The Myth Of More

By John Stallings


A few years back one of the most highly awarded films was THE AVIATOR, the story of billionaire Howard Hughes.

Hughes is a perfect case study of what GREED can do, because his life was an obsession to have more. He wanted more money, so he parlayed inherited wealth into a billion dollar pile of assets. He wanted more fame, so he went to Hollywood and became a film maker and star.

He wanted more sensual pleasures, so he paid handsome sums to indulge his every hedonistic urge. He wanted more thrills, so he designed, built and piloted the fastest aircraft in the world. He wanted more power, so he secretly dealt political favors so skillfully that two U. S. Presidents became his pawns.

All Howard Hughes ever wanted was more. And yet this man ended his life emaciated, colorless, and with a sunken chest. His fingernails resembled grotesque corkscrews that were inches long. His teeth were black and rotten, and innumerable needle marks from his drug addiction covered his body. He walked around nearly naked most of the time with his beard and hair to his waist.

He lived in darkness, wore rubber gloves, and sterilized everything in his junk-filled room. He spent most of his time watching old movies and drinking soup. He was so lonely that he talked on the phone for 10 to 15 hours a day.

I remember when Howard Hughes died, newscasters reported that he weighed only 95 pounds and I'm sure that with every ounce he still believed in The myth of more.” His life shows the truth of the old proverb: "He who covets is always poor."

There are several sins like lust, envy, sloth, gluttony and anger and God has much to say about them. Of course we’re talking about the Seven Deadly Sins. Let’s look at…

GREED
Greed is the love of money and possessions. Greed is when the desire for more money and material wealth causes us to ignore our spiritual well being.

A survey was taken a while ago and it dealt with questions about money and morality. One of the questions that were asked dealt directly with greed. Question was this. How far would you go for $10 million dollars? And then it gave several responses:

25% said they would abandon all their family.
23% said they would be willing to work as a prostitute for a week.
16% said they would give up their citizenship.
10% said they would withhold testimony that would allow a murderer to go free.7% said they would murder a stranger.6% would change their race.
4% would have a sex-change operation.

WALL STREET, MAIN STREET, WASHINGTON D.C
I don’t have to tell you that Wall street, Main street along with Corporate executives and many in our government, drunk with  greed and the power that money brings  pulled crooked deals and at this very moment are conspiring to ruin the nation financially. Credit card companies not only charge interest but charge interest on the interest, enslaving people in years of debt. Nations are doing outrageous things to each other in their mad rush for oil.

What amazes me is that nobody ever points to greed as the problem. Greed is the proverbial elephant standing in the middle of the living room that everyone ignores and talks around.


THE RICH YOUNG RULER

The Holy Spirit has seen fit to record the story of the rich young ruler three times in the gospel story of Jesus. This may seem strange when we notice the resurrection of Lazarus is mentioned just one time in John eleven, the famous prodigal son story is told but once in Luke fifteen, the Good Samaritan is noted but once in Luke ten. Evidently, the Holy Spirit must think the story of the rich young ruler has a very important message.

A RICH YOUNG MAN

It would have been obvious to the disciples and Jesus that this young man was rich. Rich people today typically don’t shop at the Dollar Store. Usually they’re wearing clothes bought at the high end shops. You see them and you know that they’re “well heeled.” It would have been obvious that this wasn’t some back water hick. This was a man who came from money.

The parallel passage in Matthew 19 tells us that he was a young man. In other words, the money didn’t come from his own work, but probably from dad. And from Luke’s parallel (Luke 18) we learn that he was also a ruler. That meant that he had a position of prominence in the local synagogue. He was young, wealthy and powerful. Putting Matthew, Mark and Luke together, we’ve come to refer to this person as the “rich young ruler.

He feels he’s in good spiritual condition but he wants to cover all his bases and make sure that he hasn’t left something out. So when Jesus is travelling by, he runs for him and asks this rabbi the question on his heart.

He came running to Jesus and knelt before Him and said, “What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life.” He showed utmost respect for Jesus by kneeling in His presence. When this man asked “what shall I do,” he evidently believed that you had to do something to be saved, and that being rich was not the answer.

This young man’s eyes were set on eternal matters. He had the look of a seeker. He seemed willing to listen and eager to learn. He seemed a disciple-in-the-making. But his story has a dark end. It was he that inspired Jesus famous words "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom." Matthew was there to watch the unfolding of this man’s confrontation with Christ.

Think of it; rich, young, and a religious leader, who as it will turn out had morals that cannot be questioned.

Most would say today that such a man as this doesn’t lack anything. He is a shoo-in for heaven just as he is. Besides that, we are told that the Lord loved him. Many people think that since God loves mankind, He would never allow anyone to go to Hell. Here is a man of whom it actually says, “Jesus loved him,” and He is going to tell him that he lacks one thing, and that one thing will keep him out of Heaven.

Now before the Lord answered this question, He had to set this young man straight on something. He had called Jesus “good Master.” Did he know what he was saying when he called Jesus “good Master?” Jesus reminded him that there is no one who is good, but God. “Are you calling Me God?”

Jesus is more than a great prophet, He is more than the greatest teacher, and He is more than the best of men. The young man knelt before Him, and some day he will kneel again. Paul reminds us in Philippians,

“Every knee shall bow of things in heaven, and of things on the earth, and of things under the earth, and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”

ANOTHER LOOK AT THE QUESTION

The young man asked, “What good thing shall I do? What good thing must I do?” He had the idea that if he were good enough, he would inherit eternal life. The Scripture teaches that no man is good, even at his best. Paul describes fallen man in Romans chapter three, with such terms as;


“There is none righteous, no not one; their throat is an open sepulcher.”

In other words, the un-forgiven sinner has spiritual halitosis; their breath smells as rotten as a putrefied corpse to God. The poison of the asp is under their lips, it seems like the words of the un-forgiven are as poisonous as a rattlesnake, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: There is no fear of God before their eyes. And then to clean the slate, Paul says,

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

That is how God looks on the spirituality of lost mankind. So it’s not enough to say, “Be good and you will go to Heaven.” What little good we possess is not good enough. Some other remedy is needed.

One of my favorite movies is “The Sound of Music.” We have it in our library and watch it at least once a year. If you’ve seen it, you may remember a scene when Julie Andrew’s character realizes she’s won the heart of a very rich man and will soon be his wife.

As the two of them stand under an archway amidst beautiful scenery, she sings a song with the theme, “somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.” It’s amazing how pervasive this idea is, that if we do good things we will somehow end up in a good place.

Of course there’s a certain amount of truth to that idea but when we approach God, we have to lay all our good works aside and depend on His grace alone to save us.

THE NEED TO DO SOMETHING

The rich young ruler wanted to know what one thing he needed to do. “Jesus, tell me that one thing, and I will do it.” Jesus told him, “Thou knowest the commandments,” and the young man said, “Which?” It was not a matter of ignorance, he knew what the word said, and wasn’t satisfied with it. However, the terms of salvation are the same today as they were 2000 years ago.

Now Jesus told him to do six things, not one thing. In essence He slammed him up against the Commandments of God;

“Honor thy father and thy mother,
Thou shalt not kill,
Thou shalt not commit adultery,
Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Thou shalt not steal;
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self.”

The young man said, “These have I observed from my youth up, what lack I yet?” Jesus told him- one thing thou lackest.

This young man had lived an exemplary life. For a person to live a good life like that, stay out of jail, vote in every election, never get drunk, be a good neighbor, stay drug-free, give to every benevolent organization, and leave Christ out of your life is the most respectable way there is of going to Hell.

But in view of all he was and all he lacked, it is said that Jesus looking on him loved him. This is a very intriguing statement, “Jesus looked on him.” Jesus was reading this man’s soul like a book. The word “looked” is the same Greek word used in John chapter one when Andrew first met Jesus, and brought his brother Simon to the Lord. Jesus looked on him; stared at him intently, looked right through him, and said,

“Thou art Simon the son of John, from henceforth thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation Peter.”

When Jesus looked upon Peter, Jesus saw the makings of an Apostle. What did Jesus see when He looked intently with love at the rich young ruler? Was the Lord thinking, “Here is another Apollos, or a Timothy?” Was He thinking of what this young man could become if he followed Him? What a tragedy when we read later that he will go away sorrowfully. We can’t help but wonder what the Lord sees when He looks at us, and sees our potential? Have you and I lived up to what we could have become?

THE YOUNG MAN’S PROBLEM

The young man wasn’t dealing here with “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,” Jesus was going to smash all of his preconceived ideas about things spiritual. Part of this man’s problem was that he was dealing with the “real Jesus.” That might sound like an odd statement but in truth it’s right on target. Sad to say, much of what is preached or written these days doesn’t present the real Jesus but rather some modernistic gobbledygook about Jesus that presents Him inaccurately. When you and I are faced with the real Jesus, He might just turn our theology on its head.

Jesus was telling this young man that if he gained eternal life it wouldn’t be because of his efforts but Jesus’ efforts. Jesus was saying that salvation and eternal life wasn’t something you could just add onto your life, it was an explosion that went off in your life, totally reorienting your priorities. Eternal life isn’t something you earn, it’s something you receive.

Jesus told him to go and sell what he had and give to the poor and-“come follow me.” Jesus didn’t ask everyone he talked to or healed to come follow Him. As a matter of fact he told people who wanted to follow Him to go home. Think about it; this young man could have been one of Christ’s disciples. He could have had his name as a part of heaven’s foundation and had one of the gates named after him.

Neither did Jesus tell everyone who came to Him to give up everything. Nicodemus was a rich man, Joseph of Arimathaea was a rich man, and Zacchaeus was a rich man. He said, “Lord, I will give you fifty percent, the half of my goods I give to the poor. Lord, I will give half of all I have.”

The reason the Lord told this rich man to liquidate everything and give it away was because this rich man did not have any money, the money he thought he had, had him. Greed was lifting its ugly head. Jesus of course saw it and realized spiritual surgery was needed to save his life. Money had become a monster in the life of this man.

The attitude he had is still a very popular attitude 2,000 years later; - “I’ll take the world, and you can have Heaven.”

You rarely if ever hear anyone say, “Lord forgive me for being greedy.”
It appears the rich young ruler had no big problem with murder, honor of parents, bearing false witness, or adultery. His big problem was he was tied down to this earth with money.

The reason it’s difficult for a rich man to go to Heaven, and millions of us are rich in varying degrees in America, is in the words of Jesus when He said,

“The care of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things entering in choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”

Many a person is like the man with the full barns. He said, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; I will build a bigger barn to hold it all, take thine ease, eat drink and be merry.” But God said unto him, “Thou fool this night is thy soul required of thee.”

Jesus also said, “Where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.”
Mark tells us that the young man went away sorrowful because he had great possessions. He wanted to go to Heaven, but he didn’t want to go badly enough. Many like the rich young ruler want to go to Heaven, but how much do they want to go? The bottom line of the young man’s decision was,

“I’d rather go to Hell than part with what I have. I’d rather go to Hell than give up my sinful habits.” Jesus did not try to make easy disciples. He didn’t preach “greasy grace.” Rather He raised the bar of discipleship, He didn’t lower it.

THE CHALLENGE

Consider now the challenge to the invitation of Jesus. When Jesus called James and John to come after Him, straightway they left the boat and their father and followed Him. When Jesus called Matthew, sitting in a place of business, and called him, Luke says, “Matthew arose, and left all and followed Him.” Paul in Philippians chapter three spoke of his great accomplishments before he knew Christ, and speaks of them as dung, that he might gain Christ.

If this young man with great possessions kept the mind-set he had that day, I can’t help but wonder about the regret he’s suffered for the past 2000 years out there in a place called hell where the doors only swing one way. There are millions now living this side of eternity who need to ponder that same question. Jesus warns all in Matthew 16:26, 27,

“For what shall a man be profited, if he gain the whole world, and forfeit his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then shall he render unto every man according to his works.”
When a well know sports figure of bygone years was asked, “What is your ambition?” He said, “My ambition is to go to Heaven.” When the reporters chided him and said, “What do you mean, go to Heaven?” He said, “Gentlemen, if there is no Heaven, life is not worth living.” How true that statement is.

The watchword of Paul in Colossians is, “Set your affections on things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and not on the things of the earth. And when Christ who is our life shall be manifested, then shall ye also be manifested with Him in glory.”
You have to give this man credit; he’d asked the most important question a person can ask, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

HE WENT AWAY

When the young man realized he would have to part with his possessions, he went away sorrowful. In a way, this is his only mistake. A man can misunderstand the divinity of Christ, be blind to himself, and misunderstand God’s grace and still be saved if he will commit to staying with God.

Peter, Andrew, John, Matthew, and the others did not fully understand the Lordship of Jesus, and they certainly did not fully understand the plan of grace, but they stayed with Jesus. They were willing to commit to a lifestyle of learning Him. They apprenticed themselves to Him, for the long haul.

That is the way to be saved. If you are willing to launch out with Christ on the long journey from brokenness to wholeness, if you are willing to walk all the way, every hard step, then you are a wise man, even if you are not young or wealthy. Did you notice that Jesus didn’t go after the young man and try to persuade him to do what was necessary for salvation? He didn’t send one of His disciples running after him to try to show him the mistake he was making.

THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE

Most people are familiar with the name Rick Warren. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, his best-selling book “The Purpose Driven Life” probably will. Warren has been on the cover of Christianity Today several times over the last few years and one recent article inside told of his work in Rwanda and South Africa.

I don't know if many folk realize this but his book, The Purpose Driven Life has been the best-selling new book in the world since 2003. People all over the world have bought more than 26 million copies. This of course made the Warrens very wealthy but they didn't hoard their money. They gave it to eternal purposes.

A look at their most recent "bank statement" would tell us that Warren stopped taking a paycheck from his church. In fact he repaid 25 years of salary to the church that he founded in 1980. He and his wife also created three charitable foundations and started "reverse tithing" meaning they live on 10 percent of their income and give away 90 percent.

And then they began to work with the people of Rwanda-helping an entire nation to become purpose-driven. They also ministered in South Africa to the people suffering and dying of AIDS. In fact, Warren has developed an acronym to describe the kinds of ministry he's doing with all his money. He's used the word "PEACE":

P - Plant new churches or partner with existing one.
E - Equip pastors and leaders
A - Assist the poor
C - Care for the sick
E- Educate the next generation.

I don't agree with Warren on everything,  and to be frank, I’ve heard and read a lot of criticism of the man which is probably to be expected.

But reading this story about all this giving, I sense a joy in Rick Warren and his wife-a deep contentment-a genuine peace they didn’t have heretofore. Their innermost longings are to further God's eternal kingdom, not to pad their personal pocketbooks.

And the wonderful truth is you don't have to have millions to experience that kind of peace and joy and satisfaction. If you and I just give what we have of our time and talents and money to further God's kingdom and keep our affections set on things above, we won’t fall victim to covetousness and “The Myth Of More.”

Paul's words in 1 Timothy 6:9 hit the nail on the head because the pursuit of MORE causes us nothing but emptiness and grief.

People who want to get rich really do fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.


Blessings,


John