{"id":10020,"date":"2021-02-07T19:49:33","date_gmt":"2021-02-07T19:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theologie.whp.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=10020"},"modified":"2022-10-21T18:09:59","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T16:09:59","slug":"luke-1213-21-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/luke-1213-21-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke 12:13-21"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Lord Jesus doesn\u2019t say that it\u2019s wrong to have wealth
\nor to be wealthy. He doesn\u2019t say that you can\u2019t be his disciple
\nif you have wealth. In fact, Jesus doesn\u2019t propose a target income
\nthat is acceptable and then beyond that we\u2019re in trouble. Rather
\nhe says, \u201cBe on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one\u2019s
\nlife does not consist in the abundance of possessions.\u201d So\u2026let\u2019s
\nbe clear. Jesus doesn\u2019t say it\u2019s wrong to have wealth. He
\nconstantly warns that obsession with wealth can become an idol.<\/p>\n

Now I know plenty of Christians that think that Jesus is very opposed
\nto wealth. Most of them live by a scarcity notion of things in which
\nthere are a limited amount of resources in the world. Because there
\nare only a limited amount of resources in the world, they say, a Christian
\nought not to acquire wealth. The goal, then, is to take only what you
\nneed and leave the rest to others. Don\u2019t buy a new car. Don\u2019t
\nbuy nice clothes. Don\u2019t live in a nice house. Don\u2019t eat
\nout in fancy restaurants. Live a simple life so that others can have
\nsome of the world\u2019s limited resources, too.<\/p>\n

I also know some Christians that think that God has blessed them with
\nwealth because they have been more faithful disciples than others. In
\na sense, they see wealth as a divine kickback for having been good.
\nJust so long as they go to church, keep their nose clean, and give away
\n10% to the church, then God is pleased to bless them even more. For
\nthese folks, wealth is a sign of divine favor \u2013 regardless how
\nthey made it.<\/p>\n

I also know quite a few Christians that live very compartmentalized
\nlives when it comes to money. They don\u2019t think seriously about
\nGod and wealth at the same time. As an old Baptist friend says, \u201cThe
\nreason your Lutheran churches are always short of money is that you
\nonly baptize people\u2019s heads. Since those Lutheran wallets didn\u2019t
\nget wet, your people think the money belongs to them and not to the
\nLord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well\u2026Jesus doesn\u2019t say there are limited resources in
\nthe world. And Jesus doesn\u2019t say that if you give God 10% the
\nrest is yours as a reward. And Jesus absolutely doesn\u2019t say that
\nyou can live as if God and money were separated from one another. Rather
\nthe Lord Jesus says that greed is bad and being consumed with possessions
\nis worse. If you become obsessed with having more and more, your possessions
\nwill possess you. And you will forget that God is the maker and owner
\nof all things including everything you have and all that you are!<\/p>\n

His parable is one of his starker warnings to those obsessed with
\nbuilding wealth. Of course, Jesus\u2019 parable isn\u2019t new teaching.
\nIt\u2019s a colorful restatement of the kind of wisdom contained in
\nthe book of Ecclesiastes. If you are devoted to building wealth above
\nall else how foolish you are, because you\u2019re going to lose it
\nall anyway when you die. On top of that, those that inherit your money
\nmay indeed be as frivolous with it as you were frugal. So don\u2019t
\nbe so stupid chasing the Golden Fleece, says Jesus.<\/p>\n

Just when you think Jesus is negative on having wealth, you hear him
\ntell stories lauding those that are clever with money and those that
\nare excellent stewards. That\u2019s when you realize Jesus is not against
\nwealth \u2013 he\u2019s against greed and against hoarding what you
\nhave as if it were yours. Jesus is reminding us that His heavenly Abba
\n(Daddy) is the maker and owner of everything. We\u2019re just managers
\nof God\u2019s things.<\/p>\n

So how do you get rich \u2013 if it\u2019s not wrong to have wealth?
\nA wealthy Christian once explained to me the secret. It was so commonsensical
\nI almost laughed. He said, \u201cYou save more than you spend.\u201d
\nThat\u2019s it. He went on to say, \u201cMost of the wealthy people
\nI know acquired their wealth through a lifetime of frugality. They had
\na job that paid their living expenses and then had a sideline that made
\nmoney. They didn\u2019t spend more than they made on the living expenses
\nside of things, and they made money on the sideline business.\u201d
\nHe went on to say that he had known many people that made huge salaries
\nthat could never acquire any wealth precisely because they were always
\nspending more than they made.<\/p>\n

For years I gave every engaged couple a copy of a book from Lutheran
\nBrotherhood on managing money. In the book, Pastor Merv Thompson said
\nthat many Christians had been wonderful stewards of God\u2019s money
\nby giving God the first 10% of their pay check, then saving the next
\n10%, and then living off the other 80%. Pastor Thompson taught many
\nparishioners over the years that tithing was returning to the Lord the
\nfirst 10 cents of every dollar that they made.<\/p>\n

When you couple Pr. Thompson\u2019s advice with my wealthy Christian
\nfriend\u2019s advice, you see how Christians can faithfully manage
\nGod\u2019s things while accumulating wealth over a lifetime. If you
\nremember that you are going to face God some day and give an account
\nof your management of His things, then you will have an eye constantly
\non using God\u2019s things on behalf of the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

If you are an older Christian and have accumulated a lot of assets
\nthrough a lifetime of frugality, you will want to have some fun investing
\nthat money on God\u2019s behalf. Working with a financial planner,
\nyou can have a lot of fun investing God\u2019s money in the mission
\nand ministry of the Church. You can make challenge grants to the congregation
\nto help pay off the building loan. You can invest in the young people
\nof the congregation by making special gifts for confirmation or other
\nyouth ministries. You can invest in the adults of this congregation
\nby investing in Bible study programs.<\/p>\n

If you have accumulated assets, you can invest in the unchurched by
\ninvesting your money in more advertising for our congregation. You can
\ninvest in the future by investing your money in an Endowment Fund. And
\nthe Lord has many more ministries that you will want to consider. Along
\nthe way you can have a lot of fun investing in God\u2019s work \u2013
\ninvesting in changing lives through education, through community outreach,
\nand in so many other ways!
\nThe key thing to remember is that everything belongs to God. Being rich
\nis all a matter of perspective. If you compare yourself to Bill Gates
\nof Microsoft Corporation, then you\u2019re dirt poor. But if you compare
\nyourself to most of the people in the world, then you are fabulously
\nwealthy. It\u2019s all a matter of perspective.<\/p>\n

One of my friends has been a recovering alcoholic for many years. When
\nshe went with me on a mission trip to Honduras, her whole worldview
\nshifted. She said to me, \u201cI\u2019ve always felt poor since I
\nlost my big four room house in a divorce. Then I came to Honduras and
\nsaw how the victims of Hurricane Mitch were thrilled to have these two-room
\nhouses that we were building there.\u201d She said, \u201cI came to
\nmy 600 square foot condominium and saw that I live in a palace compared
\nto them.\u201d She said, \u201cI\u2019m rich, and I never knew it
\nuntil I went to Honduras.\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t get rich by frugality. She didn\u2019t get rich by
\nhaving a sideline job. She didn\u2019t get rich by winning the lottery.
\nShe got rich by visiting the Third World and seeing her life through
\nnew eyes. She was already grateful for her sobriety. Now she had new
\nreasons to be grateful for being wealthy all along.<\/p>\n

In Holy Baptism, we were claimed as beloved daughters and sons of God
\nthrough no effort or merit of our own. We were baptized into the death
\nand resurrection of the Lord of the Universe, who though He was in the
\nform of God emptied Himself for our sake. He became poor in order to
\nsave us from sin, death, and evil. He died that we might have life and
\nhave it abundantly.<\/p>\n

The baptized life is a daily renunciation of all our idols including
\nthe greedy chase after the Golden Fleece. As we grow in the grace and
\nknowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, we become like my friend who had
\nto go 1300 miles from home in order to see her life through totally
\ndifferent eyes.<\/p>\n

Some people almost have to die before they realize that their whole
\nlife has been obsessed with acquiring wealth that they will eventually
\nlose anyway when they die. Some people have to lose their health, their
\njobs, and even their families before they realize that they have become
\nas deaf and dumb as any idol made of silver or gold (see Psalm 135).<\/p>\n

Today the Lord of the Universe is calling us again to the waters of
\nBaptism to lose our old selfish lives and be reborn as grateful children
\nof God. It\u2019s possible to get rich today by seeing our lives through
\nGod\u2019s eyes. We have the greatest treasure of all. We are loved
\nand cherished by the God who gave His life for us on Calvary\u2019s
\ncross. We have an inheritance in heaven that can\u2019t be bought with
\nsilver or gold. We have the certainty that nothing can separate us from
\nGod\u2019s love. And that blessed assurance changes how we look at
\nwho we are, what we have, and where we are going.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not wrong to be wealthy. It\u2019s not wrong to accumulate
\nwealth through wise and honest management of God\u2019s things. It\u2019s
\nwrong to think that being wealthy is the answer to your greatest needs
\nand yearnings. For in an eye blink you can be dead and your assets can
\nbe taken away from you and given to someone else!<\/p>\n

Knowing that you are God\u2019s beloved child changes everything!
\nIt changes how you look at your life, how you look at your calendar,
\nand how you use what\u2019s in your wallet and investment accounts.
\nWhen you remember that everything belongs to God, then it\u2019s fun
\nnot only to use money wisely. It\u2019s fun to invest God\u2019s money
\nin His mission and ministry.<\/p>\n

You are rich compared to most of the people in the world simply because
\nyou live in the United States of America. But as a child of God, you
\nremember that you are rich because God has given you everything you
\nhave and everything you are \u2013 especially His own life on the cross
\nthat you may be His child forever!<\/p>\n

The Rev. Dr. Samuel Zumwalt
\nSt. Matthew\u2019s Lutheran Church
\nWilmington, North Carolina
\nszumwalt@bellsouth.net<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Lord Jesus doesn\u2019t say that it\u2019s wrong to have wealth or to be wealthy. He doesn\u2019t say that you can\u2019t be his disciple if you have wealth. In fact, Jesus doesn\u2019t propose a target income that is acceptable and then beyond that we\u2019re in trouble. Rather he says, \u201cBe on your guard against all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,727,108,110,400,3,109],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-10020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lukas","category-archiv","category-current","category-engl","category-kapitel-12-chapter-12-lukas","category-nt","category-predigten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10020"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14244,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10020\/revisions\/14244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10020"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=10020"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=10020"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=10020"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=10020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}