Today is the Day to Give God Control of Your Finances
Luke 12:13-34
I think that the hardest things for pastors to preach about are sin and money. It’s hard to preach on sin because it hits too close to home. Jesus had a unique standing when preaching about sin, because he never sinned, but the rest of us speak as participants. Yes, cleansed from sin by the grace of God and the gift of Jesus on the cross, but participants nonetheless. And it’s hard to preach on money because I don’t know if there’s anything else that we take so personally – maybe music. But when someone else has the audacity to “suggest” what we are supposed to do with “our” hard-earned money, it’s just downright offensive.
That said, Jesus talked a lot about money. In fact, he talked more about money than he did heaven or hell. There must be something to it if Jesus thought it was worth his time to talk about.
So today we’re going to talk about money. Here’s the big picture: anything that gets in the way of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is by definition an idol. And in our society, money is the biggest idol there is. People put their time and energy into what is most important to them; this is what Jesus was saying when he said this: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
To adequately talk about money, we have to see what that full breadth of the scriptures has to say about it. It’s easy to take one or two verses and construct your entire theology based on them, and this is done all the time by purveyors of the so-called prosperity gospel. The Bible is so full of references to money and prosperity that to only look at a few is a real disservice. That’s one reason to read the whole Bible, not just your favorite parts. A few years ago, there was a big craze over Bruce Wilkinson’s book The Prayer of Jabez – focusing on one Old Testament verse in which Jabez prayed for God to “enlarge my territory” and God granted his request. Though Wilkinson was clear that this "enlarging of territory" was all about being able to have the resources to glorify God and to use for Him, many took his message out of context and concluded that "as long as I pray the 'Prayer of Jabez' faithfully, then God will give me money."
Taking certain verses by themselves, we could agree with the prosperity gospel folks; as long as you pray for something with enough fervor, God will give you money. In places the Bible does show wealth as a sign of faithfulness. So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul- then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. (Deuteronomy 11:13-15)
The Book of Proverbs is full of sayings telling us that wealth is the reward for working hard (Prov. 12:27 The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prizes his possessions.)
However, wealth also brings with it the chance of idolatry: It gets in the way of worshiping God, and money itself becomes an idol. Ezekiel 7:19 (Message) They throw their money into the gutters. Their hard-earned cash stinks like garbage. They find that it won't buy a thing they either want or need on Judgment Day. They tripped on money and fell into sin.
I love the way that last line reads: They tripped on money and fell into sin.
Here’s the thing: there are plenty of prosperity preachers who equate having tons of money with having God’s blessing. But on the other hand, we often try to vilify money, incorrectly quoting Paul by saying “Money is the root of all evil” (it’s really The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. 1 Timothy 6:10a). The truth is that money is a resource that is necessary for human needs. Throughout the scriptures, this is seen as a good thing. The early church sold property and gave the money to the poor; this wouldn’t have been possible if they didn’t have wealth enough to sell properties!
Our society has programmed us to believe that the end goal is money. What is the American Dream if not financial wealth? Owning one’s own home? As a nation, we have aimed at prosperity. And as a Christian, I find myself more and more opposed to that notion. You see, money is not true wealth. (Ben Witherington III. Jesus and Money: A Guide for Times of Financial Crisis. p. 69)
Money isn’t true wealth. This is what Jesus is saying in today’s scripture. Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15) There is something much bigger than money. Jesus tells his followers not to worry – to learn the lesson of the birds and the flowers, who God loves enough to care for. Seek first His kingdom, and He will give you food and clothes and shelter, too. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “I’ll give you huge screen TVs and giant mansions and brand new gas guzzlers and boats and private jets.”
He will give you what you need to live. I have experienced this firsthand. Let me back up a little bit and tell you what things were like when Tara and I were newlyweds.
r Or when I was going to Russia on a mission trip – God knew that it would change my life and the lives of the Russian students I would meet. I didn’t have enough money to go $3300 was a lot of money for a college student. My dad (again) offered money (that he didn’t really have). I took a second job and a third. But then the money started pouring in. We had a garage sale that brought in over $800 (I sold my game system and all my CDs). I went to visit a church that I’d been going to a few years back, and they had a missionary as a guest speaker – to Eastern Europe, of all places. After church I was talking to him, and someone came up and overheard that I was going to Russia and wrote me a $50 check. In the end, I had collected so much money that I was able to redirect some of it to help pay for someone else’s trip. And my extra jobs? I didn’t have to pay any of that money toward the trip; and I earned more money that Spring than I had earned in my entire previous summer of employment; I was able to use it for tuition.
2 Corinthians 9:11, “You will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.”
I want to conclude with John Wesley’s advice on the use of money.
I think that the hardest things for pastors to preach about are sin and money. It’s hard to preach on sin because it hits too close to home. Jesus had a unique standing when preaching about sin, because he never sinned, but the rest of us speak as participants. Yes, cleansed from sin by the grace of God and the gift of Jesus on the cross, but participants nonetheless. And it’s hard to preach on money because I don’t know if there’s anything else that we take so personally – maybe music. But when someone else has the audacity to “suggest” what we are supposed to do with “our” hard-earned money, it’s just downright offensive.
That said, Jesus talked a lot about money. In fact, he talked more about money than he did heaven or hell. There must be something to it if Jesus thought it was worth his time to talk about.
So today we’re going to talk about money. Here’s the big picture: anything that gets in the way of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is by definition an idol. And in our society, money is the biggest idol there is. People put their time and energy into what is most important to them; this is what Jesus was saying when he said this: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
To adequately talk about money, we have to see what that full breadth of the scriptures has to say about it. It’s easy to take one or two verses and construct your entire theology based on them, and this is done all the time by purveyors of the so-called prosperity gospel. The Bible is so full of references to money and prosperity that to only look at a few is a real disservice. That’s one reason to read the whole Bible, not just your favorite parts. A few years ago, there was a big craze over Bruce Wilkinson’s book The Prayer of Jabez – focusing on one Old Testament verse in which Jabez prayed for God to “enlarge my territory” and God granted his request. Though Wilkinson was clear that this "enlarging of territory" was all about being able to have the resources to glorify God and to use for Him, many took his message out of context and concluded that "as long as I pray the 'Prayer of Jabez' faithfully, then God will give me money."
Taking certain verses by themselves, we could agree with the prosperity gospel folks; as long as you pray for something with enough fervor, God will give you money. In places the Bible does show wealth as a sign of faithfulness. So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul- then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. (Deuteronomy 11:13-15)
The Book of Proverbs is full of sayings telling us that wealth is the reward for working hard (Prov. 12:27 The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prizes his possessions.)
However, wealth also brings with it the chance of idolatry: It gets in the way of worshiping God, and money itself becomes an idol. Ezekiel 7:19 (Message) They throw their money into the gutters. Their hard-earned cash stinks like garbage. They find that it won't buy a thing they either want or need on Judgment Day. They tripped on money and fell into sin.
I love the way that last line reads: They tripped on money and fell into sin.
Here’s the thing: there are plenty of prosperity preachers who equate having tons of money with having God’s blessing. But on the other hand, we often try to vilify money, incorrectly quoting Paul by saying “Money is the root of all evil” (it’s really The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. 1 Timothy 6:10a). The truth is that money is a resource that is necessary for human needs. Throughout the scriptures, this is seen as a good thing. The early church sold property and gave the money to the poor; this wouldn’t have been possible if they didn’t have wealth enough to sell properties!
Our society has programmed us to believe that the end goal is money. What is the American Dream if not financial wealth? Owning one’s own home? As a nation, we have aimed at prosperity. And as a Christian, I find myself more and more opposed to that notion. You see, money is not true wealth. (Ben Witherington III. Jesus and Money: A Guide for Times of Financial Crisis. p. 69)
Money isn’t true wealth. This is what Jesus is saying in today’s scripture. Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15) There is something much bigger than money. Jesus tells his followers not to worry – to learn the lesson of the birds and the flowers, who God loves enough to care for. Seek first His kingdom, and He will give you food and clothes and shelter, too. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “I’ll give you huge screen TVs and giant mansions and brand new gas guzzlers and boats and private jets.”
He will give you what you need to live. I have experienced this firsthand. Let me back up a little bit and tell you what things were like when Tara and I were newlyweds.
- All stressful things at once: graduation, quit job, get married, move to KY, start seminary
- No job: dad had to sign that he would give us $ to get us in govt subsidized housing; date night was window shopping at Walmart; nachos at Taco Bell
- Building project at church – decided that we needed to give tithe above and beyond pledge for the building. Never saw the building while we were there, but were blessed.
- Money came in: scholarship, money from Ron & Ashley, money in SPO
r Or when I was going to Russia on a mission trip – God knew that it would change my life and the lives of the Russian students I would meet. I didn’t have enough money to go $3300 was a lot of money for a college student. My dad (again) offered money (that he didn’t really have). I took a second job and a third. But then the money started pouring in. We had a garage sale that brought in over $800 (I sold my game system and all my CDs). I went to visit a church that I’d been going to a few years back, and they had a missionary as a guest speaker – to Eastern Europe, of all places. After church I was talking to him, and someone came up and overheard that I was going to Russia and wrote me a $50 check. In the end, I had collected so much money that I was able to redirect some of it to help pay for someone else’s trip. And my extra jobs? I didn’t have to pay any of that money toward the trip; and I earned more money that Spring than I had earned in my entire previous summer of employment; I was able to use it for tuition.
2 Corinthians 9:11, “You will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.”
Money isn’t just a neutral means of exchange either. There’s a reason that Jesus personified money by calling it “Mammon.” It can be an object of devotion which actually competes with God for our love and attention. It can be a stumbling block that gets in the way of us following Jesus completely. To one rich man who wanted to know how to get eternal life, Jesus said, “Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. (Luke 18:22-23). His great wealth stood between him and following Jesus, and, indeed, between him and eternal life.
Where is your treasure? You see, people put their time, energies, and resources into those things they value, those things dear to their heart. Resources invested in material things are a sure sign that the things of this world are valued and not the things of God’s kingdom.
Indeed, the parable Jesus told about the farmer who needed bigger barns concludes with God calling the man a fool. You have to understand that a fool isn’t an idiot. Fools are self-centered people who think they run their own lives and worlds. They fail to take into account God, God’s will, and God’s word. Fools may well be smart of even savvy about some things. But they are not wise, they are not spiritually discerning about the real nature of life and reality. (Ben Witherington III).
In contrast, a person who really trusts God finds it easier to let go of material things and be motivated to kindness and generosity.
Dr. Witherington asks the question: “How do we deprogram ourselves from the seductive values of our culture when it comes to materialism and conspicuous consumption?” In other words, how do we give God control of our money?
1. We have to start by understanding what the Bible really says about money. God isn’t a magic genie, just waiting to give us riches. In fact, we as some of the world’s wealthiest people need to understand that God’s plan doesn’t look like the world’s. That maybe we need to think more about simplifying and self-sacrifice.
2. Develop a good sense of the difference between necessities and luxuries: When we are evaluating the difference between necessities and luxuries we need to pause before we say “God would never ask me to give or give up X.”
3. Make a commitment to ministerial projects that require a sacrifice. When we were involved in the building campaign at Southland Christian, one of my friends, a huge Nebraska football fan, gave up cable TV for 3 years and gave the money he would have spent on cable to the church. That was a sacrifice, because Lexington is SEC country and you rarely get a Nebraska game on network TV in that part of the country.
4. If making money is no longer an issue, devote the rest of your life to ministry projects. My sister’s church building was partially built by retired Lutherans who go from place to place, living in RVs, building churches.
5. Evaluate your budget, especially discretionary spending funds. Dave Ramsey would be high-fiving us on this one. Make 3 envelopes: save, give, and spend. When the “spend” envelope is empty, don’t spend any more!
6. Decrease the amount of waste in your life. I’ve thought about this: I love a good can of Coke (actually, a glass bottle is better). I love fountain Coke. When I go out to eat, however, I rarely order a Coke anymore. Why? Because I buy Coke in 12 packs, and they cost between $2.50 and $3. For 12. Or I can buy one at a restaurant for $2 for a single serving. That’s wasteful spending. Evaluate your spending and see where the waste is.
7. “Hang out with the holy rollers, not the high rollers.” In other words, who are your friends? Do you find yourself having to spend a lot to hang out with them? I remember being a part of a wealthy Sunday School class where the guys all decided to go to Promise Keepers. A good thing, right? Except they went to the one in Denver, Colorado, so they could go camping and mountain climbing for a week after. Meanwhile all of their wives went shopping. In Boston. We didn’t have the money to hang out with them.
8. Stop assuming that there are no problems with capitalism (“what’s mine is mine and if I choose to share it, I’m philanthropic”) – though communism isn’t any better (what’s yours is actually ours and we must confiscate it or treat it as public property). Regularly asses what good stewardship of personal property looks like.
9. Declare a Jubilee Year, forgiving someone who owes you a debt & lend money interest free.
I want to conclude with John Wesley’s advice on the use of money.
1. Gain all you can. (honestly, without hurting anyone)
2. Save all you can – don’t be wasteful.
3. Give all you can (this *starts* with a tithe...)
Comments
I said something like: Thank you Brian--and God. I was feeling a bit guilty about over-giving to a church project (Haiti relief)knowing that our church is very generous and would be giving fine without me and so "was I doing the right thing with my money?" But you answered that question well: if God says "give", you give no matter what satan or "logic" says.
Thanks,
Brian