"Enough is Enough" as an act of Faith

 

Pentecost VIII    John 12:13-21

 Jesus was asked to arbitrate in a financial disagreement between brothers.

He warned them about all manner of Greed and added, “For one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

He then told them the parable of the Rich Fool, who had so much he didn’t have room enough for it all, so he built bigger barns to keep for himself even more than he could ever need.  Rather than share, he hoarded it all for himself.  He failed his community and people around him to keep and obtain more for himself alone.

God addressed the fool in the parable, telling him that his whole orientation toward greed in life was meaningless, and that it kept him from treasuring the things of God.  And then he would die, and what was his life all about?

Jesus then taught his disciples about letting go of anxiety over having our needs met.  He said that worry only ruins our current moments and does not bring anything better.  He told them that the creation exists because God provides, and that humanity is most beloved by God, so we should have faith that God will provide.  He warned them that it is the world that strives for more than what we need.  That is not a Kingdom value.  We are to strive for the Kingdom, and all our needs will be provided.

Greed is a core value of empire and that against which Jesus taught and showed us how to live.  Greed is insidious.  It is a sickness.  It is an insatiable addiction to more, always more.  No matter how much one has, there is more out there, so he/she/they must have more.  There is no real satisfaction or contentment with Greed, for it is not about things being enough or good enough with contentment or satisfaction – there is more and better out there, and fools must have it.  Likewise, there is no real thankfulness or gratitude with Greed, for it is not about what one already has, but rather about what more one wants.  Greed is therefore a sin against God.

Greed is also a sin against Neighbor.  It makes folk hoard and accumulate more finite resources than they will ever need, way beyond enough, while others go without what they need, and to exploit others to get more or find ways to steal it outright.  Greed drives divisions of class and makes it impossible for some to even survive in this world, creating systems designed to benefit the few at the expense of the many, who barely make enough to live, and certainly not enough on which to thrive.

Jesus loved those to whom He spoke.  He did not want them to be acquisitive addicts or the victims of them.  He talked about letting go of the anxieties that produce such greed and embracing a trust in God to provide and a trust in humanity to share enough so that all have enough of what we need.  Jesus taught us to trust that enough is enough, and for that we can be grateful and satisfied, rather than driven by our anxieties to always have more or better, which is not faith in God or God’s provision.  Jesus gave the example of the rich fool so that folk will not come to the end of their lives and have accumulated wealth and possessions and find themselves empty in the end because they treasured the wrong things in life.

In 15 years of hospice chaplaincy and bereavement support, having sat with perhaps well over a hundred people just before or at their deaths, I can tell you that not ONE voiced regret over not having made more money or accumulated more things.  They voiced regrets over how they treated others, how distant they were from loved ones, how there were experiences they never got to have with those they loved and how they wished they had made more of a difference in others’ lives, but not one said they regreted not accumulating more wealth or possessions.  One of my most important tasks with them was to help them and their family members avoid regrets as much as possible, to perhaps heal relationships with some peaceful resolution, to assure folks that their lives have had meaning, and that God is loving and gracious and would receive them.

I believe Jesus is here giving us this message of love to help us avoid regrets in the end as well.  What is most important in life?  To God? To us?  Are they the same?