WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A MILLION DOLLARS?

Dr. Richard J. Henderson September 26, 2004

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Luke 16: 19-31
I Timothy 6:6-19

Introduction

What would you do if you got a million dollars? Maybe you were on a game show and won big, or you won the lottery, or an uncle you barely knew left you his estate. What would you do?

Would you quit your job? Buy that Mazaratti you've always dreamed of? Sell your house and get a newer, bigger one? Would life be better for you or not?

For example, when men dated your daughter would you wonder if they really cared about her, or were interested in your money? Would you be a better person because you had the money? Would you be happier?

I

Wealth is a problem for Christians. As followers of Christians we have to ask ourselves some important questions - like "How did we get the money?" Was anyone abused for me to get this? Did anyone suffer for me to get have this wealth?

A few years ago when we were on the mission trip to Honduras, we visited an enormous sugar cane field - it was thousands of acres - as far as you could see in all directions. We drove by the people working in the field. It was very hot and they were sweaty and covered with the sticky syrup of sugar. They worked ten to twelve hour days for $2 a day.

The man who owned the field was a multi-millionaire, in a huge estate in the city. I can't use sugar without remembering that hot afternoon.

Another question about wealth is what do we do with it? Do we buy luxury stuff we don't need? Do we build bigger houses when we have more room than we use already? I remember the first time I visited Meadowbrook Hall. Here is a huge mansion and most of the time there were only two people living in it. You could easily get lost in there! What do you get with all that room - except maybe away from your spouse!

What do we do with our wealth? Do we get fancier gadgets or more cars or more plush cars? What do you suppose Jay Leno does with those twenty-seven cars he owns? How many can you drive at one time?

The biggest question may be, what does wealth do to us? Does it change us? For better or worse? Suddenly we get what we want. People do things for us now they didn't do before. Is it easy to become arrogant? Haughty? Do we begin to look down on people who don't have as much as we do? Do we become snobbish?

Did you know there is a "snob patrol" in Novi? These people point out attitudes in our community which are snobbish and arrogant. They were really appalled at the leader who referred to people who live in mobile homes as "Trailer Trash."

Money brings power, and power can easily be abused. One of the ways it is abused is thru our attitudes.

II

Wealth was a problem for the early church. The early church attracted all kinds of people. Many were poor, powerless, struggling to get by in life. But this letter - our scripture reading this morning - shows us that there were wealthy and powerful people in the church too.

Apparently, some of them were wandering away from the faith. They had pierced themselves with many pains (look at how graphic the language is!). They were trapped by senseless and harmful desires, which plunged them into destruction. This is a serious situation. The tone of the letter isn't judgmental toward these people but sympathetic and seriously concerned. They were trusting in their financial wealth rather than in God.

Wealth can bring on an attitude of, "I can do it myself; I have such resources that I don't need anybody else. I don't need God." Wealth can perpetuate the myth of self-sufficiency.

People in the early church, almost two thousand years ago, were facing a very contemporary problem.

III

Our scripture today points out that wealth doesn't ultimately satisfy. People with a great deal of wealth can be drawn away from what is most important in life. Of course, not everyone reacts this way, but wealth is a huge temptation that feeds on itself. Money can become the most important thing in our lives. It draws us in and wants more and more.

Remember just a couple of year's back a billionaire from our area was arrested in a scandal involving a very famous auction house in New York. This billionaire apparently had tampered with the auction for his own personal gain.

When the story broke, I'm sure I wasn't the only person asking, "What in the world was he trying to do? Wasn't a billion dollars enough?" He went to jail because his wealth consumed him.

This passage contains the famous passage, "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." It is most often misquoted.

We hear, "Money is the root of all evil," which isn't what it says. It is the love of money that is the problem. The love of money can lead us to all kinds of pain, confusion, and wrong priorities.

IV

I Timothy gives us guidelines for the use of our wealth. It is simple and straightforward. "Do good." If you have money, use it to do good. Be generous. The Bible says use your money like any other gift you have received - for the good of other people. If someone is a talented singer, God expects her to use that gift for the benefit of others and for the glory of God.

If someone has a talent for organization, God expects him to use that gift to help other people and to bring glory to God. Same thing with money - God expects us to use that gift to help other people and for the glory of God.

If we haven't quite figured it out, I Timothy spells it out more clearly. Be ready to share. The people all around us will tell us, "It's your money; you can do whatever you want with it." But that isn't the case for Christians. Money is a gift we receive like other gifts, and we have a responsibility to use it to help other people. We have to be ready to let go of what we have.

Timothy says by doing these things we build a good foundation for the future. Remember Jesus said, "Those to whom much is given, much is required." That is true with every gift we have been given; it is equally true of our money.

In sharing, in being generous, in responding to the serious needs of others, we build a strong foundation for the future, with God. The hope of every Christian is that at our death Christ will be able to say of us, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Conclusion

J. Irwin Miller of Indiana headed the Cummins Corporation. He took it from a small manufacturer of diesel engines to a Fortune 500 Company with a quarter of a million employees in 131 countries. He was enormously successful and very wealthy.

He founded the Commission on Religion and Race, which helped sponsor the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous, "I have a dream..." speech.

He shut down factories in South Africa to protest apartheid laws, and he helped write legislation that put sanctions on South Africa. He was the first layperson to head the National Council of Churches. He was given a great deal in terms of wealth and power. He used it to bring about greater justice and compassion. As one person said, he used what he was given "to help keep the church faithful, relevant, and effective." Irwin Miller died last month - he was 95 yrs old.

"Well done, good and faithful servant."

Amen.

©Richard J. Henderson 2004