Ash Wednesday February 14, 2018
2018 Introduction to Seven and Study of Greed (This file is a short study sent out in advance of the Lent midweek sermon.)
Ash Wednesday
Matthew 6:16-21
February 14, 2018
“Greed (Avarice) & Jesus the Big Spender”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(This sermon is the first in a Lenten series on the seven vices. You can find the others under “Lent Midweek”.)
There’s a possibility that you’ll be upset by this sermon. Jesus is known to upset rich people and we are rich by nearly every standard in the world. When a rich young man came up to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus said, “Go, sell all that you have and give it to the poor. And follow Me.” (Matthew 19:16-22) And the rich young man was upset. And so He might also upset you tonight. But hopefully you’ll be just upset enough that you once again repent and follow Jesus. And then and only then do we find true happiness and joy.
That rich young man isn’t the only time Jesus talks about greed. Jesus denounces greed more than any other of the seven sins. That would suggest it’s pretty serious. And yet it doesn’t really get our attention. In fact, in our capitalist American economy we even turn greed into a virtue. Greed is good, we say. We have to be greedy. That’s how the economy grows. We have to buy! When we need a boost in the economy, what do we do? Give people more money. A stimulus. Teach them to be greedy. That’ll fix it.
So then we start to see greed as harmless. We focus in on other big sins like lust, adultery, drugs, or the dreaded unkindness or intolerance. Those are the big ones, right? But not according to Jesus. If we took Jesus’ words seriously, we’d be just as appalled at shows like the Price is Right, Deal or No Deal, or Jeopardy—as much as we’re appalled at movies full of sex and violence. “But those game shows are harmless, right?” (Kreeft, Peter. Back to Virtue: Traditional Moral Wisdom for Modern Moral Confusion. Ignatius Press, 1992, p. 111)
Why does greed get this pass? Like it’s no big deal? Jesus thought otherwise. Paul says the “love of money” is the root of all kinds of evils (1 Timothy 6:10).
Why is greed so bad? Because greed is a fake! A pretender! It pretends and fakes like it will bring you happiness and all things good. “Ooh, if I just can just earn more money, if I can just get that new table and that new TV, if I can just retire with seven figures in my investments.” But woe to us! The more we have the more we want. The more we have the more we worry about what we have. The more we have the more stress we have trying to keep it all up. The more we have the more scared we are of losing it. It’s a vicious circle. You’ve all experienced it. You can’t wait to acquire something and by a week later you don’t care about it anymore.
Many of you know the word miser. That’s an old word for what today we call a pennypincher. A person who hoards their money. But where did that word come from? Miser is simply someone who is miserable or in misery. That’s why we call them misers. Because greed is misery.
Greed pretends that we’re gaining everything—but really what we’re doing is losing ourselves and losing God. When we love money, then we can’t love God or our neighbor.
Let me briefly tell you the story of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel (1 Kings 21). King Ahab was a wicked king and his wife Jezebel was even more wicked than him. Next to King Ahab’s palace in Samaria was a vineyard belonging to a man, Naboth. King Ahab decided he wanted that vineyard to plant a vegetable garden. So he told Naboth to sell his vineyard to him. Or King Ahab would buy him another vineyard somewhere else. Either way King Ahab wanted the vineyard. But Naboth said, “No, I can’t give away the land my fathers gave to me.”
So King Ahab moped around like a little toddler. He wanted that vineyard! He wouldn’t even eat he was so upset. (By the way, this is the picture of greed.) Now his wife hatched a plan for him. She sent letters to the elders of the town and told them to get everyone together for a fast and have Naboth at the head of it. Then they were to have two others come forward and say that Naboth had cursed God and the king. So they did all that. And the people took Naboth out and stoned him to death. And King Ahab got his vineyard.
You see where greed leads? It leads to envy, hatred, and murder. Now did Ahab get his due? Well, yes, the prophet Elijah went and told him that God knew what he had done and that the dogs would lick up Ahab’s blood. And Jezebel would get the same. But two times at the end of that chapter it says this: that Ahab sold himself to do what was evil. Hear that? Sold himself. He got his vineyard but he sold himself. That’s the problem with greed. It promises us all this gain but we only end up selling ourselves.
Now let me tell you another story. About Jesus. King Ahab sold himself. But Jesus spent Himself. You know what the antidote to greed is? Giving. Generosity. The antidote is Jesus. Jesus came down to earth with everything and He gave it all away. Place after place, person after person, Jesus spent Himself in teaching, healing, blessing, and feeding. You and I are greedy. And we always will be to some degree until we reach paradise. But Jesus knows this about you. And that’s why He spent Himself to buy you. You are His.
See, we think happiness will come by possessing stuff. But it doesn’t. It only brings heartache. True happiness and joy comes not from possessing, but from being possessed. (Kreft, Back to Virtue, p. 112) You are possessed by Jesus. He spent His life to get you. Hey, take a load off. Stop worrying about your stuff. Because somebody else owns you. And He takes very good care of you. Our hunger for stuff is really a sign of hunger for something else—a good hunger—for the security and contentment that we have in Jesus Christ.
Now it is very difficult to avoid greed in America. As I said, our economy runs on it. And advertising is a powerful force. All day long—on your TV, your phone, your computer, your radio, your newspaper, on the side of the road—everywhere you are told, “You need this. Buy this. This will make you happy. This is what you’ve been missing.”
But you have new life in Jesus Christ. You can indeed fight the good fight against greed. And the biggest thing you can do is give. You probably already know how much more joy and blessing comes from giving than spending. But there’s something else about giving. Giving loosens our grip on money and stuff. Giving reminds us that we can do without. That the same God who gave us all of this will continue to give us more. Giving is essential to rooting out our greed. Of course, that starts with giving to the Church. But it’s much more than that also. With Jesus Christ we can learn to spend ourselves for others.
Besides giving, the other thing to do is say no. Turn off the TV and the phone and ignore the ads. Don’t keep ten shopping apps on your phone and don’t go spend your leisure time shopping. Consider it this way. Wouldn’t it be nothing short of absolutely heroic—if someone were to say, “Thank you, but I’m satisfied.” Can you imagine that? “Here, get this latest phone. We’ll even buy back your old one.” “Thank you, but I’m satisfied.” “Here, you need this new car with the best safety features and the all the latest controls.” “Thank you, but no, I’m satisfied.” (Willimon, William. Sinning Like a Christian: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins, Abingdon, 2005, p. 107)
That’s a hero in America today. Someone who can say, “Yes, I can afford this. But you know what? I don’t need it. I already have plenty.” I would like to better be that kind of hero to my children. And I bet you all would like to as well. To show that our satisfaction and contentment isn’t contingent on stuff. It’s found in Jesus Christ.
Friends in Christ, greed is self-defeating. And it’s also a sin. But that’s why we come on Ash Wednesday. To find true joy and contentment in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. So confess your greed to Him. He is slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
And through this Lent, as we discuss all these seven sins, consider what you might do this Lent as a way of turning away from these pretend joys and turning to our real joy in Christ. Traditionally people have done things like fasting, giving, and praying. So you might decide to give more this Lent to combat greed. You might decide to give up certain shopping. To fast from shopping. You might decide to fast from certain foods to combat gluttony. You might consider praying the Litany every day to combat pride. But give it a little thought.
And most of all know that Jesus Christ is the answer to all our sin. Be it greed, pride, lust, or anything else. He spends Himself on us so that we have all that we need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Other sources consulted for this sermon include:
Deyoung, Rebecca Konyndyk. Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies, Brazos, 2009.
Okholm, Dennis. Dangerous Passions, Deadly Sins: Learning From the Psychology of Ancient Monks, Brazos, 2014.