"WHY WORRY?"

9.00am and 10.30am Sunday 16 February 2003

Rev Des Botting

Reading: Luke 12:13-31; 1 Timothy 6:1-10

It always amazes me how a chance remark can set a whole train of thought going. While out visiting last week, the person with me commented of the other person with us, Youre looking posh today! If you look the word posh up in the dictionary you will see that it is a slang expression meaning smart, or tiptop. Its a word we dont hear very often these days, except perhaps in reference to David Beckhams wife, Victoria, who was known as Posh Spice of Spice Girls fame. The origin of this expression is fascinating. It was associated with the wealthy people who sailed from England to India in the times when the only way you could get to and from that country was by boat. Those who could afford it would always book a cabin on the port side of the boat going out to India, and on the starboard side coming home, as these were the cabins that got the most sun on that long and tedious voyage. The word posh came from the first letters of the words, port out, starboard home P-O-S-H, and, therefore, the word became associated with the rich and the famous.

This morning we heard a story Jesus told about man. Probably posh would not be the appropriate word to use to describe him, but he certainly was very wealthy. Those of us who are not endowed with great wealth or many earthly possessions may sometimes be tempted to envy the rich, and wish we had more money to work with. We think that it would make life more secure, more exciting and more enjoyable. That is not always the case. The man Jesus spoke of was someone who thought that his accumulated possessions would enable him to take life easy and have a good time for many years. But it was not to be. He died before he had a chance to enjoy the benefits of the wealth he had laboured to amass. Jesus used this story to issue a warning against greed, and to teach us that we are not to worry about our life.

Let us look first at the

  1. Warning against GREED that Jesus issues in these verses. Someone in the thousands that were

crowding around Jesus, asked Him to tell his brother to give him his share of the inheritance their father had left them. Notice that Jesus refuses to get involved in this family dispute. He says, "Who gave me the right to settle arguments between you and your brother." Jesus knew very clearly where the boundaries were. These were matters that should be taken to the elders of the community. It was their responsibility to judge on such matters. We would do well to learn from Jesus here. As Proverbs says,

"Its better to take hold of a mad dog by the ears than to take part in someone elses argument."

Jesus then uses this opportunity to issue a warning about the dangers of being greedy. He reminds the crowd that security doesnt come from owning things. The New Revised Standard Version translates this verse,

"And he said to them, Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then He tells the story of the farmer who had a bumper crop. His barns werent big enough to store it all, so he pulled his old ones down and build bigger ones, thinking that what he had stored up would last him for many years, and that he could now take things easy and enjoy life. "But God said to him, You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?" And Jesus goes on to say, "This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God."

This story teaches us Three Mistakes to avoid: The first is

  1. Prioritising POSSESSIONS. That is, setting our hearts on things. Last week I came across this phrase, the thingification of life, where the focus in life is on things, rather than people. This has become very prevalent today. In this story Jesus told, God called this man a fool, and God never does that lightly. Hes saying that its extremely foolish to set our hearts on possessions like this man did. This isnt to say that its wrong to own a lot. It was this mans attitude towards his possessions that was wrong. He didnt own his possessions. They owned him. He was possessed by his possessions, and He was giving them this priority in his life because He thought they were his. They belonged to him. What he failed to realise was that they really belonged to God and that his responsibility was to look after them and to be a good steward of them. This is why Paul counseled Timothy in the way he did. King David had the right attitude when he prayed,

    2. "But why should we be happy that we have given you these gifts? They belong to you, and we have only given back what is already yours." David knew that all he and the other leaders had given for the building of Gods temple was not their own. It was Gods, and they were only giving back to Him what was His in the first place. This is the attitude God wants to have of our possessions. They are not ours to do with what we like. They are to be used for His purposes and for His glory. The man in Jesus story also failed to thank God for enabling him to amass such wealth. Moses warned Gods people against this attitude, when he said,

    "But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth (CEV gives you the strength to make a living)."

    All that we have, and all we are able to earn, comes from God. This man failed to recognise this, and didnt think to acknowledge that it was God who had enabled him to get them. This is what leads to greed.

    What is your attitude to what you own? Do you think it is yours to do with what you like, or do you realise that its Gods, and take seriously your responsibility to use it wisely. This is why God said that His people were to give Him a tenth of their income. It is a constant reminder to us that what we have is Gods, and to be thankful. God promises to bless us abundantly when we have a right attitude toward our possessions and give Him what is rightfully His.

    The second mistake this man made was

  2. Focusing on the PRESENT. He left the future life out of his planning altogether. He was thinking only of his life here on earth and what he needed for that. God did not figure in his calculations. The reason why he did this was because he thought he had plenty of time. He probably thought, Maybe one day Ill get round to thinking about death and how I might prepare for that, but its a long way off. No need to worry about that now. After all, I have all this wealth to enjoy life, and take it easy for a while. Its a fatal mistake to think only of the present. We need to live our lives in the light of eternity, realizing that God made us to live forever, and that we live this life determines what happens after we die. Forever is a very long time. Our human life is just a dot in comparison. James makes some wise comments on this. He says,

    3. "You should know better than to say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to the city. We will do business there for a year and make a lot of money!" What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears. You should say, "If the Lord lets us live, we will do these things." Yet you are stupid enough to brag, and it is wrong to be so proud." It is very foolish to be so focused on the present, that we leave God out of our plans.

    The third mistake this man made was

  3. Living for PLEASURE. All he thought of was himself and his own enjoyment. He was a very self-centred person. Notice how often the word I figures in the story. Pleasure in itself is not bad. Gods intention for us is to know His joy. He has placed us in the beautiful world, and given us all things to enjoy, like the majesty of the mountains, the colours and fragrance of the flowers, the freshness of the dawn. Its when we use wealth to center our lives on sinful pleasures for their own sake, when that is all we live for, that we run into trouble as this man did. James, again, has something very pertinent to say of such people.

"You rich people should cry and weep! Terrible things are going to happen to you. Your treasures have already rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your money has rusted, and the rust will be evidence against you, as it burns your body like fire. Yet you keep on storing up wealth in these last days. You refused to pay the people who worked in your fields, and now their unpaid wages are shouting out against you. The Lord All-Powerful has surely heard the cries of the workers who harvested your crops. While here on earth, you have thought only of filling your own stomachs and having a good time. But now you are like fat cattle on their way to be butchered." We need to be aware that what the selfish pleasures of this world offers, cannot even begin to compare with what God has prepared for those who love Him. Moses realised this. Hebrews says,

"Then after Moses grew up, his faith made him refuse to be called the kings grandson. He chose to be mistreated with Gods people instead of having the good time that sin could bring for a little while. Moses knew that the treasures of Egypt were not as wonderful as what he would receive from suffering for the Messiah, and he looked forward to his reward." What a tragic comment Jesus is led to make of this rich man in the story he told. He says,

"This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God."

These three mistakes are common to our generation. We live in a world that prizes possessions, lives for today, and always wants to be having a good time. We need to have some possessions to get by in this life. We need to value the present as it is the only time we can be sure of. We are to enjoy ourselves. It is when these become ends in themselves and we pursue them like this man did, that things get out of balance, and we run the risk of forgetting about God and of becoming complacent about our lives. We see this all around us in New Zealand. Society has become increasingly godless. At our church leaders meeting last Thursday, someone quoted from a Maxim publication, "The Erosion of Marriage", which speaks about how marriage has changed in the last one hundred and fifty years. Back in the 1850s society told couples what they expected from married couples. Marriage was created for the welfare of human society, which can be strong and happy only where the marriage bond is held in honour. This is how the older form of the marriage service goes. Society offered vows for the couple to take, saying, this is how you should live. Today it has turned completely around, and now couples make up their own vows and tell society this is how we will live. Education likewise has done a complete turn around. Whereas before education focused on societys needs and endeavoured to prepare children to take their place as good citizens, it is now centred on the childs needs. Education should be truth-centred, not child-centred. These things have become deeply embedded in our culture, and church culture as well. Somehow we have to get back to living out and exemplifying the values and standards of Gods Kingdom, such as Jesus speaks about in the Sermon on the Mount, and be the salt and light in our communities. As well as sharing the good news with people, somehow we must also evangelise our culture, and challenge the presuppositions on which it is based. I believe God can, and will, help us to do that.

We come now to the second part of this passage in Luke in which Jesus is asking the question,

  1. Why Worry? It leads on from what He has been saying in the previous verses. He tells us that
    1. Worry is a. UNHELPFUL Note how often Jesus uses the word worry in the passage. Five

      2. times he makes reference to it. The point He is making is that it is senseless to worry about these things.

      Worry is not going to make a scrap of difference. Its not going to make you live longer, or grow taller. It is

      negative thinking, and it will not move us ahead one bit. It takes away our peace and joy, and makes us less

      efficient and able to cope. Martha had to have Jesus point that out to her, one day when she invited Jesus to

      her home. She was fussing around getting a meal ready, and blew her top at Jesus because Mary was not

      helping. Luke says,

      The Lord answered, "Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, but only one

      thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her."

      Can you point to a time when worry has helped you? Worry takes our eyes off Jesus, and focuses them on the

      problem, whereas Jesus wants us to focus on Him, and leave the problem for Him to deal with, as He said He

      would.

      But not only is worry unhelpful, it is also

      b. UNHEALTHY Worry releases enzymes into the blood stream that produce

      hypertension, high blood pressure, and a whole host of other related problems. More importantly, it stops us

      being healthy spiritually. In the story of the farmer, Jesus said,

      "The seeds that fell among the thorn bushes are also people who hear the message. But they are so eager for riches and pleasures that they never produce anything." The New International Version expresses this even more clearly when it says, "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by lifes worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature." Worries choke the flow of Gods life in us, and prevent us from reaching maturity, effectiveness and fruitfulness in His service. It makes us "poor in the sight of God" like the rich fool.

      Worry also indicates that we are

      c. UNBELIEVING We do not really trust God to take care of us. Jesus said,

      Only people who dont know God are always worrying about such things.

      Our blackboard quote this week said, "Worry Ends where Faith Begins". The key to stop worrying is to focus our attention on God and His promises.

      In contrast to worry,

    2. Faith is a. trusting in Gods PROVISION It is believing as Jesus said,

Your Father knows what you need. This is a wonderful statement. "Your Father knows what you need." If we are much more important than any birds, then we can be sure that He will take care of us just as He does the birds. And if He knows what we need, then we do not have to worry. He will provide, even as He did for Abraham when he went to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It is from that incident that we get the name of God, Jehovah Jireh, which means God who provides. If we do put His work first, He will do this for us. In Luke 11 Jesus speaks about what we really need.

As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks. Above all else we need Gods Spirit. From experience Paul was able to say,

And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Secondly, faith is b. acknowledging Gods POWER Jesus says we do not have the power over even the small things, let alone the big ones, implying that He has. Nothing is impossible to Him. God has the power to change things completely. He did the apostle Paul. Later in his life he was able to say,

I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.

Gods power is awesome, amazing. Nothing is too difficult, or too hard for Him. Therefore we can trust Him to do for us what is necessary, for our God is able.

Finally, faith is c. embracing Gods PRIORITIES, putting first things first. When we do that, everything else will fall into place. As Jesus said,

But put Gods work first, and these things will be yours as well.

I want to encourage you to put God first by Making or renewing your commitment to Christ, to His Church, and to His mission. To use this year as a time to nurture and develop your walk with God and strive for excellence in all you do for Him; to discover, develop and use your gifts to build up His Church, and for His glory; to love Gods people and bless them; and, just as lost people matter to God, that they will matter to you, and you will do all you can to bring them home to God and encourage them to be involved in the mission of His Church.