Jesus, from all you say, you’re the one who is supposed to be the Savior. If you really want that job, then that’s fine with us. Go ahead and make the world a better place and fill your heavenly realms with singing saints if that’s your thing. But what’s the deal here on dumping the problems of this world in our lap? We do the best we can, and some of us do well. Why are we the ones who have to fix things and be the answer to all kinds of problems? If you are God, then do it yourself.

Not saying that God couldn’t do it, but if God did, let’s just say things might not be to your liking. Jesus pinpointed the problem plenty of times. If this story leaves you feeling like you’ve got sand in your pants, you might want to listen up.

Picture This

Nowhere does Jesus say accumulation of wealth is the problem. Jesus illustrated with a story of a rich man and Lazarus. The rich man’s life was summed in one word, luxury. You know what that looks like. Sprawling mansions with fancy pools and garages (modern-day barns) with more square footage than some high school stadiums. His clothes-closet outlay cost more than a small college tuition. An army of employees was necessary to manage his estate. Opulence was just a mere fact of life. But for all we know, he’d been smart and ambitious and now had a life where he could enjoy the fruit of his labor. All of this in itself is not the problem.

However, not far from the rich man’s door lay Lazarus, a sad, poor beggar who hoped for the garbage thrown out after the rich guy’s daily feasts. So sick was he that dogs would lick his open sores; whether that was because Lazarus couldn’t fight them off or it was his only source of sympathetic touch doesn’t really matter. Some say dog saliva has healing properties. But mercifully, Lazarus died, and angels carried him to rest in Abraham’s bosom.

The rich dude also passed away. Financial status never changes the final outcome. But the afterlife for this guy wasn’t a golden chariot through pearly gates. His soul landed in Hades, the place of the dead. Otherwise known as hell, it’s the antithesis of all the rich man had known during his lifetime. Accumulated earthly wealth could not buy him relief from the anguish of eternal regret.

But beyond the chasm separating heaven and hell, he saw poor Lazarus at peace and restored from the agonies of his life. The rich man pleads for some pity, begging Abraham for just a small thing, like the scraps Lazarus lived on for much of his life. “Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in these flames.” He now understood how much Lazarus had lacked in basic needs. The roles were reversed; the rich man was not asking for a good deal, just something to relieve his torment in a small measure.

So What’s This?

A guy goes to hell so there is some kind of balance between the very rich and the very poor. You never said that this rich guy ever did anything to this Lazarus dude. He could have kicked him away from his gate. Panhandlers don’t make for good curb appeal you know. Apparently, the rich guy let him and his mutts stay where he could get some good foot traffic of likewise well-heeled buddies who might throw him a coin or two. Give the rich guy some credit for having a bit of tolerance.

Tolerance? Or maybe the reason the authorities were not called to arrest Lazarus for vagrancy was because he wasn’t on the rich guy’s radar. It’s called  inattentional blindness, that is, not having the capacity to see something right in front of you because too many other things compete for your attention. You’ve heard of people getting hurt while walking because they were reading their texts. Same thing. What’s more, it can lead to tragic outcomes. The rich guy didn’t do anything to Lazarus because he didn’t have it in him to notice or really see how poor people live. Such attitudes grow into blind spots.

But Jesus Saw Him.

Interestingly, while the rich man is not named in the story, the poor man is. As a matter of fact, Lazarus is the only character in any of Jesus’ stories who is given a name. Jesus not only saw him and his situation; Jesus knew him by name. Lazarus means “God is my help.” So it was that the angels rescued him.

Just as pointedly, the rich man remains anonymous. He could be any one. His wealth again wasn’t the issue though other than he certainly had the means to help Lazarus and with more than table scraps. Poverty is not God-created. You want God to fix the problems of the world? First take care of the ones that humans cause.

So did the rich guy go to hell because God sent him there? Or did he land in hell, a place of eternal separation, because he lived a life that built walls around himself and dug this chasm, this gulf, in which he finds himself? Sit there for a while.  

You Get What You Give

He calls out to Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, for help to relieve his agony. Abraham’s reply is not kind. He reminds the rich guy he had neglected to care for Lazarus. But more so, it would not be possible anyway. Fates are sealed, and one cannot change how one has lived or extended help to one another. What’s done is done.

Finally, the rich man has compassion, at least for his own people. He wants Lazarus to go to his five brothers and give fair warning of what their fate could also be. Strangely, he’s still the one who wants to be in control, getting Lazarus to do his bidding as if he’s a slave to this guy’s needs.

Abraham reminds him these warnings already are in the ancient prophetic writings.  Widows and orphans are to be treated with fairness. Foreigners are to be given food, clothing and shown brotherly love.   (Deuteronomy 10:17-19)  Do the right thing. Love mercy and love God.  (Micah 6:8) The rich guy evidently didn’t think these directives applied to him. He knows his brothers and others like him need more persuasion, like someone returning from the dead.

The pull of control and wanting life on your own terms can be as strong as a titanium lock and as hard to break. Such is the hold of wealth on the soul. It can hide what really needs your attention and intervention in what is wrong in the world. Abraham’s (and Jesus’) reply though has a double meaning for the trouble it spells. “If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.”

The Trouble with Jesus: He warns how self-centered intentional blindness contributes to pain and agony, forming chasms of eternal separation.  

Luke 16:19-31   

Named 2024 Notable Book Award by Southern Christian Writers Conference!

The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings 

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