"The Right Stuff" - Luke 12:13-21 - August 2, l998

One time it was approaching Christmas and Frazier had decided to do his shopping via catalog. He had very carefully ordered the exact educational gifts he wanted for his son. He had arranged to receive his goods in plenty of time for Christmas. They came just and time. But when he opened the box he knew instantly it was the wrong stuff. They had mixed up his order with some other Frazier. He was furious, not to mention panicky since he had no time to correct the problem. He decided to go to the shopping mall which was against Frazier's standards but he had no choice. He went only to find everything sold out. While he was in the toy store a man walked in with a sack of educational toys from a store in the mall. But it was now closed. Frazier payed the man three times what they were worth just so his son could have quality educational toys.

Christmas eve came and his son told Frazier that he wanted a certain power toy that shot bullets. This of course was against Fraziers' wishes for his son. Frazier realized he had failed to listen to his son, giving him what he thought he should have instead of what the boy asked for. He had purchased the wrong stuff.

Have you ever received the wrong stuff? There is nothing worse then expecting to receive what you have requested only to have it mixed up or sent to some other place. It is aggravating. You have to start all over again, correcting the company’s mistake. When it comes to stuff, we want what we want and we want it right. We expect to receive exactly what we pay for. Our stuff is important to us and we don’t like people messing with our stuff.

Imagine how God feels when we send God the "wrong stuff." God is expecting followers who are faithful, loving and devoted. When God receives something else God too must be very aggravated. The man in our story did not send God the "right" stuff. He had stockpiled goods and was building a bigger warehouse to add more stuff. His life was about possessions, resources, money and power.

The "right" stuff that God expected had nothing to do with possessions, resources, money and power. It had to do with the condition of his heart, sharing with his neighbor, his faith in God, his belief in an everlasting life. The man did not have the "stuff" that God was looking for. Therefore God called him a fool. "He who lays up treasure for himself is not rich toward God", but a fool. To think that God called someone a fool is hard to imagine. God is rarely depicted as one who resorts to labels. Obviously God was not happy with this man’s behavior. The man is on the wrong path, the man is not delivering the "right" stuff.

From the story it might be interpreted that Jesus was condemning wealth or the desire to own things. Jesus was teaching his listeners about a false sense of security. The man thought his "stuff" would sustain him for the future. His warehouses would be like an insurance policy. He would never be in want or need. While it is true that a little cash on hand may help us in a crisis, like when the church boiler needs to be repaired, it cannot save us. It is not the condition of our check books that will ensure us a future life, it is the condition of our soul.

This past week I was balancing our personal check book. It was off 9 cents. There was a time when I would have spent hours finding the error. I have learned that it is far less stressful and time consuming to make a simple correction. Chances are it will turn up the following month. If it were $9 I might spend more time. But, if I am consumed with worrying about every penny I am like the man in the story who is building bigger barns. I too have a false sense of security.

This past week many folks are flocking to Indiana to purchase "Powerball" tickets. It is a national lottery that will yield over $200 million. People are driving great distances, standing in line, all in hopes of winning the lottery. Of course the odds are 80 million to one, but none the less many are participating. Each participants believes he/she will win. The opportunity to have the money to buy more stuff has become a national pastime. God is certainly watching over us saying, "fool."

When we are driven toward the accumulation of stuff and the acquisition of power we are focused on ourselves and not toward God. It is not that playing the lottery is a sin. It is the belief that the lottery can save us. It is not that having nice things is sinful either. It is the belief that they will bring us eternal happiness and peace. I asked a friend how much they played on the lottery this week. He said he had spent $l0. I then asked how much he had given to his church. He had a dumb look on his face and then confessed he had given nothing.

"A persons’ life does not consist in the abundance of his or her possessions", Jesus said. In other words, God does not judge us by our inventories. Many take pride in what they have. They also like to take credit for what they have accumulated. That is unfortunate. The farmer who works hard at planting their crops and managing the market to get the best price for their grain also knows that the yield depends on the sun and the rain. We tend to judge one another on what we own or by our productivity. But, we forget that we cannot be totally responsible for the outcome. God has a hand in all that we do.

This past week General Motors and the UAW settled the two-month strike in Flint, Michigan. The strike has resulted in billions of dollars lost in revenue for the company. At the same time, employees have had to make sacrifices to survive and many small business have suffered. The two sides had to come to the realization that they are dependent on one another. The employees need a weekly paycheck to feed their families and the company needs employees to build automobiles.

Even if you own your own business you are dependent on others for your survival. To think that we can be totally self sufficient like the man in the story is ludicrous. At the same time, to think that we can save ourselves without God is just as ludicrous.

If we believe that our self worth depends upon our possessions we have created an illusion. Our identity comes not from the size of our barns but the size of our hearts. We have been conditioned that power comes through our possessions, resources and money. Real power comes through love, compassion, giving and our "richness" toward God.

In the most recent issue of Homiletics, there is an article about Ted Koppel, television journalist on ABC. Koppel has been making public speaking appearances for over twenty years. He started at $500 and advanced to $50,000 per engagement. When he reached that amount he spoke with his wife and they agreed that that amount was astronomical. Since then Koppel has agreed to speak for free. He has made a conscious decision to serve something besides money. Instead of getting rich he is becoming rich toward God. In this case he is sending the right stuff. Others may call him a fool, but not God.

The average person is not a national journalist with a big salary like Ted Koppel. Most are just making ends meet, living from paycheck to paycheck. God does not compare us by the size of our salaries, the square footage of our houses or the tonnage of "stuff" we have. God doesn’t care about our bottom lines, profit margins or return on our investments. God wants us to guard against bankruptcy of our souls and be generous and giving and faithful. God wants us to have the "right" stuff.

Fortunately God wanted Frazier's son to have the "right" stuff. After Frazier's son went to bed Christmas Eve, Marty, Frazier's dad, went to the tree and brought a gift to Frazier. He told him he wanted him to open it. When Frazier opened the gift he broke down and wept. His father had purchased the exact gift for his grandson that he had requested but wanted Frazier to take the credit. What a tremendous gift and sacrifice this grandfather had made for his son and grandson. It is a perfect example of the "right" stuff that God expects us to give.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio