In 2005 Melody and I bought our first home. It was a beautiful four-bedroom ranch with a walkout basement and a big back yard that faced a ravine. And we got a great deal on it. We got a great deal because the retired couple we were buying it from had already purchased a condo and could no longer afford double home payments. They’d lived in the house more than twenty years; had raised their kids, and a number of foster kids there. Poured sweat and tears and dollars into improving it. It was a great house. They took a big hit when they sold it to us. And I could see the evidence of that in their faces when we signed the paperwork. Stress; fatigue; maybe even a hint of resentment, that our realtors had negotiated a deal that cost them so much. I didn’t care – or didn’t let myself care. I was too excited about the house I’d just acquired.
In 2011 we sold the house. We’d moved out of the house in December, 2008. It was a bad season for selling a house. And it was a bad year for selling a house in Michigan. Actually, it was the first of three bad years for selling a house in Michigan. This spring, after two years of double payments, two different renters, two basement floods and an Amityville-style bee invasion, a buyer came along. The buyer’s realtor negotiated a great deal for his clients. Melody and I just wanted to be done with the house. We signed off on a deal that cost us. And I remembered the couple we bought the house from. I remembered not thinking much about their mixed feelings signing their property over to us. The way they’d signed their money into our pockets because they had to sell. It felt different being on the other side of the deal.
Lord’s Day 42 of the Heidelberg Catechism explains God’s prohibition against stealing. Most church people are innocent of out-and-out theft, and so assume the eighth commandment doesn’t apply to us. Lord’s Day 42 doesn’t let us off the hook. The authors of the Catechism identify not only the act of taking that which doesn’t belong to us, but any act driven by the desire to capitalize on someone else’s loss. Fraudulent merchandising; excessive interest; greed. They conclude with this question and answer:
Q. What does God require of you in this commandment?
A. That I do whatever I can for my neighbor's good, that I treat others as I would like them to treat me, and that I work faithfully so that I may share with those in need.
The instinct that leads us to prioritize our financial needs over someone else’s is mistrust. Mistrust in God’s persistent promise to provide. The Bible contains far more references to greed and the idolatry of money than any other sin. And here’s why: we’re all guilty of it. When it comes to money and property few of us can honestly say we want for our neighbors that which we want for ourselves. When you resent your neighbor's brand-new car or your sister’s brand-new house or your friend’s brand-new job. When you can’t believe the steal of a deal you got on that piece of property the seller “just had to unload.” When you refuse to give to someone in need because “times are tight.” Each of these is an instance in which we choose self over neighbor. Each is an example of greed. And each expresses a fundamental mistrust in God’s generosity. We insist that God take care of us; we love it when God is generous to us. And we mistakenly think God should be more generous to us than the guy next to us. Not only does God challenge each of us to recognize that we are neither more important or entitled than anyone else. God also insists that his children adopt the family ethic. If you've benefited from God's generosity, pass it on. If you withhold it, who are you to expect more?
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