Sermon Q&A: The Parable of the Rich Fool

Two questions were submitted during the sermon on the "Rich Fool" from Luke 14.....

1) What is 'Mammon'?
I'm glad someone asked about this, as I realized after my sermon that I probably did not provide enough context and definition for what is an unusual-sounding word. "Mammon" is the Anglicized version of the Greek word "mammona," which is a personal name. This word/name only appears in two chapters of the New Testament: Matthew 6 and Luke 16. The Matthew passage is very well-known, as it is during Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in which he states "no one can serve two masters. . . you cannot serve God and Mammon (usually translated something like 'money,' 'treasures,' 'wealth' or 'riches'). There are plenty of Greek words for "money," so the use of a name is intentional, and it gives the idea a bit more force than the impersonal word "money" or "treasure." Traditionally, 'Mammon' became the name for an evil or demonic "force" that personified the corrupting influence of money/wealth in our world. So when Jesus says "you can't serve two masters," and then juxtaposes God with Mammon, he is giving the idea some serious punch. Money/treasure/wealth, in that comparison, is set up as a personal force in direct counter to God. For me, picturing money in this way, as a personal force that has strong corrupting power, actually helps me to take Jesus' warnings here more seriously! To be fair, Jesus did NOT use the term "mammona" in the parable of the Rich Fool that I preached on, so my decision to use it was an interpretation, although, interestingly, he does use the term in chapter 16, in another parable about money that we will get to in a few weeks.

2) How would you balance this parable and message with the concept of being a good steward over our resources (finances)?
This is a great question, and it gets right at the tension of talking about money, resources and wealth as a disciple of Jesus. On the one hand, there are radical commands like "sell all your possessions" and "give to the poor" throughout the New Testament. On the other hand, there are directions to be a good steward with what you have, and there is also the common-sense notion that if you simply give everything away, you wont' be able to take care of yourself, or your family, and you will also be unable to continue to help others. I haven't been able to chase down the original quote, but one of the ancient church fathers (I believe it was Tertullian) taught that you could be a stronger help to the poor over the course of your whole life if you practice careful management of your money, rather than in one single, extreme action of giving everything away. On the other hand, of course, there are historical counter-examples like Francis of Assisi, who did exactly that, and was a profound influence for good throughout his whole life. So, it's complicated! But I honestly think that's kind of the point....the complicated tension here causes (or, should cause!) us to wrestle, pray and discern in community what the best course of action is. I would go so far as to say that, if you aren't wrestling at all with your stewardship of your money, then perhaps that is an area of your life in which you should examine and consider what healthy discipleship looks like.

And the last thing I want to emphasize is that word steward. That's a really, really helpful word here! A steward is someone who has been given charge of something that is not actually their own, yet they have been entrusted with the care and responsibility of it. Consider someone like a 'building manager,' who has been given stewardship of a certain property. A good building manager will genuinely seek the welfare of what they have been entrusted with, they will keep the building in good repair and listen to the complaints of the tenants, but importantly, they will also not have an idolatrous, unhealthy lust or need related to the building itself. They will not daydream about how great it could be, or spend all their energy focused on making it the greatest building in the city. If they did start to act this way, we would agree that something is off about their attitude. We probably wouldn't want to trust them to continue to manage the property, and so too, I believe, should we seek to be good stewards of our money.

How would it change your attitude towards money to consider it as not truly your own, but something you have been entrusted with? What would it look like to take care of your resources, but diligently avoid an idolatrous connection to them? To have such an open-handed relationship with your money that you are able to give joyfully when others are in need? I think that notion of stewardship is deeply in-line with what Jesus was teaching in the parable of the Rich Fool, as he is a strong counter-example to this kind of attitude.