I should know better. You’d think I’d learn. I worked on my taxes Monday, then got up Tuesday morning and started working on this Sunday’s message. This message isn’t for you—it’s for me. I slid back a bit last year in my overall giving and I’m in need of some monthly adjustments so I can get back on track. I need to do this, not to earn God’s favor, but because I want my life defined by gratitude and generosity, and that kind of life doesn’t come by talk alone. It develops over time, one decision at a time as I choose gratitude, then couple that attitude with generous action.
I can beat myself up, or I can give thanks for the opportunity that comes along about this time of year in the message cycle to take an honest look at where I’m at in my life, compare that with where God might want me to be, and make the necessary adjustments with God’s help. This isn’t something I need to do on my own. In fact, striving to force gratitude, and consequently generosity, is probably not going to produce the kind of “cheerful” giver Paul talked about in his second letter to the Corinthians. God isn’t interested in beating me into submission on this issue, although circumstances in some cases may be a very good teacher and motivator. God is, however, interested in what I do with my resources, especially my financial resources because, like it or not, that’s one of the clearest indicators of the state of my soul.
I had my eyes dilated as part of my eye exam Tuesday afternoon. The optometrist then peered into my eye to ascertain the state of my circulatory system. I find that fascinating and instructive, for just as what she saw indicates the state of processes deep within my body, so “dilating” our financial management indicates the state of our soul. We might not like what is revealed, but at this point, I’m just the messenger delivering God message. Jesus said what we do with our material wealth indicates where our treasure is, and where our treasure is will be where our hearts are. (Matthew 6:21) And that’s just the way it is.
For many of us, the American dream turned into the American nightmare a couple of years ago. All of us took a hit, but for some of us, it was a hit that threatened to sink our financial boat, and for a few of us, it did. For me, the “great unraveling” and the resulting recession is a reminder that building my house on material wealth is to build on sand, not the solid rock of faith. But we are bombarded in our culture with the message that more is always better, and whatever we have is never enough.
The challenge for me as a pastor in this context is to provide comfort and guidance during these difficult economic times, yet at the same time raise the uncomfortable biblical truth that everything we have is a gift from God. The accepted giving principle in the Bible is one-tenth of our income for the work of God’s kingdom. It’s been estimated that conservatively, if those who identify themselves as committed Christians were to give ten percent of their net income, after taxes, there would be approximately 134 billion dollars more available for supporting the mission of God’s kingdom. Whoa! That must mean many of us give at far lower levels to God’s mission opportunities, of which the church is one, but by no means the only one.
I invite us over the next three weeks to take a fearless spiritual inventory around our “stuff.” This is not a punitive thing. I have come to believe with all my heart that God’s truth will set us free, but that the important first step we have to take is telling the truth about ourselves to ourselves. To prep for that, consider these questions:
What do we value most?
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- What would we most hate to lose?
- What is your most frequent “free thought?”
- What affords you your greatest pleasure?
Now for what’s on my desk…
Meet your Deacon this Sunday. After both services, deacons will be available to chat and mingle. They’re taking the time to do this because they want to personally connect with as many of us as possible.
The 752 Prayer commitment is more than just one more thing to do in otherwise busy schedules. We’re starting to get reports back from families, single parents, and a few others, that the commitment is paying off in unexpected ways. That’s what happens when we adopt these kind of vital practices. They don’t seem all that important, but they end up shaping us in godly ways.
Now you know what I know.
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