Sermon 8/4/2019 “Logic Brain and Faith Brain”
Preacher: Jo J. Belser
Location: Church of the Resurrection at Immanuel Chapel, Virginia Theological Seminary
Text: Luke 12:13-21
Day: 8Pentecost, Proper 13, Year C
Let’s begin with a question.
“Do you have enough money?”Some of you are probably wondering, “Enough money for WHAT?” That’s a logic response. You’d be thinking, “Tell me a number, a cost, and I’ll tell you if I can afford that.” The rest of you are probably wondering where the trick is in my question, but there’s no trick. “Do you have enough money?”
Let’s pause right here. I know whenever a preacher starts talking about money, barriers go up. But this isn’t about money; the topic today is logic versus faith. And this isn’t a bully pulpit. I’m going to tell you right now we need BOTH logic AND faith. Lots of both. But how much money do we need?
Here’s the surprising thing. Our sense of having enough money doesn’t depend on how much money we have. Rather, our sense of having enough relies more on our faith in God than how much we have.
I once asked a homeless man if he had enough money. “Yes,” he said, “though I don’t have any at present.” I was in awe of his faith, especially after he added, “Other than what you are going to give me.” I hadn’t planned on giving him money, just hope. But this man had all the hope he needed, all the faith; what he needed was cold hard cash.
Few people think there is such thing as enough money. Logic leads us to fear we might run out. That’s apparently what the man thought in Jesus’ parable in our gospel lesson today. He was very successful in life. The question he neglected to ask was, “Would he be equally successful in death?”
This man was rich already. His barns were full, and a new bumper crop meant he needed a new investment strategy. Back then, when wealth was livestock or produce—tangible things—the man’s decision to build bigger barns was logical. People had to provide for themselves and next year’s crop might not be so plentiful.
Just four chapters from now in Luke’s gospel, Jesus would commend a shrewd (but shady) money manager. But not today; today Jesus warned us to put our faith in God rather than in things. Logic versus faith.
Turns out, our brains have two systems for decision-making. One system is very pragmatic; I call this system “logic brain.” Logic Brain analyzes facts and helps us draw logical conclusions. The other system, our “social network;” I call Faith Brain. This is the system that factors into our calculations empathy and the effects of our actions on others.
One system isn’t better than the other. We need both to function optimally. But the culture in which we live usually values one of these systems over the other. In our culture, we prioritize logic over our social network; other cultures prioritize the social network over logic.
We humans tend to look down on those who rely on the other decision-making system. Logic Brain people tend to think Faith Brain people are “stupid.” Whereas, Faith Brain people think logic-only people are “elitist.” And therein lies our political divide.
The rich man in Jesus’ parable today used only his Logic Brain. Jesus’ didn’t object to the man using logic. Jesus didn’t object to him being rich. And Jesus didn’t say, “Don’t plan ahead. Don’t think about future outcomes or stop preparing for the future.”
Instead, Jesus began by critiquing the man’s logical calculation. Jesus’ critique was that the man’s logic omitted his coming death. In other words, there are things we might be blind to that need to be included in our logical calculations. In other words, our plans should optimize for our eternal future, not just for our future in this life.
Perhaps the rich man should have thought, “I could build a bigger barn, but I already have enough. What if I build a bigger table, instead, and share what I have been given?” Or better yet, he could have asked his social network how he might share his prosperity.
This IS where Jesus’ second critique of the man’s thinking comes in. The man’s thinking was filled only with “I will” statements. “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and I will build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul …”
I, I, I! The man was totally devoid of a social network. He was blind toward his neighbors as well as blind toward eternal life.
Truth is, prosperity is never entirely earned. The things that allow us to be prosperous are NOT all due to our own efforts. Most come from our use of something God has loaned us, such as a superior brain, quicker reflexes, a superior starting position in life, or a winning personality. Some prosperity might even come from an unfair advantage handed down by a system that deprives others. This is an example of “evil done on our behalf” that we repent of in our confession each week. In either case, though, our prosperity does not come only from our efforts. And we acknowledge our dependence on God when we share what God has given us with others.
This is a lesson we know well at Church of the Resurrection. Today—coincidentally??—we are “building a longer table rather than building a bigger barn.” Today we are blessing a whole lot of food to stock the food pantry of our local high school, something we were asked to do by school social workers.
Logic said, “We can’t afford to do this; we have our own food pantry to stock.” Fear said, “We might run out.” But, here’s how God works: God sent us a bumper crop of blessings, a crop we didn’t earn that we are sharing. I pray our Logic Brain and our Faith Brain systems can continue to work together to show our City and our Church if not the WORLD itself the way of Resurrection.
