PEWSLAG*: The Seven Deadly Sins
Luke 12:13 – 21
John McKeel
Talking About Money
It’s a common belief among outsiders that all preachers ever talk about is money. That’s certainly not true at GCC, but maybe it should be. If there was a modern idol competing for our devotion, it just might be the almighty dollar.
Money is not the source of all evil (that honor goes to the love of money, 1 Timothy 6:10), but it certainly is the cause for a great deal of unhappiness.
The Younger Brother’s Dilemma
In Luke 12:13 – 21, a young man turned to Jesus for help. The inheritance laws in those days seemed unjust (see Deuteronomy 21:17). However, Jesus could see the young man’s heart and used this as an opportunity to teach us about possessions: “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed….” (v. 14).
The common stereotype for the sin of greed is the old mizer sitting in his vault counting out his coins, but that has not been my experience.
In a list of spiritual gifts, the Apostle Paul includes giving as one of the gifts. (Romans 12:3 – 8). Obviously, before one can give, they must first have.
The sin of greed is related to eros, the desire to possess. It is an appetite that must be guarded against.
The Parable of the Rich Fool
Jesus continues to teach by telling the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16 – 21). There are two things to note about the Rich Fool: first, he never saw beyond himself. He was the center of his universe. Greed by its very definition is selfish.
Second, the rich fool never saw beyond this life. The Bible reminds us, we will leave this world the same way we came into it:
There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, … As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand, (Ecclesiastes 5:13, 15).
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” ( Job 1:21).
The New Idolatry
Have you ever asked yourself, “What does money mean to me?” For some the answer is freedom. For others its prestige, and for still others, money is power. The Apostle Paul explains, greed is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5).
What Can We Do?
The Parable of the Rich Fool teaches us greed is selfish. It turns our focus in on ourselves. Therefore, the cure is an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude turns our focus outward, to others.
True worship, because it also is an expression of gratitude, can help us guard against greed.
The Apostle John summarizes what should be our attitude:
But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth, (1 John 3:17, 18).
*PEWSLAG: pride, envy, wrath (anger), sloth, lust, avarice (greed), gluttony