Relationships

 So here we are in the New Year. Many are making resolutions and new personal budgets for the year. - I think that many people may have a complicated relationship with money. There are many who think, 'people with more than us probably got it by cheating - and people with less than us are probably lazy'. That's where people get the idea that 'every billionaire must be evil'. Now granted, some billionaires don't do a lot for their cause....

However, back in Jesus' day, many assumed that being wealthy meant you were blessed by God - and if you were poor, it was because you were cursed by God. That was the general perspective of many to whom Jesus was speaking in the Book of Luke chapter 16. Jesus started by telling His disciples a story about a shrewd manager who used worldly wealth for future purposes - to gain favor with others who might help him down the line.

Now the religious leaders, the Pharisees, heard this story and sneered, they mocked Jesus' teaching. Jesus then directly addressed the 'religious people' of His day; He called them out about their legalistic attitudes and then He told the following story…

Luke 16:19-31 (NIV)

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. (20) At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores (21) and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. (22) The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.

(23) In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. (24) So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' (25) But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

(26) And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' (27) He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, (28) for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' (29) Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

(30) 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' (31) He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'

Here we have a passage where Jesus used a story to communicate a specific truth to His audience. As I mentioned, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, people who were very well versed in the Law and Biblical studies. The problem was that even though they may have known all the finer points of theology – they missed a major point of application to their own lives.

In this context, we see that this story focuses on the management of 'things' and our relationships with each other. And - that management, or mismanagement, has serious consequences. Now some may try to 'draw out' a lot of meaning from some of the details of the story. So I want us to start with…

I. What's the message?

There are questions about whether this story is a parable or an actual account. Parables don't usually use proper names - but here both a man named Lazarus and Abraham are referenced. And if it is an actual story that Jesus had access to through His Divinity - there are some larger implications. The larger point of the story is that the rich man didn't use his wealth properly and ignored the needs of a man right at his own gate.

But some may read things into the story that aren't necessarily intended to be conveyed. First off, is this passage teaching that…

A. Being rich is evil?

Jesus was confronting the Pharisees' belief that being rich was a sign of God's blessing. But some have noted that the rich man ends up in Hades and the poor man ends up by Abraham's side. (And you may have noticed the word used in the story was actually translated as 'Hell' but before Jesus' death and resurrection - 'Hades', the 'abode of the dead' may actually have been the more appropriate term - but that's a sermon for another day...)

Anyway - was Jesus teaching us that rich people will go to Hell just because they're rich? We don't see that teaching anywhere else in scripture. Jesus did specifically say in Matthew 19 it's hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but not impossible.

And we know, from the entirety of the New Testament, that we spend eternity in Heaven or Hell based on our acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and nothing else. Now, it's true that our relationship with what we own does have a profound effect on our relationship with Jesus – that can't be denied. But how much wealth we have does not expressly determine our eternal destiny. We read this in 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV)...

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. (18) Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. (19) In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Whether we end up in Heaven or Hell is not determined by our net worth, but by what we do with what we have. - "But, preacher, you just said that 'we spend eternity in Heaven or Hell based on our acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ and nothing else' and NOW you say that 'it's determined by what we do with what we have' – which is it?"

What we do with our 'wealth' is a direct reflection of our relationship with Jesus. You can't just say "I love Jesus" and then use everything He has given you exclusively for yourself alone. You can't separate your attitude and your actions in this matter. If you're generous and use what God has given you for good – it shows that you do love Jesus. If you put all your hope in wealth – what does that communicate to God? Now before any of us say, "You get those rich people, preacher! Give it to 'em!" Let's consider something…

This past summer I talked at our VBS about my trip to Africa. I visited a friend of mine who was serving as a missionary in Kenya. While there, I was introduced to a Christian man named Samson. He worked for the Wildlife services and I was told he was pretty wealthy. We were invited to his house and after about a half hour drive, we arrived on his doorstep. Samson was 'wealthy' because he had a concrete floor while his neighbors only had dirt. His walls were 'fancy' because he had them wallpapered with newspapers. In his town, Samson was rich.

When Jesus warned the rich to be careful in their relationship to their wealth – don't instantly exclude yourself from that category. I know we have some present here today who have some pretty tight budgets and fixed incomes. Many live paycheck to paycheck – but there are many in this world who would love to trade places with any of us, financially speaking.

Compared to the Rich man in the story... I have running water - he didn't. I have electricity, I have central air, I have a TV and internet... Who's rich...? Hmmm... But now let's look at the flipside – we see that being rich in itself isn't evil. But was Jesus teaching…

B. Being poor is righteous?

I've heard it implied many times that the poor among us are the truly virtuous ones compared to the rest of the selfish, greedy, rich ones. That's one of the beliefs that's fueled the growing 'soak the rich' 'Occupy Wall Street' attitude that divides many of us.

I know that there are many virtuous, Godly people who, through no fault of their own, don't have a lot of money – but their virtue doesn't come solely from their lack of money. Among the poor – there are some very good people and there are some very bad people, just like in the rest of society. 'Being poor' is a circumstance, not a virtue.

Solomon, the wisest man in the world, wrote this in Proverbs 6:9-11 (NIV)...

How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? (10) A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest - (11) and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

Solomon is not condemning poor people, but warning people that if you don't work hard – you may end up poor. Solomon doesn't see 'being poor' as a virtue in and of itself. And he also wrote this in Proverbs 30:7-9 (NIV)...

Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: (8) Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. (9) Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

Solomon, the wisest man, prayed to avoid poverty AND riches, because BOTH can pose legitimate risks to our spiritual health.

In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, riches are not condemned and poverty is not extolled. That's not really the point of this story. Now, we could do a study of other scriptures and see that rich people are always warned to be very careful to put God first and that poor people are encouraged to work hard – but we do not find here, or anywhere else, that our 'net worth' determines our ultimate destination.

Jesus was telling this specific story to make a point, and it was also not necessarily an essay on the afterlife. In other words, don't try to read too much into it and make precise assumptions about Heaven and Hell.

Just because the characters in the story by Abraham's side and Hades are able to see and talk to each other doesn't necessarily mean that things will be that way. Jesus was telling a story to make a point about the consequences of being selfish. He wasn't trying to teach the Pharisees exactly what 'life after death' will be like.

The bigger point is – we don't really know a great deal of solid detail about Heaven or Hell, but we do know that they are real. We know that Jesus is preparing a place for His children and that those who reject Him will be separated from Him. We can speculate on a lot of other questions we might have – but God has given us all we need to know, for now. So let's look at the…

II. Consequences of poor management

The purpose of this story is to teach the consequences of being selfish with what God has blessed us; the consequences of placing a higher value on money and things than on people. Jesus was teaching that we have a personal responsibility to help those in need. We can't just ignore people and say it's all the job of the government or social programs. It is the responsibility of a follower of Jesus. We're not called to personally save everyone – but we are called to help those with needs in our everyday lives.

Now, I don't want to be guilty of that which I just spoke, reading into the story things that aren't there – but notice that Jesus didn't include anything in this story about the man obtaining his wealth illegally or dishonestly. He may have gotten it just by being a good business man. The point wasn't that Jesus was teaching that the man was being punished for stealing the wealth he had – but he was being punished for what he did, or did not do, with the wealth he had. For context, if we look back to an earlier passage I mentioned from that same chapter…

Luke 16:9-13 (NIV)

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. (10) Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. (11) So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? (12) And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?

(13) No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Back to Jesus' story - as a result of the rich man being oblivious to the obvious needs of Lazarus, right at the rich man's gate – the consequence of the rich man's selfishness was…

A. Punishment

We see that the rich man was now the one in need and that Lazarus was the one being comforted. The tables had been turned, in a sense – justice was being served. But how many times have you seen someone who lives right, who plays by the rules, who tries to do everything right – but it seems they just can't catch a break. Jesus said about God…

Matthew 5:45b (NIV)

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

That's the way it is in this life – good and bad things will happen to 'good people' and good and bad things will happen to 'bad people'. In Heaven - that's where God's children will be rewarded! We'll all have bad things happen to us here and now, but circumstances will change when we get home, to Heaven. There will be a judgment day – and, just like the rich man in the story, now…

B. We have been warned

The rich man asked for someone to come back from the dead and warn his brothers, thinking that something like that might really turn them around. But Abraham's response was, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'

Notice that Jesus was telling this story knowing full well that He - Himself - would very soon be rising from the dead. And there were people who saw it with their own eyes and yet still chose to reject Him. We are to choose, right now, to be good managers of what we've been given.

So What?

'So what exactly are you saying preacher, if I don't share my blessings with others that I'm in danger of missing out on Heaven?' I don't really see how we can interpret Jesus' story any other way.

This life is not all there is! We work hard and accumulate 'things' and try to build up our retirement plans and 401k's - and there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. - Unless we forget to work on our Heavenly treasures. What's more important - your retirement fund or how you treat others...? How does God feel about the way you are using whatever He has given you – a little or a lot?

So 'bless you' to those who have demonstrated good stewardship and generosity! And to those of us who need to work on it - let's commit to that today! Our relationships with money and people speak volumes about where our hearts are.

We're called to show love to people and many times that requires the use of things we own. We use things and love people – not the other way around. None of us can afford to just focus on this life and miss out on the next – true life. Be generous with those around you as God has been exceedingly gracious with you!