11/17/2025
By Pastor Vinnie Cappetta
Series: Still Speaking: When Old Headlines Echo God’s Truth
"The $6,000 Shower Curtain"
Scripture: Luke 16:19–23
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.
Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.
The rich man also died and was buried.
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.” — Luke 16:19–23
In 2002, Tyco’s CEO became infamous for spending company money on lavish luxuries — including a gold-trimmed shower curtain worth six thousand dollars. The world laughed, then forgot. But beneath that absurd headline is a sobering question: What happens when comfort blinds our compassion?
Jesus told of a wealthy man who feasted daily while a poor man named Lazarus lay outside his gate, hungry and unseen. The rich man wasn’t cruel — just comfortable. His possessions dulled his vison until he could no longer see the suffering right at his doorstep.
I think of my stepfather when I read that story. He had wealth by the world’s standards — the cars, the house, the image — but no peace. The more he gained, the emptier he felt. His money promised control but slowly took it from him.
We may not live in mansions, but the same danger whispers to us. Comfort has a way of closing our eyes.
Reflection
This story isn’t really about income — it’s about vision.
Who might be sitting at your “gate” while you rush through your day?
How might generosity open your eyes again to the people God has placed near you?
Prayer
Lord, loosen my grip on what doesn’t last.
Open my eyes to the needs You’ve placed before me.
Teach me to value mercy over luxury and people over possessions.
Memory Verse: Proverbs 1:5
