One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?…You cannot serve God and money.
Jesus of Nazareth
We conclude the Reflection began four weeks ago, looking at the day Jesus confronted the Pharisees over their love of money (see Luke 14:1-17:10). The passage above, which we reflected on in detail two weekends ago, is critical to understanding everything that Jesus taught that day.
Luke continues his account with Jesus’ illustration of the consequences of loving money better than our neighbours. We’ve previously reflected on the story of Lazarus and the rich man and noted that the rich man’s offence was not ignoring Lazarus but of not inconveniencing himself to help. The two men may have come from opposite ends of the social spectrum but they were neighbours and the rich man, although he kept Lazarus alive with leftover food and other unwanted things, did not love his neighbour as himself. This had eternal consequences.
Jesus tells how both Lazarus and the rich man die but while Lazarus goes to be with Abraham in Paradise the rich man finds himself in hell (or Hades, the place of the dead, as some English Bibles translate it). But even there, the rich man was still acting like a rich man! He failed to realise that he his torment was the consequence of his own behaviour; he remains narrow-minded and still expects someone to serve him. He doesn’t ask to escape, only that Lazarus go and give him a sip of water.
In the story, Abraham represents God. The rich man asks Abraham to send someone back from the dead to warn his brothers about what awaits them. Abraham refuses: it is enough that they have ‘the law and the prophets’ – the Scriptures – he says. The rich man presses his point: they would listen to someone raised from the dead. Abraham disagrees. We now know that what Abraham says in the story is true in the real world because generations have failed to listen to Jesus of Nazareth, who did return from the dead!
Jesus closed this episode by warning his disciples – not the Pharisees, or the crowd, but those closest to him – against temptations to sin. He warns then not to put temptation before others but to rebuke and forgive those who do. We need to keep this in mind when talking to people who believe that in some way God wants all his people to be materially rich or that God will give material wealth in return for giving.While there are some teachers who are shamelessly use these arguments to excuse their love of money and enrich themselves, many are sincere Christians devoted to God and his people but wrong about this issue.
The disciples were not to be judgmental but they were not to lack good judgment. They asked Jesus to increase their faith but Jesus explains how even just a little faith will grow. The new birth that Jesus talked about, the need to be 'born again', as he explained it to Nicodemus (see John 3), is the start of new life. The difference being born again makes is not complete or manifest but it is fundamental and it will begin to make a difference to everything if it is nurtured and grows.
The disciples were not to be judgmental but they were not to lack good judgment. They asked Jesus to increase their faith but Jesus explains how even just a little faith will grow. The new birth that Jesus talked about, the need to be 'born again', as he explained it to Nicodemus (see John 3), is the start of new life. The difference being born again makes is not complete or manifest but it is fundamental and it will begin to make a difference to everything if it is nurtured and grows.
I don’t think it’s inappropriate to remember again the parable of the sower and the young plants that were choked by thorns, representing the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for things. Christians need to keep themselves clear of temptations and bad influences. I'm not suggesting we should refuse well-paid work, not enjoy the good things that come our way or accept hospitality from rich people but we must guard against being drawn into a way of life that will choke the spiritual life within us.
Finally, Jesus reminded his disciples that doing their duty as servants qualified them for no special privilege: ‘So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty”.’ I am reminded of St Paul writing to the church at Corinth, explaining that he preached the Gospel without taking a collection from them in order to go beyond the call from God to preach.
‘For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.’ (1 Corinthians 9:16-18.)
If more of the preachers who preach about prosperity understood that the Bible means by prosperity, they would follow Paul’s example. If more Christians were Kingdom shrew in the ways they interact with people, not shrewd in the ways of contemporary society, aspiring to lifestyles like Jesus outlined for his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, then our ability and authority to make more disciples would be greatly enhanced. Our duty is to love and serve God, not money, and to use what wealth God has entrusted to us to serve the poor and vulnerable in society.
I'm sure the corrupt Pharisees who Jesus challenged thought they were being shrewd, mixing religious devotion with their love of money. But they were actually only out for themselves, worldly wise with a religious gloss. Next weekend, I plan to begin reflecting on the financial implications of being obedient to what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, in order to see how to live shrewdly as Jesus meant his followers to be shrewd.
© All Souls Clubhouse Community Centre & Church and Philip Evans 2014.
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