EXCESSIVE IMPROPER DESIRES
DR. JIM DIXON
LUKE 12: 13-21
FEBRUARY 27, 1994
Chicken Little was right. The sky is falling! At least that’s what scientists tell us. They tell us that asteroids, comets, and meteors are falling from the heavens every day, colliding with planets throughout the universe, including planet Earth. But of course, most of these meteors explode or disintegrate in the Earth’s atmosphere and fall to the surface of the Earth as mere cosmic dust. And yet, occasionally the Earth takes a real hit. That’s what happened in June 1908 in Russia, in the region of Tunguska. An asteroid made entirely of metal exploded just above the surface of the earth, destroying a thousand square miles of virgin forest. Of course, a hit like that is rare. Rarer still, sometimes a world can receive a bigger hit.
July 16-21, 21 fragments of the Shoemaker-Lovey Comet (which broke up two years ago), each fragment a mile wide, are going to collide with the dark side of planet Jupiter. As that planet turns from Earth, we will be able to view the aftermath of that horrible collision. And scientists tell us it’s just a matter of time and the Earth is going to experience a collision like that. And they tell us that an asteroid a mile wide, if it were to collide with a surface of the earth, would create a crater 20 miles in diameter and would pulverize, vaporize, everything within the circumference of that crater and a massive dust would rise from the earth into the stratosphere and envelop the earth for a period of years, blocking off the light of the sun from the surface of the earth, blocking the light of the sun, stopping the process of photosynthesis on the earth and thereby killing plants all over the world and consequently killing herbivores and ultimately carnivores. And of course, according to the crustaceous tertiary mass extinction theory, that’s exactly what happened to the dinosaurs 63 million years ago.
But you see, it’s all analogous to what has happened to our world spiritually. See, physically, our world can’t have life without the light of the sun. And when the light of the sun is diminished, life on Earth begins to die. Now, this is also true spiritually. Spiritually, there is no life in this world without the light of the Son. And Jesus Christ came into the world, the Son of God, saying, “I am the light of the world.” And the Bible says, “In him is life.”
Our world took the big hit long ago in Eden when our world collided with a falling star named Satan. The fallout was global. Sin enveloped the earth, separating men from God. All over this world, people are dead and dying—dead spiritually, dying physically. Of course, in this world, there is what the Bible calls the church. And the church consists of women and men who have come into the light of Christ and found life in Christ. The Church consists of people who have been regenerated, brought back to life by the light and life of Jesus Christ. But you see, God wants us to understand, for those of us who are in the church of Christ, that the light of Christ cannot be diminished or we begin to lose life. And God wants us to understand it is sin that blocks the light. It’s sin that kills life individually and corporately. And this Church is only going to have as much life as we have light, and light is blocked by sin.
This morning, I want us to examine one great sin, one particular sin that our Lord Jesus Christ mentions in our passage of scripture for today. And that sin is the sin of pleonexia. This is the word Jesus used in the passage of scripture for today. Jesus said, “Beware of all pleonexia, for a person’s life does not consist in the sum of his or her possessions.” Be aware of all pleonexia. Now, this word has two meanings. First of all, it means “improper desire.” Pleonexia referred to improper desires, to desire something that is out of bounds in God’s sight, to desire something that is wrong in God’s sight. Pleonexia.
This past week, Pope John Paul II got himself into a lot of trouble because he challenged the European Parliament. And of course the European Parliament had just issued a declaration concerning gays and lesbians, a declaration that gays and lesbians throughout Europe should be allowed to marry and to adopt children. Pope John Paul II, from St. Peters Square, speaking to a great crowd of people, blasted the European Parliament, said that they were legitimizing deviant behavior, said that they were institutionalizing moral error. And he said that the consequences for Europe would be great.
Well, Arcigay, Italy’s largest militant homosexual group, turned around and blasted the pope. They said that the Pope is a homophobic racist. But of course, you see, homosexuality is really not a matter of race. Homosexuality is a matter of desire. It is what the Bible calls improper desire, out of bounds to desire, what is out of bounds in God’s sight, to desire what is wrong in God’s sight. The Bible says the same thing about adultery. Adultery is improper desire, to desire what is wrong in God’s sight, to desire what is out of bounds in God’s sight. The Bible says the same thing about fornication. And the Bible says the same thing about sexual relations prior to marriage. It’s improper desire. It leads to sin. It is to desire that which is out of bounds, that which is wrong in God’s sight.
In the Bible, the word pleonexia is sometimes used in this context. Sometimes the word pleonexia in the Bible describes sexual desires that are out of bounds, sexual desires that are improper, but more frequently in the Bible, the word pleonexia describes monetary desires that are improper, monetary desires that are out of bounds. Perhaps in this passage of scripture, that’s the way Jesus is using pleonexia, perhaps this man who came to Jesus and said, “Teacher bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.” Perhaps he was desiring money that was for him out of bounds. You see, we don’t know the Jewish laws concerning inheritance were incredibly complex and we do not know what that man’s particular situations was. But we do know Jesus said to him, “Beware of pleonexia.” And we know that pleonexia can refer to improper desire.
Well, you know, in the Bible much is said about wealth and poverty. And at first glance as you move through the pages of scripture, it might appear as though with respect to the subject of wealth and poverty, the Bible is kind of schizophrenic. It might appear at first glance as though the Bible were not consistent.
When you look at the Pentateuch, when you look at the first five books of the Bible, in those books, the Bible doesn’t really praise wealth or praise poverty. It doesn’t condemn wealth. It doesn’t condemn poverty. In those first five books, the Bible really doesn’t render a judgment on wealth or poverty. The Bible and those five books do provide instructions for provision for the poor. It does this in Exodus and Leviticus and in Deuteronomy, but no real judgment on the relative virtues of wealth or poverty. But then you move into the wisdom literature, you move into books in the Old Testament like Psalms and Proverbs. And in the wisdom literature, you begin to see a judgment on wealth and poverty. In fact, as you move through the wisdom literature (and this is somewhat stereotypical, but generally true), wealth is praised, wealth is viewed as the product of hard work. It’s viewed as the reward for industriousness. It’s associated with righteousness and regarded as a blessing from God.
Poverty, in the wisdom literature, is often condemned. It’s viewed as the reward of sloth, laziness. It’s associated at times in the wisdom literature with unrighteousness. And it is sometimes described as an expression of the negative judgment of God. But then you move into the prophetic books of the Old Testament it does a 180. You move into the prophetic books, the major and minor prophets, and you see a flip, you see a 180, and suddenly wealth is condemned and the wealthy are threatened with hellfire and poverty is praised. In fact, poverty becomes virtually synonymous with righteousness. And then you move into the New Testament and you look at the teachings of Jesus, and oftentimes he warns regarding the dangers of wealth, and he has such compassion for the poor. At times he seems to call at least a portion of his disciples, his followers, to materialistic simplicity.
And then you move into the epistles and you look at what Paul and James have to say about wealth, they’re very different. Paul says, “As for the rich of this world, charge them not to be haughty but to associate with the lowly. Charge them not to put their hopes on uncertain riches, but on God, who richly furnishes us with all things to enjoy. Let them be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous, thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they might take hold of the life, which is life indeed.” That’s a pretty mild approach to the wealthy.
Then you turn to James and he says, “As for the wealth, as for the rich of this world, let them weep.” And James says, “As for the rich of the world, let them become toast.” He threatens them with hellfire. And is the Bible schizophrenic? Is the Bible inconsistent? Is it incongruent?
If you go back and you look at what the prophets have to say about the rich and you look at what James has to say about the rich and you look at it in its context and in the historical setting, you realize that the real problem is pleonexia. The real problem is pleonexia. The reason in the prophets and in the book of James the rich are condemned is just because they, in that context, in that culture, were oppressors of the poor. And they generally attained their wealth through improper desire, through crookedness, through cheating. Pleonexia.
Now, I’m sure that many of us sitting here today in the sanctuary feel pretty safe. My guess is that we’re sitting here and we feel like, “Well, we’re not guilty of pleonexia. We’ve not had improper desires with respect to wealth, and we’ve not desired money that doesn’t belong to us. We’ve not sought money that is out of bounds or improper in God’s sight. We’ve not done crooked things.”
Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, render to God, the things that are God’s.” You see, if we do not pay taxes, if we do not pay the full measure of the taxes we ought to pay, that’s pleonexia. We’re desiring money that doesn’t belong to us, that really belongs to our government as citizens of this nation. If we do not give to Christ, if we do not give to God and to the work of his kingdom, if we do not tithe, that’s pleonexia. That’s desiring money that does not belong to us. It’s out of bounds.
In the book of Malachi, it’s called robbing God. “Will men rob God? You are robbing me. Bring the full tithe into my house. See if I will not open up the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” Pleonexia—improper desire, seeking that which is wrong in God’s sight.
This word pleonexia, however, has another meaning. It can also mean excessive desire, not simply improper desire, but excessive desire. And probably in this passage of scripture before us today that’s the meaning Jesus had in mind. Excessive desire. And the man came to Jesus and said, “Bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus said, “Beware of pleonexia.” And he told the parable of the rich fool and his barns. He seems to be describing excessive desire—desire for money, not money that’s out of bounds, not money that in and of itself is improper, but just a desire for too much money. And in this parable, you have this rich fool who already has full barns, but he’s had a great harvest. And he said, “What shall I do?” He said, “I’ll tear down my barns, build larger barns, and there I’ll store my grain and my goods.” And Jesus called him a fool and said, “This very day his soul would be required of him and the things that he has accumulated, whose shall they be?”
Now we’re reminded of what Christ has said. We’re reminded of what Christ has said regarding treasure when Jesus said, “Do not lay up treasures on earth, where rust and moth consume and thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither rust nor moth consumes nor thieves break in and steal. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” And so, we ask ourselves, hopefully as believers in Jesus Christ, have we laid up treasure on earth? And of course, most of us answer no, we’ve not laid up treasure on earth. And the reason we can answer no is because of the way we define treasure. I mean, we define treasure in such a way that we are not laying up treasure on earth. And we just hope that when we stand before Christ at the judgment seat that he defines treasure in the same way we do, so that we will not be guilty of laying up treasure on earth.
In the year 1547 in poverty-stricken London, England, a boy was born. His name was Tom Canty. His parents didn’t want him. It was the 16th century. England was impoverished. They couldn’t afford another kid. But Tom Canty was born. And as he grew and became a little boy, his parents began to send him out unto the streets of London to beg that he might bring money home. And if he came home and he didn’t get enough money through his begging, his father beat him. His father beat him without mercy if he didn’t bring enough money home.
Of course, over a period of time, Tom learned how much money he had to bring home in order to avoid the beating. And so some days when it was going well, and he acquired that amount of money through begging, maybe by mid-afternoon, he wouldn’t go straight home. He’d go to Father Andrew’s monastery. Father Andrew loved this little guy and taught him and educated him. Tom learned so much from Father Andrew. Father Andrew also from time to time would tell Tom about the royal family and how they lived. Tom was fascinated by that, and he hoped that someday he’d be able to see members of the royal family.
As it turns out, the very day that Tom was born in 1547, another boy was born in the Royal Palace. His name was Edward Tudor. He was the Prince of Wales, destined to ascend the throne of England after the death of King Henry VII. And Edward Tudor had everything that wealth could provide, and he was royalty. He knew little of Tom and people like Tom. He didn’t know how the masses lived, and he didn’t really care. He just lived in his own world.
One day the royal family was making a public appearance, and Tom was there—the first time Tom would be able to see the royal family. He wanted to get a glimpse of Edward Tudor because he knew that Edward was his age. And Tom was standing right there in the front row and one of the royal guards who cared nothing for the masses, just by coincidence, grabbed Tom and begin to kind of throw him around, rough him up a little bit. Edward Tudor saw this, came running over, and stopped the guard. He felt sorry for Tom. He invited Tom to come into the palace with him that day.
Tom and Edward began to talk and they became friends. And as they are just a couple of kids joking around, they decide, well, let’s switch clothes and just see how we look in each other’s clothes. And so Edward put on Tom’s pauper clothes and Tom put on Edward’s princely clothes, and they looked in the mirror and they were amazed. They could have fooled people, they looked so much alike, even their face. And as they got to talking, Edward saw that Tom had a real bruise on his arm where the guard had kind of roughed him up. Edward had come to the point of liking Tom, and he was really angry with the guard. So he decided to go out and kind of tell the guard off a little bit more. And he went out. But he was in Tom’s clothes. Now he went out and he was in the pauper’s clothes, and he came up to the royal guard. The guard thought he was Tom and the guard thought he was a pauper. The guard took Edward and threw him out of the royal palace. Suddenly Edward was living out amongst the impoverished masses and Tom was in the royal palace, mistaken for the Prince of Wales.
Of course, the story then progresses and continues. And ultimately, after a period of much time, Edward Tudor returns to the throne, taking his rightful place after the death of King Henry VII. But he’s a changed man, and when he returns to the throne having lived among the impoverished masses, he has a heart for them, and he cares for the people. He begins to be a loving king and he does wonderful things for the people.
Of course, the problem is it never happened. The problem is it’s not a true story. It was just a story created by Mark Twain in his great book called The Prince and The Pauper. But throughout history, the impoverished masses have longed to see rulers like that, people in high places who would care about people in low places.
Now, we have no royalty here in America, no royal family. And yet in a sense, financially speaking, we’re all royalty. Those of us who are in this sanctuary this morning, we are those who are in high places. I mean, when you look at the world, when you look at the impoverished continent of South America, when you look at the impoverished continent of Africa, when you look at the impoverished continent of Asia, we have so much more than billions of people there, and even much more than many people in Europe, in the European continent. And of course, right here in America, we in suburbia have so much more than many urban people, many people in the inner cities. We are those who have much.
Do we care about people in low places? Are we laying up treasures? Are we laying up treasure on Earth? How does God view us? Does He just view us from the perspective of our own little subculture? Or does He have a global view? How does God view laying up treasure on Earth?
I know this morning at least God wants you to think about that and wants me to think about that. What does it mean to lay up treasure on Earth? And of course, we have this important statement from Christ at the close of the parable where Jesus says, “So shall it be with all who lay up treasure for themselves and are not rich towards God.” Isn’t that what’s condemned? Isn’t that when wealth is excessive?
Of course, in the Greek, there’s parallelism there. Lay up treasure for yourself and not lay up treasure for God, be rich towards yourself and not be rich towards God. And immediately after this passage, you have the parable of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. It’s all in the context of the use of money and it’s in that passage where Jesus said, “Seek first My kingdom and all you need will be added to you. Do not be anxious about what you should eat or drink or where. Seek first My kingdom with your money.” So, are we rich towards God, or are we just rich towards ourselves?
John Wesley, one of the greatest Christians who ever lived, an evangelist and the founder of the Methodist movement, when he made 30 pounds a year, he lived on 27 pounds and he gave three pounds to God. Later in his life, he made 70 pounds a year and then 90 pounds a year, and then 120 pounds a year. But he still lived on 27 pounds a year and gave the rest to God. Now, I don’t think God is telling us all that we need to do that, but I think he would remind us that as we make more money through life, we tend to just be richer towards ourselves, don’t we? As we make more money, we’re just richer towards ourselves. So, we gradually improve our lifestyles. I mean, we’re not rich towards God as we make more money, just rich towards self, and we elevate our lifestyles and soon we’re in bondage to those lifestyles, laying up treasure for self, not rich towards God. And can the judgment of God be far away?
Our church as a congregation had a good year end. I expressed to you, as I think on behalf of the staff, how grateful we are for your faith and your faithfulness and for God’s provision. But the truth is, our tendency as a congregation is to have a great year end and a real bad beginning of the year. We have once again had a bad beginning of the year. That’s human nature. You dig a little deeper and then you let up. But see, the problem is that the congregation, the ministry of the church, begins to go into a panic mode and you just rely on the year end to pull it out. Sometimes the year end pulls it out, sometimes it doesn’t. But I wonder what would happen in this church if we didn’t have any pleonexia with respect to money, no improper desire, no excessive desire.
What would happen if we were rich towards God before we were rich towards ourselves? We’d see the full light of the sun, no canopy of sin blocking that light. We’d see the full light of the sun and the life of the ministry would be strong and great.
We’ve said in times past that 40% of our members give nothing, and that’s not exactly true. I mean, the truth is we don’t know what they give because they’ve never written us a check. 40% of our members have never written us a check, and we have no means of knowing what they give. Perhaps they put some cash in the plate. But I think it’s safe to say there’s a lot of pleonexia here. And you know, excessive desire, the word pleonexia, is very much like the Greek word “philarguria,” “the love of money,” which the Bible says leads to ruin and destruction and is the root of all evil.
So this morning, as we come before the Lord and under the Word, God would ask us how we view our wealth. Because by the world’s standards, we are wealthy, and God has put power in our hands. And the real issue is not how much money you have. God is not a socialist. I mean, God doesn’t demand that everyone have the same amount of money or that everyone have the same lifestyle, but he does demand that those who have been given much, to whom much is given, much is required. God would have us search our hearts today and to ask ourselves whether we’re rich towards self or rich towards God, whether we’re laying up treasure on earth or whether we’re laying up treasure in heaven. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let’s close with a word of prayer.