Luke 12:1-21: Is My Motive Just Or Just Greedy?

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.  And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” - Luke 12:1-21

Jesus was a traffic hazard. Walking through the crowds for him was like those scenes in movies where some important person tries to get from a door to the car, with microphones attentive, cameras peering and flashes highlighting his entire path. And always voices calling out and asking his opinion, but often just to satisfy themselves that he would reinforce opinions that they themselves were previously convinced of. 

Such was the case when someone in the crowd asked Jesus to "tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Why did ask Jesus when you already know the answer? Because they wanted to be publicly validated in the rightness of their claim. So Jesus doesn't give a direct answer, because a direct answer would be a wrong one. Instead he speaks to the crowd and warns them about not the correctness of the claim, but of the motive for seeking the claim. It wasn't related to justice--the right thing--, it was related to the unquenchable to have more than his brother.

Under the guise of justice, this person was greedy.

What will I do when God says something to me? Will I seek for an interpretation which allows me to convince myself that Jesus shares the opinion I have already formed? Or will I allow him to challenge even the most brilliant of conclusions? And will I let him challenge my motives in concluding as I did?

That is the question I should ask.

 

1 Peter 2:21-25: Taking the High Road

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. - 1 Peter 2:21-25

Jesus took the high road. There is such a temptation when hurt, to hurt back. The darker side of justice and fair play is revenge. Pay back. Give as good as you got. When insulted, as God, Jesus could have pulled up an entire registry list of all of their shortcomings in excruciating detail. When threatened, Jesus could have made such threats as to cause his attackers' blood to curdle. But he did not. He took the high road, recommended by David, Jesus and Saul: leave the judgment up to God and keep your hands clean and souls unstained. 

Helen used to tell our kids, "Be the first one to do the right thing." Actually, she didn't tell just our kids, but to me also.  The "why" behind this wise statement is that God will make sure that accounts are properly settled. Taking the low road leads us astray, but the high road returns us to the shepherd of our souls.

Psalm 76: Being On God's Good Side Is Not Anything I Did

God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great. His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.

You are radiant with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game. The valiant lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands. At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still.

It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.

Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth. - Psalm 76

The NLT translates verse 10 as Human defiance only enhances your glory,  for you use it as a weapon.

Fear of God is downplayed in Christian circles, partly because we don't like to think of our loving God getting angry (v. 7) and partly because we are taught we don't need to fear God. After all, perfect love expels all fear (1 John 4:18) But Psalm 76 shows what an encounter with the living and powerful God when he is angry. For God to sit back and do nothing while people hurt those who he loves, would he truly be loving? Justice says that we get what is appropriate and fear is when we face that judge while in our own guilt knowing that he has full within his own power to carry out judgment. 

Since I am in Christ, I no longer have the fear relationship with God but I have full respect of what God should rightfully do to me if it weren't for his declared love for me in Christ.  

Amos 5:4b-15: Holding Me to Account

“Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing." Seek the Lord and live, or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.

There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground. He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land—the Lord is his name. With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin.

There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth. You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine. For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins.

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil.

Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. - Amos 5:4b-15 

Here is another chiasm example: the first paragraph and the last paragraph talk about people seeking God's will. The central three paragraphs are three examples of how the people who say that they are pursuing justice are in fact taking advantage of the poor and the powerless. The central part says that God will hold people to account.

Part of this is deliberate ignorance: these people know, at some level, about God, how he created the universe and how God is good. Yet at another level, they act as if God doesn't care, is weak and ignorant and, ultimately, not going to do anything about it. These rich people use force of arms, their position of authority and their ability to buy off the courts to act with impunity. But God does care and he is both powerful (maker of the stars, the sun and the waters) and deeply familiar with our deeds and misdeeds. 

Why does God withhold his judgement? It seems he prefers to let those who are doing all these to dig our own pit to fall in. I remember an example mentioned to me while several of us were working to clean up the house of a aging church member were talking about the Varsity Blues scandal, where a few people solicited funds and were paid to get the unqualified children of the wealthy into prestigious colleges. One comment stuck out: "If the people doing this had just stopped, they probably wouldn't have been caught. But they got over-confident and did it again and again. With each success, they were sure that they weren't going to get caught." Whether they were caught, the creators of this scheme continued and cemented their characters as scam artists. 

For me, I seek discernment about those people around me. Some I like, but they are scammers. Some I don't like, but they are earnest and straightforward. And every possible variation in between. These are real people and some of them I don't like. I want to give each one a fair shake and even a merciful shake. But I have gut feelings that tell me not to trust them, for whatever reason. So I pray for God to teach me in each situation when judging people, between different solutions, for the right reasons. One of the greatest lessons I have learned in my job it recall how many sayings from a boss that I didn't really like still stick with me and to admit they are true and to give my former boss credit that is due. 

1 Kings 3:3-15: Wisdom and Justice and Discernment

Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 

Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. 

“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” 

Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream. - 1 Kings 3:3-15

 While this passage usually is presented as Solomon choosing wisdom over wealth, peace or long-life, he actually asks for something more specific: the discerning heart to govern and to distinguish between right and wrong. When God responds, he further clarifies by saying "I will give you a wise and discerning heart."

Since we are not God, we don't get to look at people's internal motivations, so we often have to piece together their purposes with discernment. Since he was placed in a position where he was making decisions that would impact the lives of many people and some people were selfish and/or devious, he needed some help. I wish I could read people's motives and have a clear sense as to who is asking for the right thing and who is not. I wish I knew when my motives were right and when they were not. So that is what I am praying for today, not to rule a kingdom, but just to be a good steward of my life.