Jump Start # 1075

Luke 12:15 “Then He said to them, ‘Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when on has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.’”

  Our verse today involves two things. First, it was Jesus’ response to someone who asked Him to divide the family inheritance. This was a legal matter and more so, a family issue. Someone was unhappy with the deal he got and he wanted Jesus to sway things his way. Like many folks, this person only wanted Jesus to make his life happier. He wasn’t interested in what Jesus had to say or following Jesus. He was counting money in his mind. He had plans. Jesus was the ticket to get what he wanted. Our verse is Jesus’ reply. He didn’t get involved. He didn’t settle things. He didn’t take sides. The man left as he came, bummed out about money and his family.

The second thing this verse shows is a warning from Jesus. He said, “Beware…” Jesus was often warning His disciples. The happy-go-lucky, anything goes, I don’t care, free spirit that many try to paint of Jesus is not supported by Scriptures. Jesus warned often. Sometimes He’d say, “Do not…”

Most of us understand the importance of warnings, but find them to be a nuisance. When the warning light comes on the dashboard of our cars, it usually means that we have to make an appointment and take the car in to be serviced. It bothers us. Sometimes, during a TV show we are watching, weather warnings come on. We want to finish our show. The weather warnings are deemed more important by the station.

In our verse, Jesus, not only did not answer this man the way he was expecting, he left with a warning. A warning that is designed for all of us. This is the reason that some walk away from Jesus. They come hoping to get a pat on the back and a thumbs up to their life. Instead, they get a warning. They need to change. They need to straighten up. It’s not what they wanted, so they walk away.

We need spiritual warnings. A good study sometime is to look at the warnings of Jesus. There are several. He warned about the leaven of Pharisees. He warned about closed hearts. He warned about Hell. The verse today contains a warning about greed. Here Jesus warns, “Beware and be on your guard against every form of greed.”

That tells us that greed comes in many forms. There is not just one size fits all. Those different forms may throw us and deceive us. We may not recognize some forms as being greed. This is why Jesus is warning. He’s not killing fun. He doesn’t take pleasure in our misery. He isn’t happy when we are sad. Not at all. Some, especially young people, get the idea that I have to make a choice between fun and right. They assume being right and doing right is not fun. Poor thinking there. The choice is between right and wrong. A person can have fun and be right.

Greed is not about how much stuff you have but how the stuff has you. Greed is an attitude. It’s a way of thinking. It wants to collect and not give. It has a thirst for things. Greed believes that a person is defined by what they own. The nicer the car, the better you are. The more stuff, the more square footage, the larger the TV screen, the better off you are. America has caved in to that idea. We believe it. I was looking at ties the other day. Ties are my thing. I love ties. The salesman was really wanting me to buy. I looked at the price tag and there was no way. One tie cost more than some of my suit jackets. He started dropping designer names of the ties. They were all Italian. I never heard of any of them. He was trying to impress. I remembered the price tag and was depressed.

I don’t know if I know all the forms of greed. It would be interesting to list some and think about them. Affluence can be driven by greed. Affluence isn’t wrong. It can be wrong if it distorts us and defines us. Christians with money will do great things. The world with money does selfish and wrong things. Let the Christians have the money. Beware Jesus said of greed.

Greed is never satisfied. Greed needs just a little bit more. Greed is a thirst that is never quenched. Jesus did not want his disciples controlled by greed. He wanted them free from those things. Free to focus upon God. Free to not be burdened down with worries about stuff that doesn’t matter. Free to talk to all people. The first Christians were mostly poor. However, there were some of Caesar’s household. There was the eunuch from Ethiopia was in charge of the queen’s treasury. Important folks. Influential people. Most likely, wealthy people. The disciples had to be comfortable and make others feel comfortable so they could share the gospel to them. God isn’t impressed with stuff. God’s impressed with faith. The largeness of your heart is what moves God’s needle. Love Him, Jesus said, with ALL your heart.

Beware. We need to see the warning lights coming on. We need to do something about it.

Warnings keep us safe. Warnings help us. We ought to be thankful for warnings. Without them, we’d be in a bunch of trouble most times.

Roger