“Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." (Lk 12:15)
As I write these words today the Dow industrial average has dropped 200 points and is down over 2,000 points from its all time high of just a few months ago. The housing bubble has finally burst and the “irrational exuberance” Alan Greenspan euphemistically warned of not long ago, has met with rationality of a most sobering kind as trillions of dollars of paper equity have vaporized worldwide.
In the event recorded in Luke 12, as in our situation today, the common thread is concern over what was lost. In other words, “I don’t want more, (Honest!) I just want back what I had,” Greed sneaks up on us in the most innocuous ways and we must be vigilant against approaches. I’m sure the man who called out to Jesus had no qualms whatever in simply wanting to recover what seemed rightfully his and was probably surprised at Jesus’ rebuke. For a believer, simply claiming something as “mine” is unscriptural and a recipe for unhappiness. “Be on your guard.” The theology of the prosperity gospel and the smooth assurances of your mortgage banker rest on the false assumption that you “deserve” better than you presently enjoy. But your life does not consist of your possessions. This is sneaky greed. We are to be on guard against every form of greed, even those forms which seemingly have worthy goals. Jesus excoriated the Pharisees for ostensibly dedicating their possessions to God (in reality keeping them available for their use) which “unfortunately” kept them from actually being shared with their needy parents.
So now as we see the economy going through spasms it is tempting to act as if the spiritual ground rules have changed. But the rules have not changed. God is still sovereign and His promises are forever. Now is the time for the church to shine. Those who fret over the trauma on Wall Street will do well to remember Isaiah’s words - “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.”
Thank you for your faithfulness. Give to the building fund.
See it progress at our Building Project Video page.
View a 3D model in Google Earth. (The model takes 5-15 minutes to render the first time depending on how fast your machine is — make sure you have the latest version of Google Earth)
