Sermon Title: Why we have no room for Jesus
Scripture: Luke 12:13-21

The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of…” Propaganda - Edward Bernays

“We must shift America from a need to a desire culture. People must be trained to desire; to want new things even before the old has been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man’s desires must overshadow his needs.” American Prosperity - Paul Mazur

Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption. The measure of social status, of social acceptance, of prestige, is now to be found in our consumptive patterns. The very meaning and significance of our lives today expressed in consumptive terms. The greater the pressure upon the individual to conform to safe and accepted social standards, the more does he tend to express his aspirations and his individuality in terms of what he wears, drives, eats, his home, his car, his pattern of food serving, his hobbies…we need things consumed, burned up, worn out replaced and discarded at an ever increasing pace. We need to have people eat, drink, dress, ride, live with ever more complicated and therefore constantly more expensive consumption. Journal of Retailing, 1955 - Victor Lebow

Consider these stats:

The average American home has over 300,000 items in it. 

We consume 2x as much material goods as we did 50 years ago.

The avg home has tripled in size in the same timeframe and still 25% of people 2 2 Car garages don’t have room to park their vehicles inside due to clutter; 32% only have room for 2 car

There are 7.3 sq/ft storage space for every single american in this country. 

The average American is $15K in credit card debt

“Upward mobility often ends not in satisfaction and peace but in exhaustion, disappointment and emptiness.”
Ethics Professor Baylor University -Robert C Roberts

“We live in a materialist culture and we want money and possessions, and very few people have heard a powerful voice telling them to resist those impulses, or how to resist those impulses. Organized religion…has not done a good job of challenging people to examine their lifestyles.” God and Mammon in America - Robert Wuthnow

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21

“Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

2 Practices for your consideration:

Embark on a short-term experiment. Listen for the Spirit’s prompting and follow it.

Go through your stuff this week and find something (or some things) to give away.

Additional Notes:

Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”