Revisiting Five Desperate Men with whom we have more in common than we will admit.

Secret Sins (Part Three)

Secret Sins (Part Two)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhCGSEpzjKI?feature=oembed&w=500&h=375]

Taking Our Turn In the Crucible of Wealth – Hard Lessons for ALL Men on a Sensitive Subject

(Jesus and the Rich Man Series – Part Three)

Jesus had plenty to say to you and me about our wealth— regardless of the number of significant figures and commas that comprise its total. 

The first two lessons in this series, summarized below, dealt specifically with Jesus’ piercing interactions with two rich men.  The men in both stories approached Him with self-serving motives—not the way to engage the most generous Man Who ever lived. 

The Rich Young Ruler – The Love of Money

Takeaway:  Jesus does not want a “tip” from the wealth of men.  When He says ALL, He means ALL—time, talent, and treasure.  Is there a limit to what you will surrender to Him?  

The Rich Fool – How Much Is Enough

Takeaway:  Amassing “net worth” is a concept of men focused on building their own kingdoms— Men, rich toward God, build His kingdom.   

The final lesson of this series casts a broad net that covers every man reading it who thinks he may be exempt from Jesus’ strong warnings to men of great wealth.  One of many lessons I have had to personally learn over the last fifteen years of ministry to men from every walk of life and income bracket is this: 

Two Reality Checks for ALL men concerning wealth

• Global Perspective: To most people groups in the world, all of us are rich. The U.S. possesses more than 40% of the world’s wealth with one of the largest distribution inequities (how it is spread around or not).  1% of our population owns ~43% of the wealth.  Most of us claim to be on the outside looking in on them, but, globally speaking, we are rich compared to the rest of the people in the world.  Ever heard this? “If you have two pairs of shoes, you are rich.”

• Jesus began teaching on wealth and treasure in the Sermon on the Mount speaking to large crowds that included ALL levels of wealth and poverty.  Thus, His words on worrying about provision and storing up earthly treasures were spoken for the benefit and instruction of all  (Matthew 6: 19-21)

“And others (seeds) are the ones sown among thorns. They are (people) who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for (more stuff) other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”  (Mark 4: 18-19 ESV)

Another hard question arises from Jesus’ teaching on this challenging subject. 

Am I so bogged down by life’s circumstances, trying to “get ahead”, and desire for more that I have been rendered impotent in my worship of God and fruitless in my work on His behalf?

Closing Food for Thought, Consumption, and Digestion

We know the Holy Spirit acts in complete harmony with the teachings of Jesus.  Here are three means by which He approaches ALL Christian men concerning our wealth—regardless of the size of its shadow. 

• Confronts men about our love of money that supplants our love of God.

• Convicts men about our Use of Funds revealed in our personal cash flow analyses.

• Counsels or Condemns. There is a distinct bifurcation here, the path of which depends on our response to the last point.
  • The Holy Spirit counsels men whose hearts are rich toward God with the desire to honor Him first and best with whatever level of wealth we possess.
  • The Holy Spirit condemns men (as God did the Rich Fool) whose hearts are selfish and inwardly focused on what to do with all the wealth their work has produced.

THE BOTTOM LINE:  Do we own our possessions or do our possessions own us?

These words of reminder and admonition are not new.  They are more than two thousand years old. When He spoke them, Jesus intended for them to either encourage our hearts or deeply trouble our spirits—depending on where we are storing the treasures with which we have been entrusted this side of Heaven.

Your desperate brother in Christ,

All Men Are Desperate Whether They Admit It or Not.  Since this platform provides further opportunity to expound upon Jesus’ teachings on the subject, this is the first of three parts.  I pray each lesson reaches you where you are and reveals all God wants you to examine in your own heart on what is often a more difficult subject to receive than it is to teach.

The subject of “a man and his money” draws a wide array of treatments in the church.  Some tread lightly, concerned with feelings of large contributors whose large gifts can adversely affect cash flow should that person get upset with what is said and withhold them.  Others deal with it straight up as the Bible does. 

Jesus spoke frequently and directly on this subject—totally unencumbered with what men thought or how it would affect their egos or giving to God.  

The following conversations feature Jesus’ clear and straightforward teachings on men and their wealth.  His words still produce heartburn and discomfort in the bellies of some men of great means today, just as they did when He first spoke them.     

Most Christians know this story.  It is told by each of the three synoptic gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  That says something about the importance of this theme—the love of money. 

This rich young man approached Jesus and asked a question that immediately revealed an error in his thinking.  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  After an exchange in which the man defended the “good” life he lived, Jesus took him down a road he never anticipated—being rather than doing.  The condition of his heart—not his head.

We know Jesus instructed him to sell all he owned, give the proceeds to the poor, and then come follow Him.   The man was devastated.  That was not the answer he expected.  Like some church men of means today, he wanted to be affirmed in his good deeds without any challenge to his lifestyle.  In today’s business jargon we might say,

His response tells it all.  The Bible says, “He went away sad because he was stinking rich.” (my paraphrase)

After the rich young ruler walked away, Jesus apparently repeated the following that stunned all who heard it, including His disciples: 

Jesus’ confronted the man in a way that revealed the true object of his worship—wealth.  This man spent his young life building a portfolio.  The thought of liquidating it to give to the poor seemed patently absurd.  That thought rings true today for men whose god is their wealth.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “money is the root of all evil.”  It does say “the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.”  (1 Timothy 6: 10)  This man loved his money more than his relationship with God. 

In His teaching on the same subject in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,

“No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”   (Matthew 6: 24 ESV)

So where is our out-clause—the part at the end that makes us feel good about ourselves and gets us off the hook Jesus so deeply embedded in the jaw of this rich man?  I have bad news.  There is not one.  Throughout His teaching ministry, Jesus used questions to allow men to set themselves up.  Then He came in with truths that would convict or call them out—always leading them to a decision point.   

This man’s issue was a condition of a selfish heart.  Jesus offered him hope, just as He does all of us.  The man turned his back on Jesus and walked away very lost and without hope.  The problem remains today—many men do not like the terms of Jesus’ offer.  So, they walk away.

Today, I implore you. Do not turn your back and walk away from Jesus Who loves you unconditionally and offers eternal life based on His death.  God’s term sheet demands death for sin. We can never do enough ‘good’ to settle our account.  Jesus paid the price in full.  That is why He had the right to demand what seemed so much from the rich young man.  He has the same right and expectation of all who claim to know Him as Savior and follow Him as Lord.  

Ask yourself this question.  Has your wealth become a god you serve…whether you admit it or not?