portfolio could be fixed, I could be a really happy dude! If only I could get that promotion…if only I could win that lottery…if only I could get my kid to move out of the house and get a job…if only other people would understand me…if only…
Oh, many of us lay our problems and lack of joy at the feet of other people and other things. But here is Jesus telling us it’s wise to look closer to home. This man’s problem is not his brother. This man’s problem is himself.
And what is it that’s making this man so unhappy and pulling him away from his own brother?
Why, it’s greed. The inheritance he wants is more important than the relationship he has. And there is probably nothing that will better test our values and character than the choices we make between things and people. So Jesus says: “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
And then Jesus goes on to tell the story of the farmer who has a bumper crop. He builds bigger barns to store this mega harvest and then celebrates that he’ll never again have to worry about having enough. Only there’s one problem.
That very night he drops dead.
And though it’s not in the story there is a key question implied: “Who does all this stuff belong to now?” And the Middle Eastern humor of the story may not be so obvious, but I can almost hear Jesus and his listeners giggling as he suggests that all the guy’s stuff is probably going to end up being inherited by…who?… the very brother who cheated him in the first place!
We need to be careful about greed. But even then, there’s a deeper dimension to this story! You see, it looked like a fastball, remember? IF ONLY he could get his brother to change!
But it wasn’t that at all. The problem was not the brother, but the farmer!
A curveball!
But not so fast…
Jesus is holding up his swing again and…look…
It’s a change-up!
Gosh, I love the Bible!
Do you see it? At first the problem seemed to be the nasty brother (fastball). Then it seemed the problem was the issue of greed (curveball). But now, at the very end of the story, Jesus brings us to where he wants us to be with these words (change-up):
“So it is with those who store up possessions for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
Do you want to be a happy person? Do you want to find the secret to joy? Do you want to learn how to build strong relationships, and experience life at its fullest?
Learn to be rich toward God!
When I was in college, there was a very beautiful and wealthy church not too far off campus. In its day, it was a powerful church, attended by many of the city’s elite families. But that was before the ’60’s brought a dramatic demographic shift. White folks moved out to the affluent suburbs. Blacks and Hispanics moved into the inner city. Little by little, the membership dwindled as people became more and more afraid to drive into the city. Some members of the church argued that they ought to more deliberately aim the church’s ministry toward the people now living all around it. Goodness knows there were many needs out there. Perhaps they should give the building to a black congregation, or maybe even hire staff who could reach out toward the growing ethnic population. But others maintained that this was their church as it had been their parents’ church before them and their parents’ before them.. This was the place where there were stored memories – memories of baptisms, weddings and funerals. This church was their sacred barn in which was stored their faith! And they couldn’t bring themselves to give it up. So they put some money together, closed the doors, and as far as I know, this church still sits there in the midst of tremendous human need, ministering to no one, but well-maintained as an empty building by an endowment fund that will never run out.
On the other hand, there was a church located in Radburn, NJ. It was a fairly successful church, but those of you who are familiar with the area know that Radburn is one of the fastest growing Jewish suburbs in the state. As the Christian population declined and church membership diminished, the people of the church faced a similar predicament. After a great deal of prayer, they finally decided to end the church’s life as a worshipping congregation. They sold the buildings, invested the money, and became the Church at Radburn Foundation – a charity that provides generous financial support projects and groups that cultivate ecumenical and interfaith relationships. A large grant one year was given to the International Council of Community Churches to develop an exciting new program designed to produce racial reconciliation. It’s called the Agape Project and is based upon the “agape” love of the New Testament.
Now let me ask you: Which of the two churches do you think was rich toward God?
I believe that Jesus calls us to become generous people. People who prayerfully and creatively dream about and develop ways to pour out their gifts in Jesus’ name.
I recently heard about a man who became convinced that God gave him financial skills for a reason other than accumulating wealth for himself. Recently, he felt led to take a sum of money – I’m not sure how much it was – to create a new investment account. It’s held separately from his retirement funds and all that. It exists for one reason and one reason only – to produce money that can be donated to causes that help people in Jesus’ name. He calls it his Faith Fund! His plan is to aggressively invest the money to produce the highest return it can, and then to give it all away to responsible causes that bring benefit to people, and especially children. Every day this man gets up and manages that fund to make it more and more effective for God.
I think that’s the kind of creative generosity that Jesus is calling us toward.
I know another person who has a way with words. Oh, does she have a way with words. She’s sort of confined to her home these days, but one of the ways she uses her time is in writing letters to people she knows, and people she reads about in the newspaper. To one family that had been burned out of their home she wrote, “I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you. Please know that I am praying for you every day.” To a friend who was going through a difficult time, she wrote, “I’ve never really expressed to you what a beautiful person I think you are. I see Jesus in you.”
These are the kinds of down-to-earth things Jesus is talking about when he calls us to be rich toward God.
You see, at the heart of the Christian walk is a choice we have to make almost daily. It is the choice between storage and “pourage”.
Accumulating. Or disseminating.
Being blessed. Or bless-ing.
I want to tell you today that you are the most gifted group of people I have ever known. And I believe with all my heart that the gifts you have are not intended for you alone. Would you put them to use for the Kingdom of God? Would you pray, and creatively imagine how your gifts can touch people and change the world in Jesus’ name? Would you be like the man with the Faith Fund, or the woman who writes letters to lift people up? Can we be like the church that gave itself away, just like Christ poured out his life for us?
You see this is not really a parable about a rich fool.
It is the true life story of a God who love us all, and who calls us to join him in blessing the world with riches of his grace.
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