{"id":114,"date":"2014-02-23T05:05:40","date_gmt":"2014-02-23T05:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/?p=114"},"modified":"2015-12-11T03:37:37","modified_gmt":"2015-12-11T03:37:37","slug":"foolishness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/foolishness\/","title":{"rendered":"Foolishness"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span>n the movie\u00a0Up in the Air<\/i><\/b>, George Clooney\u2019s character lives a life committed to getting his ten million air miles. He sees relationships as insignificant compared with the prestige in having the silver card engraved \u2018Ryan Bingham #7\u2019. Yet when it is handed to him mid-flight by the captain, along with a public announcement and champagne, he realizes how meaningless it is.<\/span><\/p>\n

Preoccupation.<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

On one occasion a man listening to Jesus, interjected:\u00a0\u201cTeacher,\u00a0tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me\u201d<\/i>\u00a0(12:13). Despite the life and death matters Jesus had just been speaking about (12:4-12), this man\u2019s thoughts were focused on an injustice that was gnawing away inside him. And Jesus responded without missing a beat:\u00a0\u201cFriend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?\u201d\u00a0<\/i>he asked (12:14). It was hardly a warm response. But Jesus was aware that this man was obsessed with this issue. He needed to awaken him to larger issues in life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Do you really believe that I am an arbiter and judge over you?\u2019 is the implication of Jesus\u2019 question. \u2018If you do, then who do you think has given me this authority?\u2019 Apparently the man had not thought about this. Furthermore, in tacitly acknowledging Jesus to be a prophet from God who could adjudicate in his affairs, he was inviting\u00a0God<\/i>\u00a0to judge his own affairs as well. But he hadn\u2019t thought about this either, hence Jesus\u2019 telling words:\u00a0\u201cTake care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man\u2019s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions\u201d\u00a0<\/i>(12:15).<\/span><\/p>\n

Accruing foolishness<\/b>.<\/span><\/h4>\n

To make his point he told a searching parable about a wealthy landowner who thought too much about himself (12:16-20). Using a string of first-person pronouns, Jesus painted a picture of the foolishness of accruing wealth. The rich man was consumed with \u2018my crops, my grain, my barns, myself, my life, and my soul\u2019.\u00a0<\/i>It was a picture of arrogant self-satisfaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man had failed to understand that his life was ultimately not his own. \u2018Tonight your life, your soul, will be demanded from you,\u2019 Jesus concluded. Life is not ours to do with simply as we want. It is something for which we all have to give an account. This wealthy man thought only about himself. He didn\u2019t give a passing thought to the second command about neighbor love (10:29ff), nor the first commandment about love for God.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou fool!\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

\u201cYou fool!\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0God said. What a chilling verdict. To be obsessed with things is the ultimate foolishness, for none of us can speak with certainty about tomorrow let alone many years hence. Materialism offers neither real security nor true and lasting satisfaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Priorities?<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

Jesus had turned the question of a self-centered, thoughtless man into a provocative moment in his life. In contrast to laying up treasure for ourselves, Jesus tells us we should settle for nothing less than becoming\u00a0rich\u00a0<\/i>in our relationship with God.\u00a0\u201cWhere your treasure is, there will your heart be also,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0Jesus went on to say. God\u2019s people who trust Jesus at his Word generously invest in God\u2019s agenda \u2013 local church and outreach ministries, education, care for the needy and the outcast. The question is, \u2018What about you?\u2019<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Note: This week’s ‘Word’ is adapted from my commentary, John G. Mason,\u00a0Reading Luke Today: An Unexpected God<\/i>, Aquila: 2012, p.176ff<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

n the movie\u00a0Up in the Air, George Clooney\u2019s character lives a life committed to getting his ten million air miles. He sees relationships as insignificant compared with the prestige in having the silver card engraved \u2018Ryan Bingham #7\u2019. Yet when it is handed to him mid-flight by the captain, along with a public announcement and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFoolishness - The Anglican Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/foolishness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Foolishness - The Anglican Connection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"n the movie\u00a0Up in the Air, George Clooney\u2019s character lives a life committed to getting his ten million air miles. 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