Sermon on Money

When it comes to money, we like simplicity, right? There are countless products in the world that offer to manage money for us, to make it simple to have a budget, keep a budget, and know when we're going over budget. Part of what makes paying taxes so frustrating is the complications involved in it—the tax code is over seven times longer than the Bible. We want it to be simple.

When it comes to Biblical teachings about money, we want that to be simple, too. We want a blanket statement that will help us manage our money faithfully. That's what makes the tithe such a great thing—it's simple—10%, off the top, don't have to think about it. Done.

The thing is that it's never simple with Christianity, especially when it comes to money. See, once we make something a rule, we're trending back towards legalism, and Christ has fulfilled the law, set us free from it, since the Law cannot save us. In exchange, Christ asks for us to give our hearts and minds over to him. This requires a lifetime's worth of effort, of dying to ourselves daily, of giving a full life over to God. It's not easy. Maybe it looks simple from the outside, but it's quite complicated on the inside. Christianity demands total discipleship, and even when it comes to money, it's not simple. The tithe can be a wonderful thing, but it shouldn't be a law that you have to follow, because then we've legislated the joy and the heart out of the thing. How we deal with money is intimately connected with what kind of faith we have—a joyous faith rooted in gratitude that sees all of life as a gift, or a faith in which we're looking for the easy way out, for the simple solution to our questions.

Let's just take a quick overview of some of the New Testament's teachings about money.

In Matthew 19, a rich young ruler comes before Jesus and asks him how to obtain eternal life. In response, Jesus tells him to sell everything he has, give the money to the poor, and follow him.

So we can rightly assume that everything is to be sold and given to the poor, right?

Well, in Matthew 26 a woman anoints Jesus with some very costly perfume, and the disciples ask Jesus why this wasn't sold so the money could be given to the poor. Jesus replies by stating that this woman has performed a good service for Jesus.

So we can then make an exception to our rule, allowing us to use some things for worship, right?

Well, there is the story of Zaccheaus in Luke 19. Following his conversion, he gives half of his possessions to the poor, also promising to recompense anyone he has defrauded. Jesus takes the opportunity to announce that salvation has come to his house.

So we get to keep half, right?

Well, there was the case of the landowner in Matthew 20 who kept hiring workers throughout the day, clearly indicating that he had quite a bit of money since he could be so generous with it. And even our rich fool in Luke 12 doesn't seem to be reprimanded for having full barns, rather for choosing to not be satisfied with the barns he has. And what do we do with Joseph of Arimathea, one of the few heroes of Good Friday, who was a wealthy man also described as a disciple of Jesus?

So it's a mess, right?

Well, it's only a mess if you're looking for a blanket rule, one flat thing you can apply to everyone in every situation. If that's what you want than yes, this is a mess. But when we set our desire for rules aside and see what Jesus is trying to teach us, than we actually see something beautiful that transcends rules, that treats us like mature individuals, that expects something far bigger from us than a mere toeing of the line.

Think back to when you were learning to write. Each of us had to learn first how to hold a pencil. Now, the teacher probably had a time of general teaching of instructing everyone on how best to hold a pencil, but then the teacher had to go around to every single student and correct the way they held a pencil. Each of us got something wrong, and we all probably got a different thing wrong—we each needed individual instruction, and only then were we free to write—and each of us wrote something completely different.

Jesus is the same way in his instruction with money. Each of us holds money a little differently—but we each hold it wrongly, and so Jesus has to come to each of us and offer instruction. Jesus issues some general guidelines, but we all need correction, but we don't all need the same correction, or the same rule. Some people spend too freely, while some hoard money. Some try to purchase security with money, while others try to buy happiness. We each have our flaws.

And Jesus comes to each of us a little differently. To some, there is an instruction to leave it all behind, while some need to give half, while still others may not need to give as much. The purpose of all of this is for each of us to be single-mindedly focused on Christ. This is the goal of our life—to be disciples with a singular focus on Christ and how we can partake in his mission in the world. To the extent that money interferes with our focus, we need to root it our tirelessly. Money itself isn't the sin—it's the love of it, and this is what we need to avoid. There's nothing wrong with having money—the sin comes from falling in love with it, with trying to purchase security and love with it, when those things actually can only come from God.

We believe that all money, like all things in life, is a gift from God. The money you make when you work is earned thanks to the gifts God has given you, so even this is a gift. How, then, can we be good stewards of this money?

I'd like to begin with an example. Rich Mullins was a songwriter some years ago—he wrote the song Awesome God. Now, if I wrote the song Awesome God and received royalties from it, I'd probably go buy a large house with a fancy car. What did Rich do? He told his accountant he needed $24,000 each year, and instructed his accountant to give the rest to his church and to various charities. Believe me, he earned far more than $24,000 a year. But he knew what he needed, and the rest was merely an opportunity to share his blessings with others. Who knows how many lives were touched by his generosity?

I think it would be wise for each and every one of us to follow his example. We don't have to follow it to the letter, but I'd recommend you sit down and write down how much money you need each month, each year, to live on. The number will be different for each of us, as we'll define our needs differently. Think for a moment about what's on the list—do you really need those things? Or have you just become accustomed to them?

After doing this, see what's left over. Maybe there is nothing left over and you have to consider some serious changes to your cost of living. If you do have something left over, what are you going to do with this blessing? Many of us are tempted to save or spend all of it, and I don't want to dissuade you from saving and spending some of it. It's just as easy to be obsessed with not having too much money as it is with having great wealth. The danger is investing our energy in thinking too much about money and letting this tool ruin our lives. It's just a tool—think back to our pencil analogy. When you sit down to write something, how much time do you spend contemplating the writing instrument? None, probably. You're focused on the story. In the same way, when you spend your time thinking about money, you're focusing on the tool, rather than the story you should be telling—and that story should be a love story in which you're constantly growing in your love for God, and seeking to share that love with others. Money is a tool that can help you do that—if you have money left over, how can you share this blessing? Maybe you give it to a charity or to a needy individual. Maybe you invest it in a great feast, a party to bring together friends, neighbors and family. Maybe you travel and seek out beauty or Sabbath rest. Maybe you do save some of it for the future. Maybe you go buy a nice dinner and enjoy the gift of good food. I'd recommend the tithe—not as a lawful way to earn God's love, but as a challenge, to strive to share your blessings, to see how many ways you can spread God's love. Giving money to charity, to church, is important—it makes a statement about what we value, and it demonstrates our trust in God to provide for us. In charitable giving we display our gratitude—but let's also be sure that we don't just give money, that the money we give to charity leads us to give time, to give love as well.

The point is that we don't try to purchase security with our money—that we see it as a gift from God, that we don't fall in love with it, because if we do, it will not love us back. It will try and take over our minds to the point that we become double-minded. We will lose our singular focus on Christ and focus on money. Let's see money as a tool to advance the kingdom of God.

In all things, let's remember that money cannot purchase security. The rich fool tried to do this, but God reminded him that money cannot buy this. Our true security comes from God. This is exactly what Jesus was teaching the disciples when he sent them out with precious little—they needed to learn to depend on God to provide, often through others. Trusting God can be a scary thing—it's far easier to trust ourselves, to trust money saved in the bank. But we will fail. That money cannot save us. Only God can save us in the face of life's biggest questions, so we need to trust completely in God, and when we do so, we will see money as a gift to be shared, as an opportunity to spread the Good News of God's kingdom.

Let us pray