Luke 12:13-21 When our four children were young I invited them in for a cold dish of ice cream on a hot summer day. I even topped the ice cream off with those pretty little sprinkles. Now, sprinkles don’t satisfy, they have no dietary value and certainly don’t provide any cooling effect. Their entire purpose for existence is for show. One of my children took note of the fact that one of his siblings had a few more sprinkles than he had on his ice cream and threw a magnificent fit. I mean, this child could not enjoy a cold dish of ice cream - free of charge - on a hot day - all because of sprinkles!
Luke 12:13-15 tells us there’s nothing new under the sun. Someone in the crowd asked Jesus to have his brother divide the (family) inheritance with him. While Luke doesn’t give a lot of context here, we know from history that the eldest son got a double share of the father’s inheritance. That was the law and it worked, perhaps for thousands of years. What younger siblings did with their share was to start a business and grow it for themselves. Presumably, the same as the eldest did, he just got a quicker start. In neither case do the sons earn the inheritance, it’s given them.
Jesus confronts this brother with his favorite method of teaching; a question. “Man, who appointed me judge or arbiter?” (12:14). What Jesus is asking here is “Is that why I’m here? You must know something about me to even approach me with the issue. Is that what/all you’re getting from me?” Jesus must be thinking something along the lines of “Son, I just handed you eternal salvation and you can’t be satisfied with that huge free gift because you’re looking at your brother’s sprinkles?!” Jesus then warns His followers to be constantly vigilant, ever on their guard, against every kind of greed.
Has our Heavenly Father blessed us with clothes to wear? I assume everyone reading this can reply “yes”. The question is “Are we completely satisfied with our wardrobe?” Or, do we see someone with more sprinkles and become dissatisfied, unable to enjoy our blessings? Do our hearts turn from thanksgiving toward greed? Our Father, God, who loves us, wants us to enjoy total satisfaction and His ability and resources are infinitely greater than mine with my measly ice cream.
The problem is that the enemy uses every available resource to take us from satisfaction and lock us up in dissatisfaction. Movies, TV and even commercials are all about telling us that we’re not satisfied with what we’ve got. Of course, there are membership fees associated with this propaganda. And we willingly give up our money to buy into their program of dissatisfaction.
Now, suppose we meet someone who needs a meal. All they’re asking for is a few dollars for a hot meal so they can survive another day. We dig deep in our pockets and come up empty. Why? Because those pockets came with a $75.00 pair of jeans. Suppose someone asks us if we could spend an hour with them, but we can’t because this is the only day we have left in this week to go shopping - yes, time is part of our membership dues when we sign onto the greed/dissatisfaction program.
Now, suppose we give up the sprinkles which will naturally free up some of our time and money resources. Suppose we trade greed, which by definition can never satisfy, for generosity. Suppose we put a turn on the ice cream episode and imagine one of my children drops their ice cream on the ground. And, in a moment of compassion, another of my children comes in to the kitchen for a spoon and hands it to his sibling while he sits down and shares what little he has left. How would I respond? Well, if you’re like me, you see yourself heading straight for the freezer to get him some more ice cream. All because of how much I’m blessed by witnessing the generosity of my child does my heart for pouring out blessings overflow. When we’re generous, God is in Heaven piling up “scoops of ice cream” on our dish for when we come home (Luke 12:33).
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