Living for Others

Law of Stewardship

Law of Emotional Choice

Law of Human Dignity

Law of Present- Moment Living

Law of Esprit

Law of Mindfulness

Law of Forgiveness 

Law of Unconditional Love

Law of Personal Peace

LiveAbundantly.com
is a world wide web ministry of
Christ
Presbyterian
Church 
a center of faith 
for living abundantly

3400 State Road
Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 
USA 19026 

Focus on Certain Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness:
   The Law of Stewardship   

sermon from the pulpit of 
Christ Presbyterian Church                    
a center of faith for abundant living
The Reverend Clyde E. Griffith, pastor

Do you know the fable about the hungry fox? One night a hungry fox was on the prowl and came upon a luscious-looking farmer's garden. He could see through the fence the farmer took good care of this garden and all the vines and bushes were loaded. "Jackpot!," he thought. There was just one catch. There was a six-foot wire mesh fence around the garden. That was just a minor deterrent, he thought. And he sniffed around the bottom of the fence, all down one side, and turning the corner, we went down another side, nothing. He turned another corner and went clear down that side. No way in. And then he went down the last side and there, almost hidden, was -- a hole. "Aha!", he thought, and stuck his head through the hole. But, as luck would have it, the hole was too small. He couldn't fit through it. But, being a wily fox, he thought, "I can do this. If I fast for about three days and three nights, I should lose enough weight to fit through the hole." 
And so, the story goes, he hid in the shrubs and laid low for three days and three nights -- he fasted, thinking only of the luscious garden and all the promising delights therein. And, on the fourth night, under the cover of a new moon, the hungry fox managed to slip through the hole in the garden fence and spent the whole night in the garden pigging out. 
He went for the cabbage. He ate the tomatoes. He ate the beans. He ate the peas. He ate the zucchini. He ate the cumquats -- yes, cumquats.
He ate and ate and ate, all night long. As the first light began to illumine the garden, the fox decided it was time to leave so the farmer wouldn't spot him in his garden.
Well, wouldn't you know it. He had eaten so much, he couldn't get through the little hole in the fence.
Poor fox! Again, he had to hide in the garden and fast
for three days and three nights before he could slip through the hole in the fence and make his escape. As he was leaving, he turned to cast a farewell glance at the scene of his binge-eating, and muttered, "What a garden you are. What delicious fruits you have. But now look at me. What have I got now for all my labor and cunning?"

That's kind of the way life is, isn't it? The world entices us with its fruits and we starve ourselves to get them, thinking they will bring happiness and contentment and wellness and the good life. Our Bible text today, tells us that they won't.
They never do. 
They never have and they never will. 
We might as well save ourselves the trouble.

The LADIES HOME JOURNAL recently reported the results of a survey that revealed that over 70% of the things we worry about these days, are about money.

Adlai Stevenson once said, "There was a time when a fool and his money were soon parted, but now days it happens to everybody."

There are some principles in this story of the rich fool that are critical for our lives. Like most of the stories that Jesus told, the emphasis is on practical application. The rich fool had devoted his life to acquiring things. He had a bumper sticker on his wagon that read, "Life is like kindergarten, he who has the most toys, wins!" Now, it was time for him to die. 
And what would happen to the things? 
Would they go on the auction block? 
Would they go to ungrateful relatives? 
What was the point of his life? 
He thought his wealth had bought him security -- but it could not protect him from the grim reaper. 
Of what use was it all, then? 
How does it all fit together in the grand scheme of life?

Some of you remember a time before computers -- before Ross Perot and William Gates -- when the richest man in the world was . . . Jean Paul Getty. J. Paul Getty spent a lifetime accumulating a fortune. His massive wealth supported a life-style and informed his philosophy of life. From what we read, he apparently was a lousy father. One time, one of his grandsons was kidnapped and held for ransom. Getty refused to pay the ransom to get him back. He reasoned that if he paid the kidnappers, then all of his grandchildren would get kidnapped for ransom. And the kidnappers were asking for $1 million. Now, a million dollars was pocket change to Jean Paul Getty. Even if all fourteen of his grandchildren were kidnapped and ransomed for that much money, he still could have paid it with ease.

The standoff went for four months after the first ransom note was sent, when the kidnappers, to get his attention, cut off the little boy's right ear and mailed it to Getty. Finally, he agreed to pay the ransom, but, even then, he insisted that his son, the boy's father, pay him back -- with interest.

I sincerely doubt that J. Paul Getty's money brought him any real happiness. Happiness comes from sharing what you have with others. Most parents know that. There is far more joy in giving to your children than hoarding for your own pleasure. But the joy of giving goes farther than that. Wise people move beyond their own family to give to people in need and to causes in which they believe.

Calvin Coolidge once said, "No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave." The foolish rich man had his priorities wrong. When Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," he was not mouthing a pious platitude. He was giving us a formula for abundant living -- a formula for the good life -- a formula for wellness.

Cancer survivor, Greg Anderson, in his new book, The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness: Feel, Think, and Live Better Than You Ever Thought Possible, spends a chapter on what he calls "The Law of Stewardship."

Living by these "laws" promises a new lease on life -- a healthier, more abundant life -- just like Jesus promised. This "Non-negotiable law" is really about recognizing yourself as a part of a larger "holy" whole -- demanding what Albert Schweitzer called "a reverence for life." When you see yourself as a part of the on-going process of life, there is in interdependence of all things. When we recognize, as Greg Anderson writes, that "Everything we do has an affect, either for good or for ill, on the well[being] of ourselves, and ultimately on the well[being] of the Earth." The mandate, for Greg Anderson, and for Jesus, is revolutionary: "We are called to live our life with appropriate regard for others." We are called "to do nothing less than examine and awaken our conscience to see the connectedness of all of life." This law affected Albert Schweitzer so that at one time he was taken to pick food off of his dinner plates and feed the ants that crawled around the table as he ate.

When you begin to live your life according to this principle it changes the way you view things. In fact, the game of accumulating things, fades to another level, and another life, really. For the abundant life comes to us, the good life is realized, the healthiest life is experienced, only when we put our personal life, our personal strivings, our personal priorities, in the proper order. 
Contrary to what our popular culture preaches to us, contrary to what we have learned so well, 
contrary to the way most of us have lived our lives up to this point, 
living for numero uno is a dead end street. 
It is not the way of Jesus. 
It is not the way of our Christian faith. 
It is not the way to the abundant life. 
Some of you know this, in a limited way, if not a cosmic way. Some of you may of felt this -- or may still feel this about your spouse -- maybe about your family -- maybe about your church. 
You would do just about anything for them. And even make tremendous personal sacrifice for them -- even when your sacrifice may never be recognized -- especially then -- do you do you know the real meaning of this law of living abundantly.

Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote, "One's philosophy is not best expressed by words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility." 

You remember when Howard Hughes died after years of reclusive living -- if you could call it living -- everyone wondered just how much money he really left. And, of course, the truth of the matter is that he left it all, didn't he? In his story, Jesus said, God spoke to the rich man, and said, "You fool!" I think that few of us would think that Howard Hughes, with all his billions of dollars, knew happiness, or knew health, or knew the abundant live. But I think Daniel Pearson did. And I think Louis Pichotti did. And I think there is some evidence to indicate that even Walter Annenberg experiences this in these later years as he gives away huge sums of money.

Chances are, you've never heard of Daniel Pearson, but Daniel Pearson knew of this life-principle and lived it out in his long life, and Daniel Pearson knows abundant and eternal life. Listen to this: Daniel Pearson was born poor and worked his way through high school and college, living in an attic room and cooking his own frugal meals. He was a school teacher, studied medicine, and afterward was a farmer, and later engaged in the lumber business. He was blessed with a wife, of whom Dr. Pearson has said, "She wanted me to make money to give it away."
And give it away, they did. They began to systematically give away all the money they didn't absolutely need for a sparse and frugal life style.
One of their passions was to help young people who were struggling to get an education. All in all, throughout their lives, they established endowments at forty-seven colleges in twenty-four states, twelve of them in the deep south. In his characteristic way, Daniel Pearson wrote, "I have had more fun than any other rich man alive. They are welcome to their automobiles and yachts. I have discovered that giving is the most exquisite delight in the world. I intend to die penniless." Indeed, Dr. Daniel Pearson died a poor man, at the age of 99, in one of the several nursing homes he founded, after making gifts totaling more than 6 million dollars to various causes throughout his life. Truly, he knew the joy of living for others, and laid up his treasure in heaven. He understood well, this necessary principle of the abundant life.

In the early part of this century, Louis Pichotti, gave $100,000 to build a college in Liberia. Shortly after his gift, the stock market crashed, and he lost everything -- but his life. He was never able to get back on his feet and was doomed to spend the rest of his days in a two room flat on the south side of Chicago doing whatever menial jobs came along -- surviving at a substance level. In the 1940's the college had grown. Literally thousands of young Africans had been educated there. And on an anniversary of the founding of the college, the administration decided it was time to say thank you to its benefactor. The search for Louis Pichotti took months. Private investigators were called in to track him down. Finally, after intense activity, they found him living in this slum-like neighborhood. He was flown to Africa for a grand celebration and was given a grand tour of the campus that meant so much to so many.
As he looked over the campus that day, filled with hundreds of students engaged in the task of learning, he whispered to the president of the college, "The only thing I have kept, is what I gave away." Wise words. For truly, only what we give away is ours forever.

It's a hard lesson. 
We may not like to hear it.
But it is a true lesson. 
Jesus says the rich man was a fool, because he neglected his responsibilities -- his responsibilities to God -- his responsibilities to those living in the world around him.

A contemporary preacher tells the story of a very wealthy Christian businessman who was asked back to the church of his youth to speak to the Sunday School Class he attended long years ago. The children were curious about this man who was now worth millions, and asked him to tell them how it all began. He said, "Well, you know, curiously enough, it began right here in this church. Those were hard times. I was a young man with no job and very poor. One Sunday, we had a guest preacher who I remember saying "Give your life and all that you have to Jesus, and He will bless you." Well, his words hit me pretty hard. I had $3.54 in my pocket. It was all I had in the world. And I put the whole thing in the offering plate that day. I gave everything I had, and I gave my life to the Lord that day. And he has blessed me ever since." It was a powerful statement. And really impressed the kids. And one of the kids held up his hand and asked, "Mister, could you do it today?"

Its easy to trust all of your resources to God when they total $3.54, isn't it? But it is different when your resources are much more, isn't it? You would think, that on the basis of disposable income it would be easier to tithe the more money you have. But, it doesn't work that way, does it? It doesn't work that way in this church -- or in any church I know of.

Somewhere along the way, we change, don't we? 
Jesus was right to the point, and says it is the voice of God that says, "You fool!"

If you're like me, you go out to eat in a restaurant and receive lousy service. That ever happened to you? And what? We still leave a tip -- maybe even 15%. When we receive better service, maybe we leave a little more. Think about it: Why are we so embarrassed to leave a tip of say one or two percent in a restaurant, when we are not embarrassed to do that here in God's house? The cup from which Jesus and his disciples drank meant giving everything they had.

We all know the truth in the old adage that "the best time to plant a tree is 25 years ago. 
The second best time to plant a tree is today.

The Law of Steward is a powerful principle:
recognizing that our life is not ours, really. 
Nothing we ever did, or ever do, earns us the right to life, does it? Our life is a gift -- given freely by the Ultimate Giver. Somehow, we get all mixed up and forget this -- or never learn it in the first place. But what we set out to make a return gift -- the gift of our lives -- we know instantly a healthier more abundant life.

Friends, my sincere wish for each of us here today is that the tree can be planted today. 
It will make a great difference in your life. 
You will feel better.
You will think better. 
You will live better than you ever dreamed possible. And God will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" 
Let someone else hear the words, "You fool!" Amen.

How to Live Healthier and Longer:
Focus on Living Certain Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness:
The Law of Life Mission (Living A Life of Purpose)
The Law of Service (Living for Others)
The Law of Stewardship
The Law of Emotional Choice
The Law of Human Dignity
The Law of Present-Moment Living
The Law of Esprit
The Law of Mindfulness
The Law of Forgiveness
The Law of Unconditional Love
The Law of Personal Peace

References:

The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness: Feel, Think, and Live Better Than You Ever Thought Possible
by Greg Anderson

Healing Wisdom: Insight, Wit and Inspiration for Anyone Facing Illness
by Greg Anderson

Journeys With the Cancer Conquerors: Mobilizing Mind and Spirit
by Greg Anderson

Sound Mind, Sound Body: A New Model for Lifelong Health
Dr. Kenneth Pelletier

Research Study: