Scripture: I Timothy 6:6-10; Matthew 16:24-26

Several years ago an article appeared in newspapers across the concerning a commercial airliner that was forced to make an emergency landing.  According to the report, as the pilot made the necessary preparation to descend, he realized there was something wrong with the landing gear.  It was decided to clear the runway so the pilot could have all the room necessary to land the craft.  Upon touchdown the landing gear collapsed causing the plane to skid on its underside several hundred yards before the pilot was able to stop it. 

The flight crew then ordered the passengers to evacuate immediately using all the emergency exits and slides.  What happened, however, was that instead of simply leaving the plane as quickly and safely as possible, well over half the passengers reacted by grabbing their carry-on luggage!  One man refused to move until he had retrieved not one, but two, bags from the overhead storage.  A woman who was blocking the aisle as she struggled to get a garment bag from the same bin was almost knocked over by a man who was dragging an over-sized suitcase behind him. 

In 1999 this behavior was actually shocking.  In 2009 it has become normal.  Every single day emergency personnel risk their lives attempting to prevent people from rushing back into burning buildings and smoldering cars to retrieve some item they can’t live without.  When flood waters break down levies and swirl into city streets with such force that entire buildings are shoved off their foundations, there is an ever growing number of people who refuse to leave their homes and business unprotected.  And when wildfires threaten mountain top homes it is not at all uncommon for homeowners to be forcibly removed for their own protection. 

What is going on here? Why are so many people willing to risk their lives and the lives of others to protect, rescue, and save “stuff.”  When did clothes become more important than safety and cars more important than lives?  In case you haven’t noticed, the American dream has become a nightmare!

And, yes, it would be nice to place the blame for all this affluence at the feet of easy credit, greedy investors, and over-zealous marketing strategies.  But that is totally unfair because each and every one of us sitting here today has declared our loyalties and declared our decisions.  Even if we happen to be among the lucky few who are living in houses we can afford, with credit cards that are paid off and investments that have paid off we must still accept part of the blame for the current economic crisis.

Friends, where has the church been for the past fifty years?  While Jesus mentioned money more than any other subject including grace, forgiveness, and love, we refuse to talk about it.  As a result, we are now into the third or fourth generation of children and youth who have no idea how faith should influence finances.  Christians, the Scriptures give us the answers we need and the direction we are lacking to prevent another crisis like the one that is gripping our nation today.  But we have to be willing to preach it, teach it, and follow it for the remainder of our lives.

In one of his addresses to the nation, President Jimmy Carter once said: In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities and faith in God, too many of us now worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does but by what one owes . . . but owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We have learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose. (As reported in The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture, by David E. Shi, New York: Oxford University Press, 1985, p. 271)

If we want that confidence – if we want that purpose – then we, as Christian, must return to our roots.  We must once again take seriously the mandate given to us through the prophets, the apostles, and through Christ himself! 

Jesus knew that money will always be a necessary.  After all, humans will always food, clothing, and shelter.  The problem comes when we want more than what we need.  And while it is easy to be swayed into believing that bigger and better will bring happiness and contentment, most of us have learned through experience this isn’t true.  The more we have, the more we want!  This seemingly insatiable desire for more is due, in part, to our fallen nature.  And, yes, it is the part that consumerism plays upon; the part that keeps us so busy we have no room for God.

And maybe it is because we know that all our seeking after more is fruitless at its least and sinful at its worst that we don’t want to hear about it in church.  Yet, if we open ourselves up to God and God’s ways; if we openly and honestly examine our goals and priorities in the light of the Gospel, wonderful things await us.  We will find a happiness and contentment that many of us dream about.  We will find new meaning in our work and a new direction for our investments. 

Listen to Paul!  If our goal is to make as much money as possible, we will always be restless and want more.  But if our goal is to be content and generous with what we have, then happiness beyond measure will be ours! 

It is time for the church to break its silence.  It is time for Christians throughout this country to stand up and claim the spiritual freedom that is found in simplicity and is exercised in restraint!  And the best news of all is that this is not the empty promise of a commercial ploy.  It is, instead, the guarantee given to us by God’s own son!