EXODUS 20:15
TEN WORDS – THE EIGHTH WORD.
GOD CALLS US TO RESPECT AND PROTECT HIS GIFTS.
In the name + of Jesus.
When a rich,
young man came to Jesus to ask what he had to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus
referred him to the Ten Commandments. He
replied, “All these I have kept from my youth.” (Luke 18:21) To be fair to the ruler, he was probably not
being a braggart. He was likely a moral,
decent, honest man, and he probably was able to keep the Commandments in the
strictest, most literal sense of the wording.
He loved his parents. He was
faithful to his wife. He never killed
anyone. Nevertheless, he knew that his
obedience was not enough. He lacked
something. Jesus' reply showed him that
he had a love for money that he was not ready to renounce, and he went away sad.
We bear some
similarities to this rich, young ruler.
Like him, we are convinced that we have handled the Commandments pretty
well, too, in the strictest, most literal sense of the wording. For example, the 7th Commandment
states, “You shall not steal.” We can
boast that we have not engaged in armed robbery. We have not broken into someone's house to
burglarize them. We have not embezzled
thousands from our employer or engaged in insider trading.
The Bible,
however, is peppered with verses that speak of much less violent and much more
common sins against this Commandment.
This is what the Lord says: “Do not use dishonest standards when
measuring length, weight, or quantity.” (Leviticus 19:35; NIV '84) “The wicked borrows but does not pay back.”
(Psalm 37:21) God abhors those who
con and swindle, as Solomon wrote, “'Bad, bad,' says the buyer, but when he
goes away, then he boasts.” (Proverbs 20:14) To the Corinthian Christians, St. Paul wrote,
“You yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!” (1 Corinthians
6:8) And to other Christians, St.
James wrote, “Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which
you have kept back by fraud, are crying out against you.” (James 5:4)
No matter how we
do it, our sins against the 7th Commandment demonstrate that we do
not love our fellow man, that we are not content with the gifts God has given
us, that we do not respect the gifts God has given others, and that we are only
interested in building up our own personal kingdoms at the expense of
others. Just as Jesus exposed the rich,
young ruler's love for his wealth, so our Lord exposes our self-serving love in
this Commandment and calls us to repent.
In addition, God calls us to respect the gifts he gives and to protect
others from suffering the loss of the gifts he gives to them.
Our Father in heaven has freely and faithfully
provided whatever we need to live.
Luther's Small Catechism confesses it correctly: “I believe that God
still preserves me by richly and daily providing clothing and shoes, food and
drink, property and home, spouse and children, land, cattle, and all I own, and
all I need to keep my body and life.” (Explanation of 1st Article of
the Apostles' Creed) While God gives
everyone what they need, the way God blesses us varies from person to person
and from house to house. Some have just
enough to get by; but it is enough.
Others have more lavish homes and enjoy greater luxuries. You might think this is unfair (unless, of
course, you are the one with more), but everything that is given is a
gift. If all that we have are gifts,
then no one has been owed any of it. No
one has a right to a stockpile of possessions.
No one is owed a particular standard of living. Luther reminds us why we receive from the
Lord what we do: “All this God does because he is my good and merciful
Father in heaven, and not because I have earned or deserved it.” (Explanation
of 1st Article of the Apostles' Creed)
Our Father in heaven gives his good gifts
to all people. In his wisdom, he has
determined how you will be blessed. More
goods does not mean God favors you; few goods does not mean God likes you
less. Oftentimes, the abundance of
possessions is a curse. King Solomon,
who had more wealth than you will ever see, declared, “The worker’s sleep is
sweet, whether he eats little or much, but a rich person’s abundant possessions
allow him no sleep.” (Ecclesiastes 5:12, EHV) An abundance of possessions teaches us to
trust in them, and we are petrified of losing them. It betrays that we don't trust the Lord will
supply our daily bread. But God calls
you to respect his gifts and to trust that he knows how to sustain you from day
to day.
It is lack of trust which motivates us to
take matters into our own hands. We act
as if cheating or swindling our neighbor is necessary. Rather than protect our neighbor and his gifts,
we think that our life can only be maintained by hoarding our wealth and by
withholding from our neighbor what we owe him.
When we get away with this, we tend to brag about it. When someone does it to us, we fume. Therefore, if you know what it feels like to
be cheated, then you also ought to know that your neighbor deserves better than
this from you. Recognize that what God
has given to your neighbor is God's choice.
It is never our place to correct God's judgment. God calls us to respect and protect his
gifts, whether they are the gifts that God has given to us or to our neighbor.
No matter how many possessions God grants
you, they are all temporary goods. King
Solomon reminds us, “As he came out from his
mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came. From his hard work he can pick up nothing
that he can carry away in his hand. This
too is a sickening evil: Just as he came, so he will go. So what does he gain, he who works for the
wind?” (Ecclesiastes 5:15-16)
Unfortunately, we invest ourselves too much in a world that will perish
by laboring for money that we cannot keep.
And the more we invest in this world, the less we will be invested in
the kingdom of God.
God calls us to respect and protect his
gifts. His greater gifts are not the
material goods we need to live from day to day, but the spiritual gifts that
produce eternal life. Everyone who
treasures earthly riches will perish with them.
But if your treasure is Jesus Christ and his word, you will never
perish. For Christ and his word endure
forever.
A few weeks ago, we heard a parable which
teaches what our Lord thinks is valuable.
Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a
field, which a man found and covered up.
Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
(Matthew 13:44) You are the treasure
which Jesus found. He came into the
world and emptied himself of everything in order to purchase and win you for
himself. Jesus gave up not only heavenly
glory and honor, but even worldly ease.
He lived a meager life, trusting that his Father would provide for his
daily needs. When he was nailed to the
cross, his entire estate was the garment he was wearing, and even that was
stripped from him.
The holy Son of God went to the cross to
make himself the payment for our sins.
For trusting in wealth, for devoting ourselves to worldly kingdoms, for
cheating our neighbor, and for every sin, Jesus rendered the payment to set you
free. His resurrection declares to you
that his ransom price to deliver you from death and damnation is complete. His ascension to heaven assures you that
there is a place where you will go to dwell in God's presence forever. In God's presence, you will never lack
anything. You will never crave goods
that will perish, spoil, of fade. The
only thing that will matter is that Jesus dwells with you and provides all you
need.
But the fact is: That is all you need now;
and you have it! Jesus Christ supplies
to you his body and blood which takes away sin, which has conquered death, and
which strengthens your faith. Jesus
speaks to you with words that stand firm when economies tank and bank accounts
dwindle. Others may measure you by the
clothes you wear, the house you live in, and the car you drive. And if you don't measure up, they may despise
you. Jesus never despises you no matter
what your struggles are. Jesus assures
you that the riches of heaven are yours.
Monopolies and advertisers may try to drain more money from you. Identity thieves may try to steal your
assets. But the Lord does not scheme to
see what he can get out of you. The Lord
continually gives—supplying you your daily bread and pouring out grace and
mercy without limit. You can't buy these
blessings, but the Lord gives them for free.
And they are the only blessings that save.
God calls you to respect and protect his
gifts. We get to use the blessings God
pours out upon us to care for family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. We get to protect the property and income of
people whom others might try to cheat.
We are grateful for God's generosity and goodness. But mostly we are grateful not for what we
get to spend, but for what Jesus spent on us.
You are the treasure for whom Jesus gave up everything to gain you for
himself for eternity. This salvation
shall be respected above all and protected at all costs.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
