Just a Little Bit More

Pastor David L. Hansen

Lectionary 18 (August 5), 2007

Luke 12:13-21

A few years ago, a doctor successfully treated a very sick child.  A few days later, the grateful mother stopped by to see the physician.  She shared with the doctor that her gratitude was more than the sort that could be fully expressed, especially with mere money.  She then continued:

“But I hope you will accept as a token from me this purse which I have embroidered myself.”

The physician replied very coldly to the effect that his fees must be paid in cash, not merely in gratitude and trinkets, and he added:

“Presents may maintain friendships, but they certainly do not pay my bills.”

Slightly upset, the woman asked, “Well then, what is your fee?”

“Three hundred dollars,” the doctor answered.

The woman opened the purse which the doctor had refused, and took from it ten $100 bills.  She put seven back in, and handed three to the confused physician, then turned and left.

If you are like me, you don’t think much about greed.  The fact is, crass, overt greed is not a sin that many of us fall into.  We leave that for executives that plunder their employees’ pension money, or actors that demand a few more million for their next film, or politicians that accept gifts in exchange for votes.  But unbridled greed is beyond most of us.

And so we put it out of our minds.

Well, today’s Gospel puts greed back at the forefront.

A man, not unlike you or me, came to Jesus to settle a dispute.  He was not a greedy man, as we would think of it, but was concerned about fairness.  And Jesus said to him,

“Take care!  Be on guard against all kinds of greed.”

Notice, not just be on guard against greed – we know what crass, overt greed looks like, and we pretty easily avoid it.  But Jesus says we need to guard against all kinds of greed.

Jesus then goes on to tell the story of a frugal farmer, a man who is planning for the future and providing for his family.  Again, a man not all that different from you or me, not at all an example of blatant greed.

And if didn’t notice, it is not a story with a happy ending.

“You Fool!” God said to the man, “You fool, this very night your life is being demanded of you.”

Ok, so greed is the issue.  Based on texts such as this, the church has long considered greed to be the worst sort of sin – calling it a cardinal sin or a deadly sin. 

But, what do me mean by greed?

Well, we all know what crass, overt greed looks like.  Let’s call that “big greed.”  Big greed is the chief financial officers who embezzle millions of dollars.  Big greed is obvious, you can’t miss it.  And so, it is easy for us to avoid.  We all know that it is wrong.

The problem is that Big Greed – overt, obvious greed – is not the only type of greed.  The sin of greed is really a piling up of lots of little greeds.

At its heart, greed is the desire for more than we need – more than we truly even want.  And this desire for more can take many forms.

Certainly the most common is the desire for money, for financial success.  Now, let me be very clear on this point: in and of itself, money is not evil or bad – it is how we use money and the desires it evokes in us and our attitudes about it that are problematic.

So none of is guilty of Big Greed when it comes to money, I doubt that anyone here is going to leave these service and go satisfy their desire for more by robbing a bank.  But tell me, how many of you feel, as I often do, that life would be easier – like you would be happier – if you had just a little bit more money?

We all would!  And that’s greed.  That sometimes quiet – sometimes quite loud – voice in our head that says, “Just a little more.”

It was the desire for just a little more that led the farmer in Jesus’ story to provide for his family by building extra storehouses – he just wanted a comfortable retirement.

To which God said, “You Fool.”  And that is greed for money.

But not all greed deals with money.  We can also desire more material things than we really need.  And so we have to have the latest cell phone, the latest computer, the newest tractor.  The advertising and marketing businesses make their living by convincing all of us that we can’t live without things that no sensible person would need.

And so we spend a little more for the most advanced gadgets, rather than settling for last year’s version.  We buy a new dress or suit for the wedding, rather than mending and pressing what is already in our closet.

We aren’t hurting anyone, we aren’t stealing anything, so we assume that there is nothing wrong with it.  We don’t even think twice about it.  “Take Care!” Jesus says, “Be on guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” 

Hard words for us to hear, but that’s greed, too.

And so we have greed, we desire more than we truly need, in terms of money and in terms of material possessions.  But there’s one other little greed – food.  As Americans, we seem to always desire a little bit more in this department too – certainly more than most of us need; a quick look at the statistics for obesity in America will tell you that.  One look at how my waistline has expanded in my year at Prairie Hill will let you know that I am as guilty of this as anyone.

Seconds at the table.  Extra large servings at restaurants.  There is even a special word for this type of greed: gluttony, desiring more food, more wine, more beer, than we could ever need.

As you can see, we are all guilty of these little greeds, and they add up quickly to lives that are dominated by greed.  It is like the great tycoon J.P. Getty.  An interviewer once asked him, “Mr. Getty, when will you feel like you have enough money?”  To which Getty replied, “When I have just a little bit more.”

And that’s how greed gets us – just a little bit more.

That’s the bad news.  But there is also good news for us this morning.

Just like greed sneaks up on us in all these little ways, we can also keep greed at bay in little ways.

Things like not taking that second helping of mashed potatoes;

Cooking dinner at home instead of going out to a restaurant;

Increasing your giving to the church, even by as little as an extra five dollars a week;

Being happy with last year’s gadgets, rather than buying the latest thing;

Buying the clothes that you family needs, instead of what you want;

There are all sorts of little things we can do to fight off greed.

Ultimately, it is all about remembering that there is only one thing that we truly need – and it was given to us on the cross.  The rest is just gravy – just icing on the cake.

It’s all about priorities.  All that we truly need has been provided by God.  By curbing the role of greed in our lives, we can re learn that all of those things: money, possessions, even extra food; might be nice, but we don’t depend on them.

I want to challenge you.  In the week to come, live a little more simply.  Try to recognize that little voice of greed in your head, and ignore it.  Buy what you need, not what you want.  Spend less.  And focus not on what you are missing, but be thankful for the many gifts that God has already given you.

I promise you, as you live with less, you will find your life enriched.

Focus not on material gifts, but on the gifts of Christ and his cross, and you will find that you have more than you ever imagined; and you will be rich in the kingdom of heaven.  Thanks be to God.