Proper 21

A man came home after a hard day at the office and fighting the traffic and greeted his wife and little 4-year old daughter. He stooped down in front of his little girl and said, “How about a kiss for Daddy?”

She must have had a hard day, too, for her only response was “No, no, no, no!” Seeing the hurt look on the father, the mother said, “Now Ashley, that’s not very nice. Your Daddy works hard all day to bring home a little money and you behave like that?”

Taking the cue, the father asked again, “Okay, honey, come on now, where’s that kiss?” The little 4-year old looked him in the eye and replied, “Where’s the money, Daddy?”

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” writes the apostle Paul. Little Ashley was heading in that direction at an early age.

In verse 7 of today’s Epistle, Paul recalls the words of Job, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Paul writes, “We brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it.” Put another way:There’s no trailer hitch on a hearse, folks.

Now all this is true. But we can’t live without money, can we? After all, we need a paycheck. We need to put food on our TV trays. We came into the world empty-handed, and we shall leave life empty-handed, but we can’t survive empty-handed in the interim. We need to cultivate the skills necessary to survive.

Paul knows this too, so he reminds us that Christians are not just a peculiar cohort of citizens who value spirituality, worship and Judeo-Christian ethics; they also need to earn a paycheck. Spirituality is other-worldly. Earning a living is very worldly, and to do it successfully, one must be ambitious, work hard, train and develop one’s skills — but do it without sacrificing moral and ethical values.

Not everyone can do this. Why? The love of money gets in the way.

People like this cannot be content with “food and clothing” (v. 8), but rather are vulnerable to the temptation to acquire more than they need.

The Bible says that “there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment” (v. 6). So, the questions are: “What are the bare essentials? With how little can we be content?”

Money talks. True. And it usually says, “Goodbye.”

In his book, Whistling in the Dark: An ABC Theologized, writer Frederick Buechner noted, “The more you think about [money], the less you understand it. The paper it’s printed on isn’t worth a red cent. There was a time you could take it to the bank and get gold or silver for it, but all you’d get now is a blank stare. … Money has worth only if there is not enough for everybody. It has worth only because the government declares it has worth and because people trust the government in that one particular, although in every other particular they wouldn’t trust government around the corner. … Great fortunes can be made and lost completely on paper. … There are people who use up their entire lives making money so they can enjoy the lives they have entirely used up.”

The reality is that there is always going to be someone wealthier than you, and there are countless millions who are poorer than you.

Do you need a $450 million yacht like Jeff Bezos? No, but you might not be able to live without spending $4,500 on a pontoon fishing boat. Do you need a boat? Maybe you do. It’s all relative.

If you make $14,500, are you poor? Not if you live in India, for example, where the per capita income is just north of $2,000. But in the United States, if you’re making $14,500 per annum, you are living in abject poverty. According to the “Remember the Poor” website,

• If you made $1,500 last year, you’re in the top 20 percent of the world’s income earners.
• If you have sufficient food, decent clothes, a place to live in, and a reasonably reliable means of transportation, you are among the top 15 percent of the world’s wealthy.
• Have $61,000 in assets? You’re among the richest 10 percent in the world.
• If you have any money saved, a variety of clothes in your closet, two cars (in any condition), and live in your own home, you are in the top 5 percent of the world’s wealthy.
• If you have more than $500,000 in assets, you’re part of the richest 1 percent of the world.  Yup, one-percenters.

Does this help you to be content with what you have? Perhaps. Unfortunately, we live in a culture of outrage and discontent. It’s very difficult to be truly at peace with ourselves and content with what we have. Sometimes, it’s hard to feel blessed.

Jesus had what social theologians call a “preferential option for the poor.” Maybe it’s because he himself was poor. He didn’t own a house. He had no stocks listed on the Jerusalem Stock Exchange. He didn’t even have transportation. He did have a trade, but when the disciples knew him, he wasn’t gainfully employed. Jesus, truth be told, wasn’t the sort of fellow we’d hang out with today. Sort of unsavory … even a bit shiftless.

Jesus had a soft spot for the poor, showing love and compassion toward those on the bottom rungs of society, including those whom others considered sinners.

Is Jesus asking us to live as he did? No, he is not. And neither is Paul.

The biblical consensus concerning personal wealth is living by the five “Bs.”

First, decide what we actually need and be content with that, giving away the rest.

The second is to be humble: You had luck, privilege, advantages, options and opportunities that millions in the world can only dream of — even if you worked your tail off to get to where you are. Humility goes a long way. Paul says, “As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty” (v. 17).

The third is to be realistic: There are no guarantees. The market has been sliding this year and it may crash tomorrow. Who could have predicted the coronavirus, double digit inflation, rising interest rates, and war in Ukraine? But if you practiced a policy of contentment, you were in a better position to weather these storms and any that may come in the future. Your peace and stability are not tied to your financial situation.

The fourth is to be generous: We live in a sharing economy. Be a part of it. Join forces with local charities. Be creative in the methods by which you can generously distribute your assets among those who need a helping hand. And tithe to your church.

And, finally, be faithful: Watch for any signs that you are starting to love money. This is the root of everything that can go wrong in your life (v. 10). Instead of lusting after riches, grow your thirst for righteousness. Paul advises us to “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness” (v. 11). To sum it all up: Be content, be humble, be realistic, be generous, and be faithful.