The Great Gamble
Living Beyond Myself... Part 1: The Great Gamble
Gambling can be exciting! Pulling the lever on a slot machine at the right time, betting on the right football game, or being dealt the right set of cards, all with the hope of winning big cash without having to do any anything for it! This is what keeps Las Vegas and Atlantic City in business. We have all heard stories of people betting their last dollar and winning millions! For young people, they think, "If I could just strike it rich early on in my life, I would never have to worry about going to college or working for the next 40 years."
But if you take a look at the fine print, you might not run out and buy that ticket to Vegas so quickly. A person is 121 times more likely to get hit and killed by lightening than to win millions while gambling. Also, those who win large sums of money, often have marital breakdowns, family feuds, jealousy and mistrust and this all leads to self destruction.
Jesus states in Luke 8, "Beware of the deceitfulness of riches. They don't always deliver what they promise they will."
In the NT days, most people walked the dusty streets in sandals. At dinner parties, a host would arrange a servant type person to actually kneel down and help guest take off their sandals and then pour water over the person's feet. At these dinner parties, everyone reclined around a table head to foot, so we can all see why clean feet were important!
In the Book of John, Jesus is having a dinner with his 12 disciples. As they start arriving, they all realize there is no foot washer servant. This creates some tension between the disciples. Each one is wondering who is going to do this task for the others. We can picture them standing around saying, "I am in the top three, or I was one of the early ones chosen, This is beneath me." The food was finally served and everyone started eating and Jesus quietly watched. He then gets up from the reclined position, takes his outer cloak off, as servant boys would do, and pours a jug of water. He then gets on his hands and knees with a basin and the jug and the towel and he starts washing the feet of his followers.
Stop for a minute and imagine the silence that filled the room......
He then says these words to his disciples, "Do you understand what I have done for you?
You call me "Teacher and "Lord" and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
In this, Jesus is asking for his followers to live beyond themselves. We should all look past the petty concerns of social status, titles and positions and past our own wants and desires and "take up the towel". Throughout our lives, whether at work, home or anywhere you go, we should walk into a room wondering if there is a simple act of kindness that we can do! Jesus makes us this promise that towel bearers, those who serve people in practical ways and live beyond ourselves, will become recipients of God's sovereign blessing and favor.
Is this something that we believe? Can we stop looking for shortcuts to fast cash, and the promise of the all-American dream? Will these things truly make us feel blessed?
This is one of the most important questions you will ever ask yourself or resolve in your spirit!
Solomon was one of the smartest men in the world and even he got this decision wrong during an era of his life. He came to a point in his life where he had enough of the "towel bearing stuff" and dove into the pool of self gratification. He built houses for himself, planted vineyards, constructed gardens and parks, bought slaves and huge herds of livestock and decided to amass silver and gold.
Ecclesiastes 2:10 summarizes his buying binge, "I decided to deny myself nothing that my eyes desired."
This is what we call the American Dream!
However, all this had little meaning to Solomon when it was all said and done.
Ecclesiastes 2:11, "And when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless. It was all like chasing the wind; nothing was really gained under the sun."
From this story we learn, that the alternative is the TOWEL. By following the teachings and example of Jesus in a very dedicated and practical way, God will fill our fulfillment bucket!
* Sermon taken from the Living Beyond Myself Series (Willow Creek/Bill Hybel)