The Power to Get Wealth -- FPC sermon excerpt
It was about six months ago that I picked out the Scripture lesson Deuteronomy 8:11-20, and decided that my sermon would focus on wealth. I titled this message “The Power to Get Wealth,” and I intended to issue a warning about the danger of prosperity!
I bet you wish you needed that warning today.
Clearly, the turmoil on Wall Street has refocused my reflection. We are all quite a bit less wealthy than we were six months ago, whether our assets are tied up in the stock market or in home ownership. Some of us are finding ourselves out of work, and others are worried about the future of our jobs.
But still, in the middle of this financial crisis, God has a word for us today. In the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy, the people of Israel are preparing to enter the Promised Land. They have traveled through the wilderness, and are excited about entering the land described by their leader Moses as “a good land, a land with flowing streams … a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing” (Deuteronomy 8:7-9). They believe that their time of hardship is over, and they are looking forward to a life of prosperity.
I admit that I feel a little envious of the Israelites as they look toward their bright future. I bet you do as well. But what is interesting is that Moses does not say to them, “You’ve suffered long enough. This is the time to eat, drink, and be merry!” No, instead, Moses gives them a warning.
“Take care that you do not forget the LORD your God,” he says, “by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes” (v. 11). Moses knows that prosperity can make people forget — forget the Lord their God, forget God’s commandments, forget to love their neighbors as themselves. According to Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann, there is a spiritual danger in prosperity, and that spiritual danger is amnesia. When times are good, we forget — we forget how much we need God, we forget what God has done for us, and we forget God’s instructions to us to care for one another.
In particular, Moses warns the people about self-sufficiency. “When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold has multiplied, and all that you have has multiplied, then do not exalt yourself” (vv. 12-13). Do you hear that? Do not exalt yourself — do not fool yourself into thinking that you are a self-made success story, someone who is now completely self-sufficient.
“Do not exalt yourself,” says Moses, “forgetting the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid waste-land with poisonous snakes and scorpions” (vv. 14-15). Moses reminds the people that God has led them out of captivity, and protected them in precarious times. He knows that prosperous people can forget about how much they need God, and they can be seduced into thinking that they are self-sufficient.
“Do not exalt yourself,” warns Moses. Do not forget “the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” It is important for us, as it was important to the Israelites, to remember the exodus from Egypt, and how our ancestors were liberated from slavery in a foreign land. It is important for us to remember that we are not self-sufficient, but that everything we have comes to us as a gift from a good and generous God. It is important for us to remember the great commandments to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might,” as well as to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
You know those love commandments. You’ve heard them from the mouth of Jesus. But did you know that these words were not original to Jesus? He was simply repeating them. They appear first in the Old Testament books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus.
Moses goes on to say to the people, “Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today” (vv. 17-18). Our wealth does not come from our personal power, but instead it comes from the hand of God. God gives us “power to get wealth,” says Moses, and God does this so that he may “confirm his covenant” — so that he may show the world that he is true to his promise to love us and care for us.
The reason we are given wealth, according to Moses, is to show the faithfulness of God. It is not to make us fat or happy or comfortable or superior to our neighbors down the street. It is not to relieve us of worry, or give us multiple houses, or increase our collection of luxury goods. Instead, it is to show the world that God is faithful to his promise to love us and care for us.
That’s a very different perspective on wealth, isn’t it? It’s not about us — instead, it’s about God.
My friend Sam Lloyd, the dean of Washington National Cathedral, has done some very good teaching on wealth and stewardship. He reminds us that we don’t own anything in this life, but instead everything we have is on loan. People often say “you can’t take it with you,” and that’s certainly true. But I like Sam’s observation better: “There are no luggage racks on hearses.”
The turmoil in the financial world in recent weeks has certainly reminded us that we don’t own anything in this life. Our grasp on our wealth is very tenuous, at best, and it can be snatched away from us at any moment. You can’t take it with you from one day to the next, and you certainly can’t take it with you when your time on this earth is over.
There are no luggage racks on hearses.
I bet you wish you needed that warning today.
Clearly, the turmoil on Wall Street has refocused my reflection. We are all quite a bit less wealthy than we were six months ago, whether our assets are tied up in the stock market or in home ownership. Some of us are finding ourselves out of work, and others are worried about the future of our jobs.
But still, in the middle of this financial crisis, God has a word for us today. In the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy, the people of Israel are preparing to enter the Promised Land. They have traveled through the wilderness, and are excited about entering the land described by their leader Moses as “a good land, a land with flowing streams … a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing” (Deuteronomy 8:7-9). They believe that their time of hardship is over, and they are looking forward to a life of prosperity.
I admit that I feel a little envious of the Israelites as they look toward their bright future. I bet you do as well. But what is interesting is that Moses does not say to them, “You’ve suffered long enough. This is the time to eat, drink, and be merry!” No, instead, Moses gives them a warning.
“Take care that you do not forget the LORD your God,” he says, “by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes” (v. 11). Moses knows that prosperity can make people forget — forget the Lord their God, forget God’s commandments, forget to love their neighbors as themselves. According to Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann, there is a spiritual danger in prosperity, and that spiritual danger is amnesia. When times are good, we forget — we forget how much we need God, we forget what God has done for us, and we forget God’s instructions to us to care for one another.
In particular, Moses warns the people about self-sufficiency. “When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold has multiplied, and all that you have has multiplied, then do not exalt yourself” (vv. 12-13). Do you hear that? Do not exalt yourself — do not fool yourself into thinking that you are a self-made success story, someone who is now completely self-sufficient.
“Do not exalt yourself,” says Moses, “forgetting the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid waste-land with poisonous snakes and scorpions” (vv. 14-15). Moses reminds the people that God has led them out of captivity, and protected them in precarious times. He knows that prosperous people can forget about how much they need God, and they can be seduced into thinking that they are self-sufficient.
“Do not exalt yourself,” warns Moses. Do not forget “the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” It is important for us, as it was important to the Israelites, to remember the exodus from Egypt, and how our ancestors were liberated from slavery in a foreign land. It is important for us to remember that we are not self-sufficient, but that everything we have comes to us as a gift from a good and generous God. It is important for us to remember the great commandments to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might,” as well as to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
You know those love commandments. You’ve heard them from the mouth of Jesus. But did you know that these words were not original to Jesus? He was simply repeating them. They appear first in the Old Testament books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus.
Moses goes on to say to the people, “Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today” (vv. 17-18). Our wealth does not come from our personal power, but instead it comes from the hand of God. God gives us “power to get wealth,” says Moses, and God does this so that he may “confirm his covenant” — so that he may show the world that he is true to his promise to love us and care for us.
The reason we are given wealth, according to Moses, is to show the faithfulness of God. It is not to make us fat or happy or comfortable or superior to our neighbors down the street. It is not to relieve us of worry, or give us multiple houses, or increase our collection of luxury goods. Instead, it is to show the world that God is faithful to his promise to love us and care for us.
That’s a very different perspective on wealth, isn’t it? It’s not about us — instead, it’s about God.
My friend Sam Lloyd, the dean of Washington National Cathedral, has done some very good teaching on wealth and stewardship. He reminds us that we don’t own anything in this life, but instead everything we have is on loan. People often say “you can’t take it with you,” and that’s certainly true. But I like Sam’s observation better: “There are no luggage racks on hearses.”
The turmoil in the financial world in recent weeks has certainly reminded us that we don’t own anything in this life. Our grasp on our wealth is very tenuous, at best, and it can be snatched away from us at any moment. You can’t take it with you from one day to the next, and you certainly can’t take it with you when your time on this earth is over.
There are no luggage racks on hearses.
posted by Henry Brinton | 11:11 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home