Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
--Matthew 19:16-24
Friday night after we finished watching a movie, John began to channel surf and landed on VH1 where they were airing "The Fabulous Life Of: Insane Celebrity Real Estate '06". My first reaction was jealousy. I want a huge mansion with a spa and a water view! But then I realized that this reaction is exactly the problem with American materilism. The media pushes these images on us as "fabulous" to inspire our consumer lust and greed. Actually, Satan can use these images of exorbitant wealth to inspire in us all of the "seven deadly sins:" pride, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. I certainly saw all seven over the few minutes that John lingered on the channel. Pride: what are these massive properties if not displays of pride? They scream out, look at what I'm worth, as if a person's value can only be measured by what can be seen. Lust: when people like me develop a burning desire to have what these celebrities have and when the money that paid for the property was bought by capitalizing on sexual lust, such as with the huge spread owned by the creator of Girls Gone Wild. Envy: certainly the first thing I felt and most people raised in America probaby feel when taking in these outrageous images. Gluttony: never having enough. And specifically connected to food, one celebrity has a cook on call 24/7 in case he or his guests get a 3am craving. Wrath: the anger that great displyas of wealth often inspire in the poor--the anger that drives them to rob and kill each other in the streets. Sloth: needing to have some on staff to pop your popcorn for you because you're too lazy to go to the microwave yourself, not to mention the constant physical pampering. And all of these sins wrap in pretty gold plated packages with the deluded belief that a person of wealth and stature is somehow entitled to indulge in these sins as often as his/her pampered heart desires because they've "earned" it or simply because they deserve it. Much to Satan's delight, we Americans eagerly feed right into this philosophy hoping that one day we will be the "lucky ones."
But Jesus doesn't consider these displays of wealth lucky at all. Yes, God can choose to bless people materially. Wealth in and of itself is not a sin. The since comes when wealth is misplaced on a person's priority list. The problem with the rich man in the parable Jesus tells is not that he has money; the problem is that his money is more important to him than anything else. Jesus does not deny that this man has steered clear of much temptation or that he has obeyed all of God's commandments. Jesus calls the man on what is number one in his heart. Even though an outsider may look at the man and think he's lived a righteous life, Jesus looks deeper. This man's heart is with his possessions first and foremost and with his Lord second. He may worship God with his actions, but the grief he feels at having to surrender his possessions shows that his heart does not line up with God's calling. True worship is an offering, a sacrifice for the One who gives all and to whom all returns. This man could follow the letter of the law, but not the heart of the law. The man asks Jesus what he lacks. His lack is not in material poverty, but in the poverty of a heart that clings more to this world than the next. Wealth itself is not a sin, but the hold that wealth tends to take on a person's heart and life is what destroys. The death grip of wealth is one of Satan's favorite tools to use on unassuming hearts in our culture. We see it in the daily rat race and no-holds-barred struggle to get to the top of the ladder, the billboards we pass on the way home, and in the entertainment we enjoy that takes us into a fantasy world of excess. Our country is full of the "Haves" from the world's perspective, but our empty hearts are counted has "Have Nots" from God's perspective. So that we are not consumed by the society that sometimes whispers and sometimes shouts "more...MORE!" at us, we must keep a firmer grasp on God's truth and His grace than we do on what we've built for ourselves. Keeping Him at the foundation and the pinnacle of our hearts is the only way for us to withstand the blows that Satan has so deeply embedded into our culture of materialism.
Posted by Kim at July 10, 2006 02:50 PM