The most profitable gain .......... Parables 620

December 8, 1998

When a celebrity or famous person dies, some people must rub their hands together thinking how many ways they can make a profit from it. In the case of Diana, Princess of Wales, it seems the funeral had not begun before greedy profiteers were marketing souvenirs. One recent ad announced that Westminister Abbey is selling the chairs used during Diana’s funeral. They say they need the money.

Everyone “needs the money” or at least some money. It happens to be part of how we live but the question is: how much do we need? Probably a lot less than most of us think.

When the Lord grabbed hold of my life nearly thirty years ago, He had much to teach me about money. I’d been just about as greedy as the average person, but suddenly a single parent with limited funds. My grocery budget, augmented by a garden and a deer hunting license, was about $7 a week. When my parents shopped for me, they slipped in the odd item but we survived on that $7, with creativity and lots of macaroni and cheese.

Our family financial picture changed over the years but the Lord blessed me during that lean time by showing me He is in charge and He will take care of me. When there seemed no funds for necessities, He provided in unusual ways. Maybe someone bought one of my paintings or a monetary gift arrived in the mail. My budget was adequate in God’s hands.

This year brings another change. We moved to a new house and have not yet sold the previous one. People are praying it will sell but it seems God has a different plan. For one thing, this forced simplicity has helped us get off the fast track and more able to enjoy life.

Virtue is neither in poverty or riches but in contentment with what is available. The lie is that money will either purchase a sense of security or give those who have it a greater measure of power, not only over their own lives but over other people too.

Security is important. Maslow says our basic needs must be met or we will not feel secure. But Jesus made a promise concerning where we put our trust for the necessities of life. He said, “Do not worry about what you will eat or drink; or what you will wear. . . . but seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Maslow also says our emotional needs must be met. If we do not have someone to love and are love by someone, we will be insecure. Again, Jesus points us to a different source for this need. He says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. . . . Love each other as I have loved you.” The love we crave is found first in God and then in God’s family.

As for power, it is important only to those who do not realize their almost laughable limitations. Although the money moguls of the world can buy and sell whatever they wish, not one of them can make a seed sprout or stop the wind from blowing.

We have little or no control over almost everything. Control is only a delusion at worst, a privilege at best. God allows people a measure of responsibility, an arena to make decisions, so we can be a blessing or a tyrant, but if He wanted to, He could strip everything away from any one of us.

The people who make Diana dolls for a profit from pieces of her life are fooling themselves. Their money is fleeting and whatever things they buy with it, soon they want something bigger or better. They are like the man Jesus talked about who kept building bigger and bigger barns to hoard his crops. One day, he died and God called him to account about what he had done with the wealth God had entrusted to him. Sadly, he may have gained the world — but he lost his own soul.

The other option is giving our soul to Christ — and gaining His entire kingdom!

Gaining the world? .......... Parables 481

August 22, 1995

When the tomb of Charlemagne, Frankish king and conqueror, was opened about 200 years ago, the workers saw a startling sight. His body was in a sitting position, clothed in elaborate royal garments, with a scepter in his bony hand and an open Bible lying on his knee. His lifeless finger pointed to Mark 8:36: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Charlemagne inherited great wealth and doubled the territory under his control. For three decades, he ruthlessly attempted to subjugate Saxons and was merciless in “converting” them to Roman Christianity. In only one day alone, more than 4,500 Saxons were executed.

Some reports say this man had great political and humanitarian vision combined with a devout religious bent but most historical records paint him as a gluttonous, superstitious illiterate with a tremendous capacity for brutality.

How ironic that he was buried in such a manner. Did he realize this biblical truth before he died? Did he request burial with a Bible verse to warn others against his lifestyle? Or did someone who knew him make this final caustic comment on his life?

No matter how Charlemagne came to this end, the verse he pointed to in death was as true for everyone as it was for him. No matter what anyone gains for themselves, everyone dies, is buried — and is unable to enjoy any of it beyond that day.

One day, Charlemagne will stand before God. How sad that his Creator is not interested in the size of his fortune, his notoriety or how much land he conquered if he did not listen to Jesus’ warning: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Jesus illustrated with a parable about a rich man who produced a good crop and decided the only thing to do was tear down his barns and build bigger ones to store it in. The man said to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”

But God said to that man, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” Jesus added, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Being rich toward God means loosening our grasp on whatever else we depend and putting Him first. For the rich man in Jesus’ parable, it was material abundance. Jesus added it is an issue of the heart: “Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.”

Jesus promised that whenever anyone seeks God’s Kingdom, God will make sure their needs are met. When it comes to caring for His people, He is generous, but we have to let go of whatever we cling to before He will give it to us!

Even more startling is Jesus’ explanation of how someone can become one of God’s people. He said, “Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

The kingdom of God is a gift! By its very nature, no one can buy a gift nor can all the money in the world influence the Giver. Gifts are gifts and they are free, no strings attached.

If anything can touch God’s heart, it is an attitude of contrition and trust. Since this is an absolutely frightening state for most of us, money, fame, power, even the whole world seems like an easy alternative. However, as Charlemagne knows by now, putting anything ahead of God means trading that thing for eternal life.