Proverbs 21: 2-8, 20-21
All deeds are right in the sight of the doer,
but the Lord weighs the heart.
To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
the lamp of the wicked—are sin.
The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to want.
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.
The violence of the wicked will sweep them away,
because they refuse to do what is just.
The way of the guilty is crooked,
but the conduct of the pure is right.
Precious treasure remains in the
house of the wise,
but the fool devours it.
Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
will find life and honor.
Luke 15:11-24
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.
The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the
property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them.
A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a
distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that
country, and he began to be in need.
So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country,
who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.
He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were
eating; and no one gave him anything.
But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands
have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!
I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have
sinned against heaven and before you;
I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your
hired hands.”’
So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his
father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around
him and kissed him.
Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and
before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best
one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is
found!’ And they began to celebrate.
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From September of 2015 through this
past August of 2016, we spent 52 weeks together working our way through the
Bible, using as our guide the book by Brian McLaren called “We Make the Road by
Walking”. On the last week, in the last chapter, we explored this same story we
heard from the gospels today – the story of the Prodigal Son. We considered how
the younger son scattered or wasted all the resources he was given by his
Father, and how the older son carefully tended his inheritance by staying home
and doing what was needed, and how both of them were loved and welcomed by
their Father. We were reminded that there is nothing that can separate us from
the love of God that has been shown to us in Christ Jesus.
This morning I’d like to consider
how the younger son wasted what he had been given. We do not know what his
plans were for the resources he was given by his father; we only know that he
squandered them, wasted them, scattered them.
We have been considering over the
past few weeks how everything we have comes from God, and how it is enough, if
we use it in accordance with God’s plans for God’s kingdom, for God’s people.
It’s when we choose our own path, our own way, and when it is not in step with
how God intends the world to be, that we begin to be in need, as we heard the
prodigal son was. It is when we lose sight of God’s purposes in our plans that
we begin to think of ourselves as nothing more worthy than hired hands, that we
think we must figure out our own way through life. As the prodigal said, “I am
no longer worthy to be called your child; treat me like one of your hired
hands.” How often do we see ourselves and one another in that way with respect
to our relationship with God, rather than seeing ourselves and one another as
God’s beloved children, adopted and love, as heirs to God’s kingdom?
But God’s resources are not here to
be squandered, or to be used in ways that are contrary to God’s purposes and
plans. We have tow commandments from Christ: Love God with all your heart,
soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. If we
set our life purposes in line with these, we can trust that we would have
enough – that God will provide out of the great abundance we have been given –
our inheritance as God’s children.
So what defines your life’s
purpose? How much have you even thought about this?
A while ago it was popular to
develop a personal purpose statement or personal mission statement. The book by
Stephen Covey, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” was one of the
most popular of the self-help books, selling more than 25 million copies.
· How many of
you have read that book?
· How many of
you have written a personal mission statement?
· How many of
you could recite it from memory if you were asked today?
· How many of
you still use it as a focal point for how you live your life?
When we think about spiritual
disciplines for our life, we tend to think about daily prayer, reading
scripture and other devotions, regular attendance at church, and so forth. A
key part of placing God in the center of our lives is to prayerfully consider
our life purpose, and to test it against those commandments Christ has placed
before us. Have we defined a purpose that reflects loving God and loving
neighbor as the focal point? Have we set our priorities in a way that squanders
the gifts and resources God has given us, or in a way that abundantly uses them
to reflect and promote God’s kingdom?
As I’ve been praying and reading
and writing this week in preparation for today, I have come across a number of
stories that reflect how various people have set their life purpose in line
with God’s will, and how they have creatively and compassionately lived their
purpose out. Here are just a few.
The book we are reading as part of
this sermon series tells the story of Johnny, a 19 year old bagger at a grocery
store who heard a motivational speaker tell the employees that their work was
more than stocking shelves or ringing up purchases or bagging groceries, but
that every person they met was an opportunity to bless someone, to live out a
higher calling or mission. Johnny was inspired to come up with a plan to be a
blessing to others. So every night he searched the internet for a positive
saying that would encourage people. He printed out 300 copies and cut them into
individual strips. The next day, he would put one of the sayings in the grocery
bag of each of his customers while saying, "I put a saying in your bag. I
hope it helps you have a good day. Thanks for coming here." A month later,
the manager noticed that Johnny's line was much longer than the others. Even
when he announced that there was no waiting in lines 2 and 3, no one budged.
People wanted Johnny to be their bag boy. He touched them and filled them with
hope. Johnny got it. He was pursuing a mission that was bigger than
his personal satisfaction.
his personal satisfaction.
The next two come in video form.
(show both videos)
These opportunities arise for all
of us. God calls us to be ready, to position our resources of time, talent and
treasure so that we can and will use them to do God’s will whenever the
opportunity shows up. To trust in God’s way of completing what we start, when
it is in line with God’s kingdom. These children are not encumbered by fears of
not being able to make a difference. They see a need and they pursue it. We can
do that too, because God is with us.
You have an insert in your bulletin
this week that is designed to help you with this. One side is entitled “My Life
and Financial Goals Worksheet”. It has a set of questions that deserve your
time and prayerful attention. I ask you to take this home, to invite the Holy
Spirit into your thoughts and your work, and to consider and capture your
answers to these questions at this point in your life. And then the flip side
gives you a general structure for a budget, which is always a good thing to
have, to keep us living within our means, and to keep us focused on how we use
our resources in line with our life purpose and our personal and financial
goals. The two sides of this page work together. If you want an extra copy,
there are some on the back table of the sanctuary that you can take.
The ushers are bringing around another
take-home reminder item for you, a peel-off plastic cling sheet with a list of
six key financial principles, each grounded in scripture, to help us both
simplify and focus in order to make room for God’s work to be primary in our
lives. I invite you to take them home and put them up where they can remind you
of these focal points in your daily life and spiritual disciplines.
The purpose of all this is to
reorient our time, talent and treasure to make God’s kingdom work our priority,
to make it our fulltime and primary work, not our spare time work. We are
called to nothing less. And we are enough, because God has abundantly blessed
us, gifted us, provided for us, so that we can care for one another.
On the eve of Reformation Day, the
day 499 years ago that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the door of All
Saints’ Church at Wittenberg University in Germany, beginning the Protestant
Reformation, let us remember these words from him: “There are three conversions
necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind, and the purse.” Let us allow God
into our hearts, our minds, and our purses and wallets, so that we can truly
serve God by serving one another, all of our days.
Thanks be to God!
