"Avarice: Desire In The Wrong Direction"

sermon by Pastor David Layman

October 23,2005

Luke 12:13-21

As Luke 12 begins, Jesus is teaching important lessons to a very large crowd. But one man present really wasn't listening--he was waiting to enlist Jesus as a supporter of his avarice. This man had an inheritance dispute with his brother, and people commonly brought such disputes to rabbis. Jesus was the most important rabbi of his day, so the man called out to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." Normally, the first born son, groomed for leadership, received the larger portion ofthe inheritance. Jesus responded with a warning: "Take care! Be on your guard against aU kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then Jesus told the parable of a very successful farmer at the time of a bumper crop who wondered what he should do with all of his crops. Instead of sharing with those in need, the man decided to build larger barns, and to eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to the man "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"

"Avarice" is defined as "excessive, unbridled desire." Avarice is precisely what the advertising industry in America wants us to have! Avarice has also been described as "holding a penny so close to our eye that it blocks out the sun." Avarice contains the word "ice". Avarice puts ice in our hearts; avarice leads us to think only of ourselves, not others! A child was once talking about what he wanted for Christmas. After rattling off a long list, his parent asked "Do you really need all that?" He responded "I don't want to need. 1 want to want!" Avarice!

1 had everything 1 needed as a child. We-always had good food, warm shelter, clothes to wear. More than that, we had two parents that deeply loved us and taught us to love others and obey God. In the things that mattered most in life, 1 was rich beyond measure. But my brother, sister and 1 invariably had friends who had more material possessions than we did! And we noticed! The earliest friends 1 can remember were Doug and Steve Laws. They had more toys than 1 had, and nicer ones. 1 had an inexpensive small train that you wound up with a key and kept coming off a tiny track. They had a real toy train that ran on electricity, puffed smoke as it went, and was permanently set up on a large table. 1 had a few marbles. They had lots of marbles. One day, 1 noticed a marble that they had left out in the dirt in their yard. When they weren't around, 1 stole the marble and took it home with me. 1 suppose if! could have gotten their electric train set in my pocket, 1 would have taken it as well! 1 had everything 1 really needed in life, but it wasn't enough for me. That's what avarice can do to a person! Avarice is desire in the wrong direction. It's a sinful attitude that eventually shows itself in resentment, stealing, hoarding, or a greedy spirit.

It's not just individuals that are tempted with avarice, it's churches as well. In another community, the Presbyterian pastor was asked by a Presbytery executive why he wanted an associate pastor. His answer was "Because the Methodists have one!" This pastor's approach was simply "We've got to keep up with the Jones' next door!" By the way, have you noticed that nice, expensive sign that First Christian has erected? There are good reasons and bad reasons to want more in life. Avarice is a bad reason!

Avarice, unbridled desire, never satisfies. I don't know if Imelda Marcos ever came to realize this. But even 7,000 pairs of shoes are never enough, if we have a hole in our soul! We're never truly free as along as greed and desire to best another have hold of us. In John 10: 1 0, Jesus says "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." The only true cure for avarice is the abundant life Jesus offers us. It's not based on material possessions; it's based on Jesus! Paul wrote to the Philippians (4: 11 & f.) "I HAVE LEARNED TO BE CONTENT WITH WHATEVER I HAVE. I KNOW WHAT IT IS TO HAVE LITTLE, AND I KNOW WHAT IT IS TO HAVE PLENTY. IN ANY AND ALL CIRCUMSTANCES I HAVE LEARNED THE SECRET OF BEING WELL-FED AND OF GOING HUNGRY, OF HAVING PLENTY AND OF BEING IN NEED. I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM WHO STRENGTHENS ME."

Billy Graham, in his book "Just As I Am" (Zondervan: San Francisco, 1997, p. 697), remembers when he and Ruth visited one of the wealthiest men in the world at his lavish home on a Carribean island. The man said. to them "I am the most miserable man in the world. Out there is my yacht. I can go anywhere I want to. I have my private plane, my helicopters. I have everything I want to make me happy. And yet I'm miserable." Billy and Ruth prayed with him, trying to point him to Christ, who alone gives lasting meaning. Then they went down the hill to the small cottage where they met a local pastor, who was 75, as was the wealthy tycoon. He was a widower, who spent most of his free time taking care of his two invalid sisters. The man said "I don't have two pounds to my name, but I'm the happiest man on this island." One man's life was ice-cold with avarice. Another's life was filled with the life-giving love of Christ.

I recently re-watched the movie "Meet Joe Black". It's about a wealthy man, played by Anthony Hopkins, who is told that he will soon die. While he was a pretty good man to start out with, the knowledge of his imminent death draws him to focus more on his adult daughters, that he loves

deeply, and begins to spend more time with. While a younger board member is driven by greed and avarice, the knowledge of his pending death leads Anthony Hopkins to run his business in a more principled way. The scenes where Hopkins' daughters tell their father they love him, and he tells them he loves them, bring tears to my eyes. The knowledge of our pending mortality tends to focus us upon those things which matter most! The words "I love you" are the most powerful words in our vocabulary. They are the words God was saying to the world when he sent Jesus.

Jenny, a 5 year old girl, saw a necklace of imitation pearls in a store, and set her heart upon buying them. By doing some jobs around the house, and adding the savings in her piggy bank, she soon had the pearls. The girl loved the pearl necklace, and wore them to Sunday School, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or took a bath. Her mother said they might turn her neck green! Jenny's father read to her each night, and one night when he was finished, he asked "Jenny, do you love me?" "Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you!" "Then please give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse with the pink tail from my collection. She's my favorite." "That's ok, honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." A week later, after story time, Jenny's father asked again "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you." "Then please give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. You can have my babydoll, the new one I got for my birthday. You can also have the blanket that matches her sleeper." "That's ok. Sleep well. God and I love you, honey." A few nights later when her father came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling, and a tear creeping down her cheek. "What's the matter, Jenny?" Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her father. When she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. She said "Here Daddy. It's for you." With tears in his own eyes, Jenny's father took with one hand the discount store necklace, and with the other hand pulled out a blue velvet case from his pocket. Inside was a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them in his pocket all the time, waiting for her to give up the discount store pearls so he could give her a genuine treasure.

That's the biggest reason we need to avoid the deadly sin of avarice. While we greedily hold on to our own dime-store possessions, God has eternal blessings ready to replace them with, when we finally reach the point we're ready relax our grip on that which rusts and decays!

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