America has been the richest nation on earth in all of world history—so it is our unique responsibility to obey our Lord’s Words regarding the use of money. The first two radical commands to do that I previously outlined in Parts I and II: stop storing up excess assets, and give to the world’s truly poor. This should be done in two steps: (1) Sell all our excess possessions and give the cash raised to the world's poor; and (2) live frugally enough (buying only necessities), so that income exceeds expenses—then give the difference regularly to the truly poor.
Let’s clarify one thing: When Jesus was quoted in Luke 12:33, it was not directed to the "rich young ruler," as some assume; it was to all of us:
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor”
Did He mean, sell all our possessions, thus making ourselves poor? No; read Luke 3:11:
He(John the Baptist) answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
Thus, we are to keep one necessary item for use, and liquidate the extra item and beyond--the “excess beyond need.” We should do this prayerfully, not thinking about “only having one of these means I don’t have a backup if something goes wrong.” So, you need to sell your past accumulation of everything that isn’t truly necessary. Men, do you really need two complete sets of tools, if you're not in that profession? Sell one. And keep the rest organized. Ladies, is it essential that you have even one set of chinaware—if you only use it once or twice a year, why not sell even the one? Are you worried about the impression you'll make on relatives at Thanksgiving? Make your impression by your character, not by possession of luxury items. Men, do you need that boat—after all, don't you take it out many Sundays so your family doesn’t even attend church regularly during the summer? Do you need six sweaters, five heavy coats, fifteen shirts, ten pairs of pants? Does God really care if you show up in church wearing the same outfit twice? Do people care that much? Should we care that much for these people if their measure of us is how classy we look? Shouldn't we care more if God is more offended by our extravagance? And who is more important here—your friends of influence, or Him—your eternal Judge? Here’s a big one for married couples: Do you need two cars? Can’t one spouse drive the other to work, or can’t one use public transit? Or pool to work? Is your evening schedule, or the kids' schedule so hectic, that you need both cars to meet demands? Well, maybe you should slow it down--are you the type who can't say "no?"
And for those whose expenses always manage to exceed income: Have you set financial budgets, or goals in life--other than thinking about your next worldly purchase? Have you searched eagerly for ways to be more frugal? There are plenty of helps online for you. Another argument we raise against our Lord is telling Him if we give away our kids' frills to charity, we will deprive our children of some enjoyment. But what if you obey His will, give your frills away first, and tell your kids why they need to give things away--then what do your children see? Sacrifice. Then the lesson they learn is Love. Instead of Materialism. They learn that true love includes sacrifice. And we Christians are nothing without Love (I Cor. 13: 1-3). The problem with America is, many families have enough money to satisfy each person in the family to do their own thing, without anyone sacrificing for another. The problem with that is, with no sacrificing, there is no real love being learned. And with everyone doing their own thing, there is no bonding, no teamwork, and the children learn nothing about the importance of another’s feelings—which makes them far less prepared for marriage, and close relationships, among other things. So yes, discard that second car. That second house, too—that one in upstate Michigan or down in Florida. And stop the cruises. How can we go to God on judgment day, when I can imagine He will show a split screen video—us on one side, living it up, and on the other side, people in impoverished nations that we ignored, scratching for subsistence? How then are we different than the rich man ignoring the poor Lazarus in Luke 16 (see my Radical II blog)? Will our final destination be any different than his? Are you absolutely sure that your salvation won’t be affected by ignoring this whole subject of the importance of radical giving, despite many Scriptures indicating beneficence to the poor is essential to show that you will be saved? Just by not having a second car, your family can save over $6,000 a year, even if your second car is an older one (this dollar figure also realistically considers depreciation’s hidden cost as well as gas and maintenance and insurance). Do you realize the difference you could make by giving that kind of money to the worldwide poor instead of making your life a little more indulgent, or a little less convenient?
Let’s talk about America’s appetites to buy more, our continual grasping to raise our standard of living. Did you know that this is covetousness? Most people define that word as “wanting what belongs to another.” But as Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words points out, the Greek word, “pleonexia,” simply means a desire to have more… always in a bad sense (e.g., wanting more possessions or power). Well, now I'd like to bring up an unfortunate byproduct of the American economy: In truth, the growth of our economy is founded upon advertising and consumption. That means our government blesses covetousness and even makes it our patriotic duty to be bathed in materialism. We talk about the latest trinkets constantly, so these things are on our mind. There are many apps for our "smartphones" telling us how to spend more money "wisely." But "getting a good deal" on something we don't need is still covetous. We live in materialism, we breathe it.
But covetousness is a serious sin. Let’s look at Ephesians 5:5:
For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Read that definition of covetousness again: It is idolatry, loving something more than our God. Is that you? And where is the eternal destination for this idolatry? NOT in the kingdom of God. Um, that leaves only one other option. That radical idea is confirmed in Colossians 3:5-6:
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.
As the superb commentary Precept Austin puts it, “covetousness is synonymous with idolatry because it places selfish desire above obedience to God…it is basically people doing what they desire, rather than what God desires. This in turn amounts to worship of self rather than worship of God, and this is the very essence of idolatry.” Note the verses above; it invites the wrath of God. Because America is so deeply ingrained in this sin, I would like to suggest that many (perhaps most) Americans are idolaters, as defined, and bound for hell, without sincere repentance. There are a LOT of people in this country who think they’re saved because they “believe in Jesus”—but they don’t obey Jesus, because they accumulate superficial assets, spend frivolously, and ignore their poor brothers and sisters who are dying unnecessarily in the world. Remember, the fact that the rich man was blissfully unaware in Luke 16 (Radical Part II) was no excuse. It is still covetousness, and leads to hell.
Here's another thought: What else does Jesus say on this subject?
“Woe unto you that are rich!” (Luke 6:24).
(“Woe” is a word of denunciation, used for the unsaved, such as Luke 11:43-47). In Matthew 19:23ff, Jesus says, in part:
“it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven….It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
I remind you, we cannot argue that “I’m not rich.” God isn’t comparing you to Americans—He’s looking at the entire train of world history, in which most Americans would have to qualify as “rich.” (I have another blog that discusses that subject). Let’s forget about excuses like that. Look at those threatening words again: “It is hard.” What does that really mean? Do you have enough fear of God to soberly think about it? It means we Americans, to overcome the disadvantages our wealth has given us, have to be more passionately determined to be holy, we have to really discipline ourselves to bully the desires of the flesh out of the way, to persevere in seeking God’s heart, to fight against the natural tendency in wealth to be complacent, or not depend on Him. We need to fight against the FALSE assumption that “I’m doing well, so God loves me.” We have to fight against placing all our trust on this world, depending on our savings--and not thinking about the next world--which is a lot longer in duration! We too easily fall into the trap of Revelation 3:17:
“You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
This severe denunciation of the Laodicean church went right along with a denunciation of their lukewarm complacency (well-off people who do not need God every day, and complacency, go hand-in-hand). But what does Jesus do to these lukewarm? Vomits them out of His mouth. They don't belong in His Body.
May God help us to see us as He sees us.
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