(when the good life isn’t really good)
That paragon of virtue, Liberace, with a twinkle in his eye and a winsome grin, once remarked Las Vegas was a town were “too much of a good thing…was just enough.”
Certainly we live in a land of excesses. Not Clark County, but the United States of America.
Can you give some examples of excess you have seen just this last week?
Some of the answers might include:
Hummers
10,000 square foot houses
All-you-can-eat buffets
Price of show tickets
48 ounce steaks
A Lamborghini
Where else would radio stations have coveted giveaways of Disneyland tickets for Easter Sunday morning. The gimmick was that the winners would be able to be in the park before the gates opened at 9 am. They would be admitted at 5:30 am! On Easter! We have money to shovel into this or that, but never enough money to pay the credit card off. We can eat all we want but who will tell us how to take the weight off—and make it really work? We live in a land of perpetual youth, even if it comes from hair replacement clinics, plastic surgeons and silicon, yet we are all getting older. We have to work harder to earn less, earn more to pay others to take care of jobs around the house so we can enjoy our leisure time.
Liberace was wrong. Too much of a good thing is too much. The inspired Agur was closer to the truth when he prayed, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God (Proverbs 30.8-9).”
Let’s see how much too much of a good thing is bad all around. With much help from the Holy Spirit who promises to strengthen us against all the devil’s temptations, may we live a life of contentment that finds just enough from our loving Lord’s hands.
A doctrine that the only or the highest values or objectives lie in material well-being and in the furtherance of material progress
A preoccupation with or stress upon material rather than intellectual or spiritual things.
Our government was established to promote and protect “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” To ensure the government does not meddle in affairs of faith in establishing one religion we have an iron-clad separation of church and state. Only materialistic items can be on the government’s agenda.
We live in a materialistic world. Every day we are confronted by materialism. We are told we are what we eat, what we wear, where we live, who we associate with. The wealth of our country is measured in dollars and gross national productivity. Songs proclaim our daughters are “Material Girls,” or request an “Upgrade.” It seems like hip-hop is based solely upon materialistic status. We quantify and value human lives in terms of dollars and cents for cost analysis regarding consumer legislation. We can buy a bajillion Barbie dolls in a rainbow of skin tones, but, by and large, the religious nature of mankind is outlawed from the malls and public arenas of America. In the late 1800s and early 1900s the “company town” dominated much of the West. Workers were provided housing in inaccessible areas of the country near their workplace, but were charged exorbitant rent and the price of food and clothing in the company store was through the roof. The workers, in some cases, actually went in debt working for the company in a company town.
Can you give some examples that might lead you to believe you are living in a “company town”?
Answers might include:
High price of show tickets
Exorbitant prices for gourmet meals
Housing prices
Growing debt load of families
Rising bankruptcy rate
Describe the trouble with earthly treasure and give some examples.
It can be stolen.
--Car thieves
--Friends “borrowing” your stuff
--Kids losing all your tools
It can be ruined
--Mold in a house
--Wear and tear on cars
Has to be insured
Has to be constantly maintained
--exterior of house (stucco, roof)
--replace air conditioner, water softener
Has to be secured
--homeowner’s fees for the security gate
--bill for alarm system
How is heavenly treasure far better?
It needs no upkeep, for there are no corrosive or criminal forces in heaven.
How do you know where your heart is and how does it show in your life?
What I treasure is where my heart is. If I treasure money, all my efforts will be directed to getting more money. If I treasure God, all my efforts will be directed to what he says I should be doing. If I treasure myself, my prime goal in life will be to please myself and make things easier for myself.
John has a new job. Actually, it is his second job, because he works during the day for the city (four ten hour days) and has picked up a weekend job with a paramedic service (three twelves). Previously he had been a weekend orderly at a hospital. Jane, John’s wife, also works, but they have their priorities—they do not send their small children (ages tow and four) to a day care. They stagger work so one is always home. Jane works nights, Monday-Friday. They have a new house and are trying to buy rental properties. Jane will go into business for herself after they have a few homes rented out. They’ve been living like this ever since the second child was born.
What is the cost to this marriage? What are the possible costs to the kids? How would the cost be different if the kids were in their teens?
They never have time together. They will be drifting apart because they have all the responsibilities of marriage with none of the perks.
The kids will never be able to see Mom and Dad together to see what a healthy marital relationship should look like and they will be able to tire both Mom and Dad out because they only have to work on one at a time.
As teens, the kids would already have the groundwork of healthy parental-child relations and a model of a marital relationship in them, but they will be lacking the supervision needed for teens.
What can you see happening to John and Jane? Why?
Divorce, because they are not putting anything into their relationship. There is nothing in it for them.
What comes first in their life? Where do John and Jane fit in?
Money. Way at the tail-end.
How does worry drive a John and Jane?
They are always working for what they will eat today, what they will wear tomorrow. They distrust that they will have these things, so they are driven to extremes to get them. They are never satisfied because they can never pile up so much that they won’t worry.
What is the connection with faith and worry?
Faith is the opposite of worry. Faith trusts in God’s ability to provide through our reasonable hard work. Worry trusts no one, not even self.
How does worry show itself and what are its rewards?
Worry drives people into destructive behavior—over-work, neglect of family—which is geared to material things. Finally it immobilizes a person because he is so afraid of losing what he has or the chances he may have. Worry has no rewards, only consequences (ulcers, high blood pressure, shortened life span, bitterness, miserliness).
What is the answer to worry?
Take it to the Lord in prayer. Seek his kingdom first and all that is associated with it and Jesus promises we will have enough for this life.
John and Jane are divorcing. Both are sick and tired of having nothing to show for their lives (lots of assets, all mortgaged) and always arguing about who’s going to take care of the kids. They’ve managed longer than their former friends (no time any more) expected. The oldest son, Johnny Jr. is a junior in high school and has fathered a child. The girl is away at some troubled kid boarding school in CA. The kicker is, the judge orders family counseling and refers them to their pastor (a real fairy tale, huh?). He, of course, counsels them to stay together and leads them to see what they must do.
You’re the Rev. What would you tell them to do to stay together?
Get to church. Get the kids into Sunday School. Go to a Bible class and immerse yourself in the Word. Read it at home. Climb out from some of the liabilities—sell a few houses, start putting time in your kids (it’s never too late) and spend time with each other.
What is the principle Paul sets forth and what’s its proof?
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
What are the dangers to disobeying this principle?
You will covet and fall into many terrible sins, foolish pursuits and finally, an eternity in hell.
Why is a life of contentment such a struggle?
The love of money is in all of us and will be in all of us until we die. It is part of our sinful human nature which never wants to do things God’s way.
Discuss ambition and Christian stewardship in light of what we’ve just talked about.
Ambition: It is not wrong for a Christian to be ambitious, as long as he is content and thankful for what God has already given him. To long for a Cadillac to the point that you think your Saturn is such a piece of junk you don’t maintain it is sinful. A Christian who is content and grateful with what he has will keep and use it well, doing a good job, which will naturally open the door for advancement.
Stewardship: If I am content with what I have and know I can’t hoard it for my use forever, I will recognize God has given me what I have and I will want to return a portion to him.