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Luke 12: 13-21 * This is really the “lost week” of the year. I would venture to say that it’s the least productive week. Most of us have taken time off to be with our families and celebrate the season. We’ve cast aside the disciplined life for indulgence (i.e. we eat more than normal, put in a little more ‘couch time’, etc.) January 1… “New Year’s Day”… A day like no other day; so anticipated that we stay up late just to “ring it in”! We speak of “greeting” the new year; we “welcome in” it because of all of the hope that it offers. It’s our annual “mulligan” (golf: a term most of you “hackers” will appreciate!); the big “do over”! * And, as much as we try to ignore it, we’re faced with the inevitable pressure to “set goals” for the new year (i.e. guy at coffee shop in Toledo staring at a blank screen that read “Goals”); you’re supposed to clarify what you plan to achieve and to put it out there (make it public) in such a way that you are more or less obligated to see it through. * If we’re honest, few of us aim really “high” when it comes to resolutions. If we are honest, most of the resolutions we make are well within our ability to accomplish. In fact, I determined that our resolutions are really just renewed attempts at doing what we know we should be doing in the first place! (i.e. lose weight, eat right, etc.) Resolutions are really a way of punishing ourselves for being so “mediocre”. * So, in order to eliminate any unnecessary stress, I’m finding that it’s really just easier to expect less and thereby decrease my frustration level! This year, let’s set the bar really low! (really, there’s no sense in straining to jump higher when we can just step over the bar!) Not a healthy philosophy to live by, but certainly less demanding! * Most of our resolutions are focused on making us feel better about ourselves; helping us look more presentable and feel acceptable. Therefore, most of our resolutions are superficial (surface; appearance) and fail to address the longing (desires) which may be motivating such a lifestyle. * Most of our resolutions are set without giving honest consideration to what we’re really after. We quickly assess our situation and set out a strategy for ensuring that our life will be better. We think in terms of advancement (job) or expansion (home); we think in terms of what’s attainable with just a little more effort on our part; a little more self-determination. “How many of you have resolved to be more loving? to be more forgiving? to refuse to harbor bitterness? to expand the limits of your generosity? to allow speak only words which are encouraging and help build others up? to be more compassionate? to be completely honest in all of your personal interactions?” Don’t make resolutions which help you simply feel better about yourself, but don’t address your deepest desires. * You may attempt to ignore it, but this desire to grow, to excel, to achieve, to become is really inherent in us all. * It’s quite possible that perpetual feelings of failure have sidetracked your pursuits, but they will never squelch desire. Ecclesiastes 3:11-14 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. * God created us with a sense of desire; a longing for something more… something bigger. A desire to “be” (“to be what?” is the question). We are constantly dreaming of a life that we have never experienced. It’s only as that movement is “stifled” that we begin to settle for less; not reach as high. * Our options, then are to: 1) kill desire- expect nothing; numb our emptiness. 2) redirect them- with an emphasis on source of our desires… our heart (the wellspring Prov.4:23) * In our story, the festive carnival like atmosphere surrounding Jesus’ travels is taking a more serious turn. The tension between kingdoms is building, the opposition he is facing is growing stronger and Jesus is warning that anyone who wants to follow him must be devoted… single-hearted… ready for anything. * Out of that crowd comes this “whiny voice” of one so consumed with his present economical situation that he has failed to hear anything that Jesus has been saying. So, Jesus makes an example of him and tells a parable… a story with a point! If the patriarch, or father died, the eldest son received the inheritance; it was then up to him to determine what the other siblings would receive. * In the course of just a few short paragraphs, he uses the words “I” and “my” over (10) times. * Be assured that Jesus’ response is not an indictment on wealth or possessions. He is not faulting the man for his success or his apparent efforts. What he is challenging is a life that is consumed with want (greed); an insatiable desire for more… all the while ignoring his heart. Jesus is saying, “That’s not what life is about!” * Jesus uses a word to describe him that I was not allowed to use when I was growing up (actually, one of two expressions: “fool” and “shut up”): he called him a “fool”. Someone who was unable to “connect the dots”. Reflections… ►The man failed to ask (2) critical questions: 1. “What now?” 2. “What then?” What now? He never challenges his motivation for his pending actions; he never asks “why”. What then? What if I get everything I set out to attain? What if I accomplish every goal? Then what? ►When making resolutions, ask yourself, “Who else does it involve?” ►What gives your life meaning is what fills the empty spaces. “Was bigger barns the answer? Is what we need ample storage or bigger hearts?” * Bigger barns just create greater voids; bigger barns just require the accumulation of more stuff… more space to fill. “storage”- According to the “Self-Storage Association” the country now possesses 1.875 billion square feet of personal storage contained in nearly 4,000 facilities (with 90% occupancy). The storage industry exceeds the revenues of Hollywood. (1) in (11) American households owns self-storage space. Stuff we don’t have room for, but we can’t live without! You may not be able to take it with you, but you can always find a place to store it! ►Know that if we’re not careful, life can get excessive. Our culture knows nothing of moderation (def. “eliminating, or lessening extremes”). Excess, by definition, is “over-indulgence”, “exceeding proper boundaries”, “going beyond normal quantities”. Heb.12:1 The metaphor of a “race”. We are to ‘throw off’ (eliminate) anything that hinders our pursuits. * What hinders you may not necessarily be sinful, but has the potential to become sinful. It doesn’t prevent you from running, just from running effectively. 1 Corinthians 6:12 (3) questions you can ask yourself in order to live free of excess: 1. “Is it beneficial?” Will it impede my progress or assist me in living a more advantaged life? 2. “Is there the potential for such pursuits to overpower me and become habitual?” At which point, we are not merely hindered, but entangled. Now it’s almost impossible to run. 3. “What effect will such practices have on others and how will it reflect on God’s image?” Real freedom is not unrestrained excess. Real freedom is the ability to say ‘no’ to the things you’re allowed to do in order to say ‘yes’ to those things which you should do. ►”What kind of life should I be living right now which will prevent me from experiencing regret in the future?” ►In order to ensure the change that you desire, the change must be connected to something deeper than your behavior. Don’t settle for minor adjustments in your behavior when God offers you the possibility of transformation. * When Jesus says that we should “store up treasures in heaven” or “be rich toward God”, he is not talking about all that’s waiting for you “up there” when you die (as if God has his own set of storage facilities in heaven); but he is talking about bringing God’s kingdom (way of doing things) to bear on our current levels of anxiety and greed. Caedman’s Call…
“This world has nothing for me, and
this world has everything; all that I could want and nothing that I need”. |
