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It's All About Trust

            Who do you trust?  Jeffrey D. Jordan, publisher of Net Marketing Results writes: Gaining a prospect’s trust is the essential first step when you are transforming a prospect into a client.  A prospect will only become a client when they trust you.  This is absolutely critical with any service businesses but also applies to every business.  No trust, no business.  Mr. Jordan is right.  Trust is a big issue.  But not only in business.  In the final analysis, what really counts is our relationship with God, and that, too, is based on trust.

            In our Wednesday “Roadmaps to Bible Reading” course a week or so ago, we pursued an interesting question about Jesus’ statement that he told parables so that those who trust in him would learn more about God and get closer to him, and those who did not trust in him would get turned off.  That’s actually the way it works because it is possible that something God says or does can have two purposes.  Was the Flood bad or good?  Well, it was bad for all the wicked in the world who drowned, but good for Noah and his family.  Was Esau’s anger toward his brother good or bad?  It was bad in that it forced Jacob to flee but good in that Jacob learned to trust God not himself.  Was the parting of the Red Sea bad or good?  It was good for the Israelites, but bad for the Egyptian army.

            We have one of Jesus’ parables before us today.  Is its message good or bad?  “What a dumb question,” you might be thinking, “All of Jesus’ parables are good for Christians like us.”  But let’s be honest.  Doesn’t this parable about the rich man and poor Lazarus, which you heard as the gospel for this day, make you feel uncomfortable?  It does me.  You see, I wouldn’t want to live like Lazarus, begging for hand-outs, hoping for table scraps, having dogs lick my sores (20).  I’d much rather like the rich man.  Of course, I don’t want to go to hell like the rich man, but I don’t want hell on earth either.  Can’t I have both?  Can’t I enjoy some nice stuff now and still go to heaven?  So, what is Jesus trying to teach us with this parable?  Here’s the answer, It’s All About Trust.

            I’m realistic enough to know that most people do not lie awake at night worrying about answers to questions like, “How is it possible to have a close relationship with God?”  “How can I cope with all the messes I’ve made in my life and all the other bad stuff life has thrown my way?”  “Where will I spend eternity?”  But every once in a while, for any number of reasons, there are people who start thinking more seriously about those big questions, and the answers all come down to trust.  That’s what Jesus was getting at in this story.

            Let’s take a look at the characters.  “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.”  In just a few words Jesus sketched the rich man’s lifestyle.  The words Jesus used conjure up the image of a man who spent all his time and energy flaunting status symbols, sitting in his mansion, wallowing in luxury, pampering himself, partying with his pals till the cows came home.  He lived what many would call “the good life.”  Please remember – there’s nothing wrong with money.  There’s nothing wrong in being rich.  The problem comes when people ignore the warning from the second scripture lesson today, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).  Another way to say that – “Trust in money is the root of all kinds of evil.”  The rich man in Jesus’ parable had a trust problem.  He trusted in money.

            There’s another word for that – greed.  One web-definition says that greed is “excessive or uncontrolled desire for or pursuit of money, wealth, food, or other possessions, especially when this denies the same goods to others.”  Greed is the desire for more and more stuff, more and more money.  That desire can turn money into a god.  Keep in mind that a god is anything that gets first place in our hearts.  “I’ll never fall for that,” says the faithful Christian.  But just ask yourself – and I’ll have to ask myself – would I rather go out to dinner or be satisfied with dinner at home so that I can put more in the offering envelope?  Would I rather have a bigger house and higher mortgage, or would I be content with a smaller house so I can help with the mortgage on a church structure?  If I had a single and a twenty in my wallet, and reached for the single to put into the plate, later realizing that I had grabbed the twenty instead, would I be mortified, or would I laugh with joy that my right hand did not know what my left hand was doing?  How can get rid of greed?  How can I escape greed?  It’s all about trust.

            So, Mr. Rich Man, whom do you trust?  The rich man answered, “I trust that what I see with my eyes and what I touch with my hands.  I trust my income and investments.”  But then, “the rich man died and was buried.  In hell where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away ... So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”  High school football coaches know it’s dangerous to allow a player to get dehydrated.  During practices the kids line up at the hoses every half hour and during games on the sidelines and during time-outs you can see players grabbing for a water bottle or cup of Gatorade.  Years ago, our coaches didn’t believe in allowing water breaks.  You were called a weakling if you needed water.  I can remember doing push-ups under a ninety-degree August sun and being so thirsty that I was looking for drops of dew on the bottom side of grass blades.  That’s as close as I’ve come to dying of thirst.  I can’t imagine the horror of this rich man in hell.  He wasn’t asking for a swimming pool or a bathtub of water or a hose or a ladle-full of water.  He just wanted a one drop from Lazarus’ finger.

            And that wasn’t the worst of it.  That was only to quench his physical thirst.  The real pain he had was when he looked up and saw Abraham far away.  The real pain was hearing Abraham reply, “Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”  Now he wanted God’s help.  Now he knew the answers to the big questions in life, but he could not apply them to himself.  Now he wanted help which no money can buy, but it was oh-so far away, and it was too late.

            Let’s take a look at the other character in this parable.  Who would want to live like Lazarus?  Not me!  He wasn’t just lacking money.  The word for “beggar” indicates that he was humbled, frightened, and cowering in shame.  His situation was more than sad.  He would have been willing to eat dog food.  But did you know that this is the only time that Jesus gave a name to a character in one of his parables?  The name is significant.  His Jewish listeners knew that the name Lazarus meant “God is my helper.”  This man trusted in what God had done for him.  Even though he had nothing, he trusted that what God wanted for him and what God would give was best and answered life’s biggest questions.

            So, Mr. Lazarus, whom will you trust?  Lazarus said, “I’m going to spite what I see and experience with my senses.  Even though it seems that God has given me nothing, I trust that what God wants for me is good and what God says to me is true.”  Lazarus ended up in heaven, keeping company with believers like Abraham.

            Every human is born longing for answers to those big questions in life.  We can try to put them off.  We can try to medicate ourselves so we forget they’re out there.  We can try to divert our attention from them by filling our lives with things like bananas and business, steaks and stocks, French fries and family, Skittles and schedules as the rich man did.  But sooner or later, you and I will have to face the music.  Then what?  Whom will we trust?

            Money is fine.  Possessions are OK.  But looks are deceiving.  Poverty is scary.  Hunger is uncomfortable.  But looks and feelings are deceiving.  The moment money and stuff get our attention away from God, we’ve lost focus.  The moment the lack of money and the lack of stuff get our attention, we’ve lost focus.  Don’t ever forget that Satan is hard at work, and one of his big tricks is to get us distracted, trusting in the wrong things, especially money.  But there are two problems with that.  First, we’ll never have enough money to buy a ticket into heaven.  The entrance fee is too high.  The price is a completely perfect life.  Neither you nor I can do that.  And if we’ve fallen short of that in any way, then the price goes up and includes not only a completely perfect life but also payment for a bad life – and that we don’t want to pay because the price for that is what the rich man was paying after he died.  The second problem with money is that it’s only a tool, and even the best tools not only wear out but are only valuable if you use them for the right purpose.  A can opener is a nice tool, but it won’t help me trim tree branches or mow my lawn.  Money is a nice tool, but it won’t help me get to eternity, nor will it make God like me more.  But if I had a can opener, and my neighbor needed cans opened, what a handy tool to share!  If you and I have money – and there just aren’t too many in this congregation who don’t have money (just check what’s in your closets, what’s in your garage or parking space, what’s in your wallet, what’s in your bank account, what’s in your portfolio) – and our money can help start a new church, or help a seminarian graduate, or pay the mortgage on the Grace Center, or fund a new support staff position, what a handy tool to share!

            But none of that would be any fun if we could not answer the big questions in life.  Look at what Lazarus had.  He had the answer to the big questions in life.  He knew that it’s all about trust, and he trusted in the right thing, or I should say, the right person – Jesus!

            Just what is it about Jesus that is worth trusting?  Well, compare him to money.  Money is a lifeless tool.  Jesus is the life-giving Savior.  Money doesn’t last.  Jesus is endures.  Money changes in value with inflation and the economy.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  What is it about Jesus that we can trust?  How about the fact that he paid our entrance price into heaven, and he added the additional payment of making up for our bad with his shed-blood?  Looking for the right answers to all the big questions in life?  Looking for the right thing to trust?  It’s all about trust.  It’s all about trusting Jesus!  That’s why we began this worship service about trust by singing:

     Who trusts in God,   A strong abode   In heav’n and earth possesses;

            Who looks in love    To Christ above – No fear his heart oppresses.

     In you alone,   Dear Lord, we own    Sweet hope and consolation,

            Our shield from foes,   Our balm for woes,

     Our great and sure salvation.

   

    In all the strife   Of mortal life   Our feet will stand securely.

            Temptations hour   Will lose its pow’r,   For you will guard us surely.

     O God, renew   With heav’nly dew   Our body, souls, and spirit

            Until we stand   At your right hand

            Through Jesus’ saving merit. (CW 447:1-3)

            I’ve heard people who are seeking a church mention, “I used to go to a church, but I stopped going because all they ever talked about was money.  I’m glad you don’t do that here.”  Yet, here we are talking about money and unashamedly so because God has plenty to say about money in the Holy Scriptures.  This parable is really about money.  So, is this parable good or bad?  Well, it is bad for those who push Jesus aside, but good for us – good for us because, even if it makes us uncomfortable at first with a wave of guilt that we’d rather live like the rich man than poor Lazarus, Jesus pulls up his divine fork lift, hoists the guilt off of our backs, and dumps it where we’ll never see it or find it.  So, you see, it’s all about trust.  Trust Jesus, not riches.  Amen.

Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on October 7, 2007

Services

Sundays 7:45, 9:00 & 10:30 am

Mondays 6:30 pm

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1209 North Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 | (414) 271-3006

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