Serve God
So we've survived the holidays, but pretty soon we'll be getting the credit card bills for all those presents we bought. Last week I talked about being careful with your time. Now I want to think about being careful with our money. 'We just celebrated Christmas and New Year's and now, the preacher wants to spoil the mood by talking about money...?' Actually, I don't want to talk about it - but since Jesus talked about it, it's important.
Whether we'd like to admit it or not - money is important to us. You need some money in this life to survive. Food, shelter and clothing cost money. I know it may seem like a harsh jump from something as spiritual as the birth of our Savior to something as worldly as money - but...
I. Money is a spiritual issue
In Jesus' ministry, he taught 36 different parables and 16 of them had to do with people's attitude toward money. I've read that someone did the research and claims that one out of every ten verses in the New Testament mentions money or our relationship with money and possessions. Giving money back to God doesn't necessarily make you a spiritual person, but a spiritual person will give back to God.
We'd like to be able to keep money separate from our spiritual life because it can make us uncomfortable when the two become too entwined. But for those who follow Jesus, money is a spiritual issue. As a Christian, everything in our life is to be influenced by our faith in Jesus. If God is your master, you will use money and things for His purposes. Jesus' words from Luke 6:20-21a (NIV)...
Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (21) Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied."
And then let's jump to the contrast in Luke 6:24-25a (NIV)...
But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. (25) Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
Now, I know that I have these verses out of context - and that's generally a bad idea - and Jesus is not extolling solely being poor as the only qualification for being virtuous or being rich equaling evil. That's not it. But Jesus did make some very strong statements about the rich and the poor. And I have to ask...
A. Are we rich?
Not many of us would be considered 'rich' when compared to Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates. Do I too easily exempt myself from Jesus' teachings about the rich because I don't consider myself rich? I have running water, two vehicles, a roof over my head, plenty of shirts and pants, I am well fed with a full freezer, and I have a smart phone - something they couldn't have imagined! If I placed myself in Biblical times with all the possessions I now have - would I have been considered 'rich'? Perhaps I need to pay a little closer attention.
Let's look at the passage where a young man asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life"?
Mark 10:19-23 (NIV)
"You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'" (20) "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." (21) Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
(22) At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. (23) Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"
The Barna group did a survey on American's attitudes toward faith and finances. They found, 'The more money people make, the less likely they were to have committed themselves to Jesus.' Those making more than $100K per year were significantly less likely to have made such a commitment than those making less than $50K.
Again, making money does not make you bad - but it certainly can make following Jesus much more difficult for many. And that's a reality of which we need to be keenly aware.
B. Who do you serve?
How you relate to 'money and things' says an awful lot about your relationship with God. Your attitude towards money will be determined by who you serve. Jesus taught, in the Sermon on the Mount...
Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Jesus didn't say it was difficult to serve both, He said you can't. Jesus is giving money a personal and spiritual character. He's personifying money as a rival god. He wants us to understand that money is not just something that is morally neutral. Most of us don't always think about money that way. Paul said it this way in 1 Timothy 6:10-11 (NIV)...
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (11) But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
Paul is saying that this 'love of money' can drive us to seek it at all costs. Those who love money will commit all sorts of evil acts in order to obtain it. But that's not us, right? We're not tempted by money...
Early in the pandemic, in New Mexico, a 19 year old college student named Jose Nunez was going to the bank when he spotted a clear plastic bag next to the ATM. It contained $135,000 in cash. "I was very shocked," he said, "I'd never seen so much money." And remember, this is when the streets were almost empty - no one was there! He called 911 and waited for the police to arrive. At first, they thought it was a prank call. After an investigation, turns out a Wells Fargo contractor had intended to put the money in the ATM but had mistakenly left it on the sidewalk. I'm guessing he lost that job. Jose told a reporter, "It never passed through my mind to keep any of it."
$135,000!! That could have paid off his entire college tuition! He could have bought a really nice car! 58% of people who responded to a survey on this story said either they weren't sure if they would return the money or that they definitely would not return the money. 58%!
How much is our integrity worth? Who do you serve, God or money? One frees you; the other makes you its slave. Practically speaking, most of us get or have gotten money by working. You make a deal to trade your time, your work for money. So in essence...
II. Money represents your work
When we work, in a job or career, we are giving our time and effort and earning money. And money is somewhat important to survive in this world. But this world is not all there is! We shouldn't ever forget who we belong to in the first place as we spend our time and effort earning money. Paul's words from 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)...
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
When we are out earning a living - we may be working for a paycheck, but ultimately you are working for God. You represent Him in the way that you do your job. You represent God in the way that you spend that paycheck for which you've worked. Don't misunderstand; I'm not saying that hard work or earning a living is not important.
Christians are called to work - but not to the neglect of their relationship with God in pursuit of money. But that's certainly not what we see modeled in the world. That's not what's taught on the average college campus. That's not what we see lived out in the average American household.
Our chasing after money - through work - brings with it risks to which we need to be aware. And for those who think the Church talks about money too much - I want to share a beautiful little 'secret' I've shared before...
A. God doesn't need your money
God asks for us to give back to Him in tithes and offerings - but God really doesn't need our money. Let's look at the words of the Psalmist from Psalms 50:9-10 (NIV)...
I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, (10) for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
God created everything! God created the very resources and principles that create wealth! When we understand that, we understand that 'giving' is not for God's benefit, it's for ours! Giving back to God regularly reminds us who owns everything in the first place. Those who desire to be like Jesus remember that everything they 'own' really belongs to God. All of our money and 'stuff' is on loan from God for us to use.
Jesus was teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven in the 'Parable of the Talents'. Three men were entrusted with different amounts of money while their master was away. Many times we focus on the end of the passage that's rather dramatic where the wicked servant is cast out for his laziness, but I want us to focus right at the very beginning.
Matthew 25:14 (NIV)
Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.
"His property." The men who were entrusted with the money didn't own it - it was their master's property to be used for his purposes. Everything we have belongs to God. He simply asks for us to give back a small percentage to demonstrate our commitment to Him - and to ourselves. Most of you here, if you've been around for any length of time have heard me say that Biblically speaking, a tithe is 10%. You make a hundred dollars; you give God ten - a thousand dollars, the tithe is one hundred.
And yes, the tithe was commanded under the Old Testament Law and we're not under any obligation to give a tithe anymore. But the New Testament concept of grace always goes further than the Old Testament law. The Old Testament condemns 'murder' - Jesus condemns hate. The Old Testament forbids 'adultery' - Jesus forbids lust.
Are we required to give a tithe of everything we make back to God? No, but what is our attitude about giving? Where is our heart? We're not required to give a tithe, but how you spend 'your money' may give you a very good picture of your level of trust in God. - Remember, God doesn't need your money...
B. God wants you
Does God want to get into your wallet? No - He wants your wallet. God wants your checkbook. God wants your savings. He wants you! When you give back to Him, when you recognize that it's all His in the first place - then He has you. And when He has you; when you are all His - that's when you start to reap the blessings of being His child!
And that's when you stop worrying about money, and money starts to lose its hold on you. And that's when you stop thinking that you can't possibly afford to tithe and you even learn to go beyond that. When God has you - your mindset turns from how you can figure out how to tithe, to how much more God could do even beyond that!
In the Bible, tithes, 10% would go to the Temple or Church - to take care of expenses and the priests or full time ministers, but also for physical needs of those less fortunate in the body of believers. You see - the tithe, the first ten percent - giving back to God shows our love towards God. Being generous - giving to meet people's physical needs - that demonstrates our love for others. 'Love the Lord your God and love others as yourself' - that ring any bells?
There's another command that was referenced several times in the Old Testament. We find this passage in Leviticus 19:9-10 (NIV)...
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. (10) Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.
The Israelites were told to allow the poor to gather the edges of their crops and even those that might have been missed or dropped. It was a command to be generous with those in need. Now again, understand that this passage is from the Old Testament. And again, we are under the New Covenant and grace. However, as we just talked about with the idea of a tithe, I have yet to find a passage in the New Testament where Jesus calls His followers to lower standards than Moses called people to in the Old Testament.
Jesus wanted His followers to show love for God and for others by their actions. Jesus wanted them to be different than the world - to love God and others way more than money or things.
So What?
How much of a hold does money have on you? It's actually pretty easy for you to tell. How uncomfortable did you feel at any point this morning..?
If you're an alcoholic, you can go through a program and learn to give it up completely to break its hold on you. You can go through life without ever having another drink. If money is your master - you can't really go 'cold turkey' and give it up. You do need to deal with money in this world. That's why it's vital for you to learn to master it.
Do we have to view money as an enemy...? No, but if you ignore its power, if you don't think it could even possibly be an enemy - that's where it can get its foothold. For a person who has placed their faith completely in Jesus - money has to become a tool for accomplishing God's purposes. If God does not have a man's money, He doesn't have his heart!
Here's something I want you to do - today. This will help you either show that money is not your master or help you break its grip. I want you - today, this week - to give some money away. Maybe to our new mission the Women's Care Center, maybe a local charity, maybe a neighbor in need.
Or maybe God will lead you to give to some other need. But I'm asking you to make a definite step in testing just how much of a hold money has on you. Look at your checkbook - what are your priorities? Give some money away - pray, ask God where He would like you to give - then do it! And put your faith more in God than in money and things!