Sept. 28 | Pentecost 16, Year C
Jer. 32:1-3a, 6-15 or Amos 6:1a, 4-7
Ps. 91:1-6, 14-16 or Ps. 146
1 Tim. 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31
Although St. Paul writes that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, everything in all creation belongs to God. In wealth, the difference between blessing and curse is our attitude toward it. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Evil is the result of placing our heart, our hope, our very dependence on our wealth. If our present and future are seen as totally dependent upon our material well-being, then we will be subject to rationalizations and compromises to grasp at an illusory security.
The lure of wealth is strong because money appears to be the remedy for all our needs and desires. We think money brings power, status, and fulfillment. When money becomes an end in itself, however, it brings not only the appearance of those things but a very real and ever-increasing desire for more, which is what we call greed in others. Men and women have been driven to despicable levels by the love of money. Throughout history and at every stratum of society, people have betrayed and financially ruined family members and friends to pursue their god. Others, like the religion-for-gain teachers St. Paul writes about, have even sacrificed their love of God on the altar of money.
The opposite of greed is contentment, so the apostle contrasts greed and godliness. By doing so, he teaches us that if our love of money is kept in godly perspective, we are truly blessed and will know contentment. As a tool for furthering the kingdom and honoring God, money is a true gift. But the power of the gift is in its use and not its possession.
St. Paul sees the temptation of greed as so strong that he pleads with us to flee from it. That admonition raises a good question: How often do we take our sinful tendencies seriously enough to flee from them, let alone seeing our goal of a Christlike life as important enough to actively pursue?
In Scripture we are told to take hold of the eternal life [by] fleeing from [unrighteousness and] pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. The recipe for the obedient life is turning away from the greed of the world and seeking the generous heart of God to make it our own. Our purpose on earth is to announce and demonstrate the purpose and direction of God through Jesus Christ. Only by God’s generosity has our salvation been assured through our Spirit-inspired faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Only a generous life can reveal a generous God.
Our true hope is in our Christ-given eternal life. As Jesus taught, that is the only thing in all creation that is worth being grasped. Eternal security and significance, true contentment, come from knowing that we are children of God through our acceptance by his grace, and adoption as heirs of the kingdom. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we grow in our knowledge and acceptance of the reality of God’s promise and experience increasing freedom from the bondage to worldly wealth and status. Such freedom allows us to use whatever we have in a godly manner; that is, for the spread of the kingdom of God through the expression of a generous love for our neighbors.
Our contentment can be only found in God through our obedience to his perfect will. While greed can only bring discontent, godliness in the form of generosity with what we have been given brings contentment. The joy of a gift comes from using it for its proper purpose. While there is always anxiety when we must protect what we possess, there is only freedom and contentment in taking the blessings we have received and using them to be a blessing to others.
Look It Up:Â Luke 16:19-31
Think About it:Â God has given us all the resources we need to love and bless our neighbors.
The Rev. Dr. Chuck Alley, former rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, teaches anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School.
