WASTED PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Luke 12:13-21

In my pastoral ministry, I sometimes had been called to minister to people in their last dying hours. In all of these times, I’ve never encountered anyone who requested that their prized material possessions such as jewelries, computers, or plasma televisions . . . , be brought close to them. On the contrary, I definitely had always seen the dying being surrounded by loved ones and friends. It is quite obvious that at the end of this life what matters most to people are not their material possessions, but the relationships they have built through the years.

In the parable of the rich fool, another important issue that Jesus was dealing with was the value of relationship. As we have learned last Sunday, Jesus gave this parable as a response to a man who was in conflict with a brother because of a family inheritance. Instead of setting himself as a judge over the two brothers, Jesus gave a strong warning concerning greed. Why? Clearly, the sin of greed can naturally result to a lot of SELFISHNESS. And selfishness breaks relationships.

Can you see the self-centeredness of the rich fool? Notice how he uses “I” six times; then, he uses “My” four times, and “Myself” once. Also, there is no mentioned of his family, his friends, or his business partners in the parable. He obviously was a man living only for himself. I wonder, when God ended his life that evening, would his family and friends grieve over him? Will they ever miss him? How did he impact the people around him? With the limited opportunities of life, it is indeed tragic if he had failed to build precious relationships and failed to influence others for God. Let’s consider this truth and see how we can avoid this path in our lives:

I     SEEK PARTNERSHIPS:

God has never designed us to be self-sufficient. In fact he said the opposite:

Aside from the truth that we cannot be independent of God, we must also admit that we cannot be independent of other people. We all need family, friends, and church to be the kind of people God wants us to be. God himself declared, “It is not good . . .”

The classic illustration of this attitude is Satan Himself. Once he was a glorious angel named Lucifer. However, he decided he would assert himself over God and be independent of Him. Notice what he said:

Notice again all the “I.” He became full of himself and as a result, he was cast out from heaven, and he became the archenemy of God.

I want to use the idea of partnership when we speak of the vital relationships we have. Why? Because we ought to see that they provide significant help in facing the challenges in life. Much more in fulfilling our mission for Christ. King Solomon gave some practical advantages when we have built relationships:

• Better profit (a good return) from one’s labor (v. 9)
• Help in time of difficulty (v. 10)
• Comfort in time of need; one’s body heat can keep another person from freezing (11)
• Protection in time of danger (v. 12)

II    SERVE TO BUILD PARTNERSHIPS:

In a service oriented society, we often would rather be served than serve others. Selfishness is often a great hindrance.

Once there was a lady who answered the knock on her door to find a man with a sad expression. "I'm sorry to disturb you," he said, "but I'm collecting money for an unfortunate family in the neighborhood. The husband is out of work, the kids are hungry, the utilities will soon be cut off, and worse, they're going to be kicked out of their apartment if they don't pay the rent by this afternoon." "I'll be happy to help," said the woman with great concern. "But who are you?" "I'm the landlord," he replied.

Jesus had a very different approach. Notice Paul’s comments about what Jesus did:

Jesus understands that the way into our hearts is not by domination or coercion, but by sacrifice and service. Truly, the Lord had won us through his unselfish ways. On account of this, we are exhorted to follow His example.

One reason for the collapse of many marital relationships or friendships is too much of self. It is very important that we learn put others before ourselves.

Someone has said that the way to have JOY in the Christian life is to put:

J – Jesus first
O – Other second
Y – Yourself last.

Do you know why King Saul became miserable in the last days of his life? God has preferred David instead of him; and instead of humbly serving David and prepared him for his calling, he became envious and sought to destroy David. Soon his envy led to his own ruin, and David became his successor. We need to be convinced that Christ way is always the best way. Serve to build partnerships.

III   SET OUT TO INFLUENCE PARTNERS:

Each one of us has an influence to someone. Some may have more compared to others. But, the question is what kind of influence do we have? Do we influence others negatively or positively?

Rick Warren, the author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” had been written an article about the stewardship of influence. Here are some of his thoughts:

I don't believe God gives you influence for your own ego or fame or your own benefit. I believe he expects us to use whatever influence he gives for the benefit of others.

But, how can we influence other people? The apostle Paul once exhorted Timothy as he had the responsibility to lead the church in Ephesus. You see, effective leadership is determined by influence. Without influence, one cannot really lead. Here’s what Paul told him:

You see, our character is the basis of our influence. It does not matter how old we are, we can be a great model whether we like it or not. On the basis of your life, would you be an influence?

We need to effectively influence our partners so we can all impact this world for Christ. We cannot fulfill our mission independently. We need to always forge significant partnerships.