Abstract
If you were to see a blue hand with fingers crossed, or read the legend “It Could be you” what would you see?
Would you know instantly that it was the UK National Lottery? Every week, thousands of people buy scratch cards, and draw tickets believing that legend, that it really could be them.
Now, if you are a certain age, you may remember back to the 1960s and a news story of a woman who was going to “Spend, spend, spend!!” They even made a film and a musical about her. But can you remember her name, her story? She was Viv Nicolson, her prize: £152,300 (around £5 million now), the year 1961 and since that time she has been married five times, and become a Jehovah’s Witness. She famously said in recent years that she wished that fortune had not brought them the big win. “We had a wild life, and I did enjoy it, but it drove a wedge between me and Keith. He was drunk all the time and always out, and we started to fight and drift apart.”
One night, when about half the money had gone, Keith was killed after his blue Jaguar skidded across the A1.
“Before the money we had nothing, but we loved each other and got on with things. I remember one time when he went off to work with his two cigarettes for his breaks, and he brought half of one of his fags home to share with me. I really loved him, but the money came between us.”
We live in a culture which appears to be controlled by the love of earthly things: it seems the acquisition of stuff is an overwhelming impulse which dominates peoples’ lives at the cost of almost everything else.
This is of course, a sweeping overstatement; every community will have examples of altruism and generosity beyond compare. But the media view, the public persona of Joe Average is to work ridiculous hours, to earn money, to buy things to put in the house, to be looked at, but rarely enjoyed because he needs to work ridiculous hours to earn money….
Is the 21st century really that different from any other time in history?
Is it perhaps more obvious now because the tools and speed with which we are able to communicate has changed exponentially in the past twenty years?
Is it more extreme because we have more ‘stuff’ available?
Looking back to the 1st Century the acquisition of “stuff” and the love of money was clearly a serious problem then; Jesus’ parables are full of warning about money and the misuse of resources. Paul’s letters are littered with advice about how to put away the old habits and live a more considered and modest lifestyle. And before that the prophets constantly warned, cajoled and implored the wayward Israelites to reconsider the choices they made.
It is nothing new! And all those old phrases continue to be as relevant now as they ever were: “you reap what you sow” (Paul, Galatians); “nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes); “whoever loves money never has enough” (Ecclesiastes); “you cannot serve two masters” (Jesus).
What can we learn today from this gospel passage? It is perhaps important to note that Jesus did not (in this instance) advocate the instant dispersal of the wealth. More he was concerned with the attitude to greed in particular. He refused to be the arbiter between the brothers, instead choosing to relate a parable about the foolishness of the acquisitive nature.
It is possible to be prosperous and faithful; but it is not easy. The trap is when one values the individual by what they have rather than who they are; when one turns away from valuing people, and kindness and compassion, over acquisitions and avarice.
When we look at this passage and picture the event, we, with the wisdom of hindsight, may well smile wryly. Asking Jesus to decide about money with what we know about his thoughts on greed and wealth and justice is simply not a good idea. It goes against everything we know. We are so used to the arguments for justice and the imperative to look after the poor, that it is easy to forget that these boys simply knew that here was a good, wise teacher who might help them. One who knew and understood the laws and would be a fair judge.
The parable about the Rich Fool is used as an illustration because he is asked to settle an argument over money.
On the face of it the parable is simply good stewardship; a plentiful harvest needs to be properly stored. But do not be deceived! It is not the large stock of grain that is the problem, but the attitude it has generated. The rich man is not stocking up to provide for his family, his household, his community; no, he is stocking up so that he can have an easy life; so that he need no longer work. His motives are purely selfish. Greed and laziness: that inclination which creeps up oh so subtly, and which once it prevails is very difficult to shake off again.
In Christian terms the core definition of greed is that it is the obsession with accumulating material goods. A greedy person values material goods more than they value God. The Bible also tells us that greed is something that can never be satisfied. Greed and slothfulness have similarities and often go together; an individual may work hard to accumulate his wealth, but the very single-mindedness of it leads to the resulting abandonment of work in order to enjoy the spoils. The greedy and slothful both crave material goods as well as they have no desire to work for or to exchange anything of value for the object of their desires. The slothful will not work even for basic necessities much less add value to the world around them. The greedy will use deception to acquire material goods. The greedy will lie and use false pretences to acquired goods at the expense of others; the slothful will lie back and enjoy the fruits of another’s labours.
And so it goes on. Viv Nicholson is not unique in wishing she had not won her fortune; there are hundreds of stories of the collapse of families and long loving committed relationships once a large lottery prize has been won. It seems that the parable, told so many years ago is as true now as it was then: storing up riches for earthly use, and neglecting the spirit, can lead only to misery and distress. Paul’s advice to the Colossians rings true today: to set our hearts on heavenly things, to not become so obsessed with the world that we lose our souls, remembering too, that we are not the first to be distracted by wealth – it’s an age old problem, faced by every generation. And our God is the God of compassion, as he told his people through Hosea, his compassion is aroused and he will not come in wrath.
If you are lucky enough to be blessed with great wealth – be prepared to share it out – not store it up – and there will be wealth and abundance in heaven.