Money: Idol or Icon: Prov.30:7-9 (Oct.8,2006)
Money: idol or Icon October 8, 2006
Text: Proverbs 30:7-9
Homiletical idea: Will money be our “god” or will money our lead us to God?
Earlier this yebar I was in San Francisco, and I pulled into a gas station downtown.
I filled my tank and went inside the convenience store to the to pay for my gas.
The attendant asked me if I wanted to buy a lottery ticket. I said, “If you can guarantee me I’ll buy the winning ticket, I’ll buy one.” He said, that’s a good one…
The chances of winning a lottery are 7 million to one--which means you’re more likely to get by hit by lightening than win the lottery…
A lot of people think that coming into a lot of money will solve their problems, but psychologists tells us that people tend to have more psychological problems after winning the lottery that before. People think if they end up winning the lottery their financial problems are going to be history, but 1/3 who of people who win the lottery end up declaring bankruptcy.
We tend to think that money is a kind of cure all, and money can obviously bring significant benefits to our lives, but money can also complicate our lives and so we need wisdom with money.
The book of Proverbs, is a book full of wisdom, and speaks to the issue of money.
If you have your Bibles please turn to Proverbs 30.
In Proverbs 30 we have the writings of man named Agur, a man who is likely not a Jewish person by ethnicity, but he’s been converted to follow the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and he a courtly leader, and he’s facing death…
Proverbs 30
7 "Two things I ask of you, LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
Agur apparently he’s facing death.
7 "Two things I ask of you, LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
As a person approaches death and begins to “number their days,” they often experience greater clarity. They often have a much keener sense of what’s vain and what’s really important. As Agur faces death, he experiences this heightened clarity…
He prays that God would give him neither riches nor poverty…
As we said, the Proverbs don’t typically offer absolute, universally applicable rules. They offer wisdom that applies to most of life’s situations.
When Augur prays for neither poverty or riches, he’s for praying something that generally speaking we ought to desire.
But, some people actually do pray for and voluntarily choose poverty.
And some people are called to pray for great wealth to enable them to better serve others.
Francesco and a woman named Clare both came from wealthy Italian families, but when they gave their lives to Christ as young people they renounced all of their worldly wealth and chose a life of poverty. History knows them as Francis of Assissi and Clare of Assissi.
Monks make vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Some feel called by God to calling that includes poverty.
But most of will not pray for poverty.
So, for most of us it’s appropriate to pray with Agur, Lord give me not poverty….
And for most it’s also appropriate to pray--though it’s counter-cultural--give me not riches (or at least to have this heart’s desire).
Not that riches per se is bad.
A certain level wealth people us to do things that they otherwise could not do—if you have no money or alternate funding source you’re not going to be able to able to go to school beyond a certain point and wealth enables you connect with more loved near and far and puts you in position to help others finacially.
The proverbs (10:4) affirm that wealth can be the fruit of our diligence
The proverbs also affirm (Proverbs 10:22) that wealth can be a blessing from God.
So, why is then appropriate generally speaking to follow Agur and to not pray for riches?
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux the 12 century reformer said, “To see a man humble under prosperity is the greatest rarity.”
Wealth can lead to pride, a kind of over-confidence that distances us from God.
Thomas Carlyle said for every 100 people who can handle adversity, I can find you one who can handle riches.
Augur prays “God give me neither poverty or riches…”
In vs. 9 Augur give his reasonsf or his prayer… “He says God don’t give me poverty as I may be tempted to steal and to dishonor your name….”
Jean Valjean the lead character in Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables is impoverished as is his sister and her children. The children are crying out for bread and Jean Valjean though an admirable man of typically great integrity ends up walking past a bakery after hours, sees a loaf of bread and punches a whole through the glass to steal the bread. He’s arrested and imprisoned…
There are unique anxieties, pressures, and temptations one faces when one is in poverty…
So, generally speaking it is wise to pray that we avoid poverty.
But, Agur also prays this counter-cultural prayer that he will not fall into great riches.
He also gives his reasons.
Vs. 9 Otherwise… I may have too much and disown you…
Agur is concerned that if he has too much wealth, his money will become his security, his real god, and as a result he will disown the living God.
Jesus warned us against putting our security in money.
Jesus taught us that money can easily take the place of God in our lives.
He warned us that we cannot serve both God and money because both will demand our absolute allegiance…
Jesus warned about the subtle, powerful pull money has over us. If you’re committing adultery, it’s not like as you’re making love someone you say part way through--oh… you’re not my wife…. But, the greed god is very subtle, it creeps us on very gradually… this is why Jesus says in Luke 12:15 watch out for all kinds of greed…
Nearly half of Jesus’ parables concern money and there are more 4x as many verses in the New Testament on money that on prayer.
I’ve been talking rather abstractly about how money become a god, so let’s be more specific.
So how can money act like a god?
The “money god” like the living God has the power to re-shape our values and character.
In Proverbs 11:1 we read that the Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. Money power to makes us compromise our soul.
I remember being in Boston one night a few years ago and it’s late between 11 p.m. and 12 p.m. I’m in the car with some other people… I go through a toll which I believe was $5 dollars, and I reached into my travel pouch and pulled out a bill and handed it to the man in the toll both… the man’s eyes brightened, a subtle smile creep up the sides of his face, I sensed (and I know this sounds judgment) this air of evil… I thought nothing of it…. until… later when I checked my travel pouch and realized I had given a $50... in the dark instead of five…
And what troubled was not so much losing $45 US dollars, but that person willing to compromise his soul for $45 (I gave him $50 instead of $50, but presumably $5 in the till to balance the stash).
As we now from high profile government, corporate, church and much lower profile failures of integrity, people will allow money to re-shape their values and character….
A second way in which “money god” tries to mirror the living God is that it promises to provide us with security…
The Proverbs 18:11 tell us that wealth of rich is their fortified city .
It’s their place of security. A lot of us at a subconscious level put our security in our money.
If we have money in the bank, investments… we feel this sense of safety.
Many Christian people hesitate to tithe (responding to God’s call to give the first tenth of their income to the work of God) or to give money generously to people in need, not necessarily because they are so greedy, but because they believe that there money is their security.
So, how else can money be like God?
Like the living God, money tries to offer us a sense of significance… Most of us are not as ambitious as Bill Gates or Jim Pattison, but a lot of us feel significant (or would feel significant) if we can our can eat at certain restaurants, have a certain style, be able to pursue certain recreational pursuits… it’s very subtle but we get a sense of significance from our ability to do this or that with money…
Like, God, the money god seems to promise joy and happiness…
That’s part of the reason why, as I alluded to earlier, the lottery is so popular…
But what does the money god deliver…? Well let’s go down the list? Does it shape our values and character yes. Yes, but in the way we like?
My seminary professor Haddon Robinson says that for every verse in the Bible that tells us the benefits of wealth (and there are some as we’ve said), there are ten verses that tell us, the danger of wealth, for money has a way of binding us to what is physical and temporal (prop rope), and blinding (prop) us to what is spiritual and eternal.
Does money offer security? Real security?
My wife, a former journalist in Japan, observes that in Japan a country has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world says if you grow up without much money, it’s not going to hurt you (you might not have all the advantages), but if you grow up in a family lots of money… there’s a much greater chance of family dysfunction…
Money cannot save us from tragedy, relationship pain, and heart ache.
Does money bring a sense of significance and happiness?
Brad Pitt in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine says:
Hey, man, I don't have those answers yet. The emphasis now is on success and personal gain. I'm sitting in it, and I'm telling you, that's not it. I'm the guy who's got everything. I know. But I'm telling you, once you've got everything, then you're just left with yourself. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it doesn't help you sleep any better, and you don't wake up any better because of it.
Chuck Colson who works with both poor in prison and mixes with the wealthy and powerful says that it’s better to be than poor than rich, because the poor still think money will bring them happiness, but the rich know better.
If money has the power become a god in our life, but will not “deliver” what do we do?
One of the things that Agur prays for in vs. 8 before he dies is that he would be free of falsehood and lies. He is saying he wants to be a person of truthfulness and integrity…
Part of the way we avoid the fate of making money our “god” is to always act with complete financial integrity…
My professor Haddon Robinson grew up in Harlem New York. He grew up in a family that didn’t have much money… one time when he was boy, he and his dad were going to ride the subway and the person collecting the money at booth wasn’t there and Haddon as a boy we don’t to have pay! And his dad pulled his wallet to put money in slot… Haddon’s dad who had no theological training, said that just would be right.
Psalm 115 says if we follow the way of the idol, we will become like the idol… if bow down to money we’ll become spiritually deaf, dumb, and life-less like money… if we follow of the living God we’ll become like God.
On Wednesday I was in Boston to attend the board of trustees’ meeting for a seminary. When the cab driver dropped me off at the hotel, he said I’ll give you two blank receipts to fill in (expecting I could fill them both out and claim bogus expenses so I could be doubly re-imbursed!).
The Proverbs would say if you want to be free of money as your god, never, ever falsify your expense sheet.
If you want you don’t want money to be your god, never list time sheet more hours then you actually…
If you want you don’t want money to be y our god, if you business leader, never let you’re the bottom line become the bottom line.
Bill Lear was devastated when he learned that two Lear aircraft had crashed under mysterious circumstances. He'd developed the plane to offer business travelers a fast, economical alternative to the airlines. At that time, 55 Lear jets were privately owned. Bill sent word to all the owners to ground their planes until he and his team could determine what had caused the crashes.
To Bill, a Christian, risking the loss of more lives meant far more than the adverse publicity that grounding all Lear jets might generate in the media. He protected his customers.
As he researched the two ill-fated flights, a possible technical problem emerged. Bill experimented with his own plane to recreate the same problem. He nearly lost control of the jet in the process, but found that a defect in the plane's mechanism did exist. All 55 planes were fitted with a new part, eliminating the danger.
Bill spent two years rebuilding the business.
According the Proverbs the wise person is willing to forgo profit to serve the common good, the wicked forgo the common good for the sake of profit.
Let your Christian influence shape how you work with money from M-F 9-5 and in every other hour of your life…
If you want you don’t want money to be y our god, honor the real God with your wealth by living a life of integrity, by honoring your financial commitments.
Pay people what you’ve agreed to pay them…whether your suppliers, employees…
Don’t’ spend more than you can pay on your credit card.
If you want you don’t want money to be your god and money to bring you God, to those who would consider yourself followers of Jesus (everyone else relax and eavesdrop if you want), honor with your money.
In Proverbs 3, the Scriptures honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of your crops…vs. 10 then your barns will be filled to over flowing and vats will brim over with new wine.
One of the most powerful ways we can say that God and not money is our God is by honoring God our first fruits, the first tenth of our income, which the Bible calls the tithe… because our tithe is an extension of ourselves, when we offer it, we are saying, we are putting our trust in God not in our out money…
Richard Foster says When we let go of money, we are letting go of part of ourselves and part of our security and putting it in God. It produces an air of expectancy as we anticipate what God will lead us to give. It makes life with God an adventure in the world, and that is worth living for and giving for.
I would encourage faithfully, particularly if you’re in one two situations…
If you’re financially tight…
Someone I know said one of the things I can do to express my gratitude to God is to tithe… sometimes it’s difficult when things are financially tight to tithe, but one of the things I can to express my thanks to God is to honor in this way.
When things are tight, it’s tempting to short-change God, perhaps that’s one of the reasons why Augur prays he wouldn’t fall into poverty.
When I started in ministry, I was making $200 a month (US dollars). I felt I had to tithe more than $20--at least 21 dollars… as way, I of demonstrating to God and me that I was putting my security, in God, not in my money.
Second time I would particularly encourage you to tithe is when you making a lot of money…
When I was 2 years out of undergrad, making the equivalent of a 6 figure salary… People (none of them Christians) were telling me, “You seem to be becoming more materialistic, I stared to think I need to give more… more away….”
For a lot the more they make, the harder it is to tithe… Every giving study suggests that more money people make the less they give as a percentage of their income…
A man who came to Peter Marshall, a pastor and then well known chaplain of the US Senate, with a concern about tithing. He said: "I have a problem. I have been tithing for some time. It wasn't too bad when I was making $20,000 a year. I could afford to give the $2,000. But you see, now I am making $500,000, and there is just no way I can afford to give away $50,000 a year."
Dr. Marshall reflected on this wealthy man's dilemma but gave no advice. He simply said: "Yes, sir. I see that you do have a problem. I think we ought to pray about it. Is that alright?"
The man agreed, so Dr. Marshall bowed his head and prayed with boldness and authority. "Dear Lord, this man has a problem, and I pray that you will help him. Lord, reduce his salary back to the place where he can afford to tithe."
The tithe is technically just a tenth, but the spirit of the tithe to give sacrificially and in faith…for most of us to give 10% of our income is a sacrifice and that’s the point… and if you’re making money such that it’s no longer a sacrifice, in terms your lifestyle, you’ve got to give more than a tenth, give until it hurts in some way… That’s hard, but Jesus said, in parable the features stewarding our Master’s possession, that to whom much is given much will be required…
Be generous with your money to God and to others…
Gerald May says that money can be an idol, but it can also be an icon… something that that reminds of God…. if we use our money to honor God and bless people…
If you don’t want money to be your god and your money to bring you God honor God in your giving and be generous to people.
Someone has said, We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give….
Jesus says in Luke 16 said use your money on earth… to bless others and you will be welcomed in eternity by them.
If you bless financially they carry that memory into the next life…
(illustrate with people right there).
Money itself will not last, but what we do with money will last
How do we become that way people of integrity and generous with what we have?
By looking to Jesus.
According to 1 Corinthians 8, we read that Christ though rich became poor for our sake, so that through his poverty we might become rich…
When we center our lives on Christ and what he did for us by emptying himself of his wealth to become a human being and dying on the cross so that we might become spiritually rich… we can become people who can honor God and bless people with our money…
In the movie Saving Private Ryan… Ryan this grey haired elderly, World War II veteran accompanied by his family, searches for one particular grave, Captain John Miller’s, the captain who led his platoon to rescue private Ryan, laying his life and the lives of some of his men on this rescue mission…. When Ryan is at captain John Miller’s grave, he's overcome with emotion and gratitude and he turns to his family, and says, “Tell me I’ve been a good man, lived a good life…”
When we realize Christ didn’t just say I’ll tithe my blood to you, but gave his life… When this truth sinks deep in our heart and we see all he’s given us, like Ryan we become deeply grateful person, and we will become people who don’t serve money but God and people through our money. Martin Luther said the Gospel is just the ABC of the Christian it’s the A-Z it applies to each area work, money.
When we our lives are centered on Christ and what he did for us, money will not be our god, we’ll lead us to God as we honor him and bless people with it. As we look at Christ, we’ll find we have a reason to live and reason to give.
(The sermon can be heard on line at: www.tenth.ca/audio htm)
Text: Proverbs 30:7-9
Homiletical idea: Will money be our “god” or will money our lead us to God?
Earlier this yebar I was in San Francisco, and I pulled into a gas station downtown.
I filled my tank and went inside the convenience store to the to pay for my gas.
The attendant asked me if I wanted to buy a lottery ticket. I said, “If you can guarantee me I’ll buy the winning ticket, I’ll buy one.” He said, that’s a good one…
The chances of winning a lottery are 7 million to one--which means you’re more likely to get by hit by lightening than win the lottery…
A lot of people think that coming into a lot of money will solve their problems, but psychologists tells us that people tend to have more psychological problems after winning the lottery that before. People think if they end up winning the lottery their financial problems are going to be history, but 1/3 who of people who win the lottery end up declaring bankruptcy.
We tend to think that money is a kind of cure all, and money can obviously bring significant benefits to our lives, but money can also complicate our lives and so we need wisdom with money.
The book of Proverbs, is a book full of wisdom, and speaks to the issue of money.
If you have your Bibles please turn to Proverbs 30.
In Proverbs 30 we have the writings of man named Agur, a man who is likely not a Jewish person by ethnicity, but he’s been converted to follow the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and he a courtly leader, and he’s facing death…
Proverbs 30
7 "Two things I ask of you, LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
Agur apparently he’s facing death.
7 "Two things I ask of you, LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
As a person approaches death and begins to “number their days,” they often experience greater clarity. They often have a much keener sense of what’s vain and what’s really important. As Agur faces death, he experiences this heightened clarity…
He prays that God would give him neither riches nor poverty…
As we said, the Proverbs don’t typically offer absolute, universally applicable rules. They offer wisdom that applies to most of life’s situations.
When Augur prays for neither poverty or riches, he’s for praying something that generally speaking we ought to desire.
But, some people actually do pray for and voluntarily choose poverty.
And some people are called to pray for great wealth to enable them to better serve others.
Francesco and a woman named Clare both came from wealthy Italian families, but when they gave their lives to Christ as young people they renounced all of their worldly wealth and chose a life of poverty. History knows them as Francis of Assissi and Clare of Assissi.
Monks make vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Some feel called by God to calling that includes poverty.
But most of will not pray for poverty.
So, for most of us it’s appropriate to pray with Agur, Lord give me not poverty….
And for most it’s also appropriate to pray--though it’s counter-cultural--give me not riches (or at least to have this heart’s desire).
Not that riches per se is bad.
A certain level wealth people us to do things that they otherwise could not do—if you have no money or alternate funding source you’re not going to be able to able to go to school beyond a certain point and wealth enables you connect with more loved near and far and puts you in position to help others finacially.
The proverbs (10:4) affirm that wealth can be the fruit of our diligence
The proverbs also affirm (Proverbs 10:22) that wealth can be a blessing from God.
So, why is then appropriate generally speaking to follow Agur and to not pray for riches?
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux the 12 century reformer said, “To see a man humble under prosperity is the greatest rarity.”
Wealth can lead to pride, a kind of over-confidence that distances us from God.
Thomas Carlyle said for every 100 people who can handle adversity, I can find you one who can handle riches.
Augur prays “God give me neither poverty or riches…”
In vs. 9 Augur give his reasonsf or his prayer… “He says God don’t give me poverty as I may be tempted to steal and to dishonor your name….”
Jean Valjean the lead character in Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables is impoverished as is his sister and her children. The children are crying out for bread and Jean Valjean though an admirable man of typically great integrity ends up walking past a bakery after hours, sees a loaf of bread and punches a whole through the glass to steal the bread. He’s arrested and imprisoned…
There are unique anxieties, pressures, and temptations one faces when one is in poverty…
So, generally speaking it is wise to pray that we avoid poverty.
But, Agur also prays this counter-cultural prayer that he will not fall into great riches.
He also gives his reasons.
Vs. 9 Otherwise… I may have too much and disown you…
Agur is concerned that if he has too much wealth, his money will become his security, his real god, and as a result he will disown the living God.
Jesus warned us against putting our security in money.
Jesus taught us that money can easily take the place of God in our lives.
He warned us that we cannot serve both God and money because both will demand our absolute allegiance…
Jesus warned about the subtle, powerful pull money has over us. If you’re committing adultery, it’s not like as you’re making love someone you say part way through--oh… you’re not my wife…. But, the greed god is very subtle, it creeps us on very gradually… this is why Jesus says in Luke 12:15 watch out for all kinds of greed…
Nearly half of Jesus’ parables concern money and there are more 4x as many verses in the New Testament on money that on prayer.
I’ve been talking rather abstractly about how money become a god, so let’s be more specific.
So how can money act like a god?
The “money god” like the living God has the power to re-shape our values and character.
In Proverbs 11:1 we read that the Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. Money power to makes us compromise our soul.
I remember being in Boston one night a few years ago and it’s late between 11 p.m. and 12 p.m. I’m in the car with some other people… I go through a toll which I believe was $5 dollars, and I reached into my travel pouch and pulled out a bill and handed it to the man in the toll both… the man’s eyes brightened, a subtle smile creep up the sides of his face, I sensed (and I know this sounds judgment) this air of evil… I thought nothing of it…. until… later when I checked my travel pouch and realized I had given a $50... in the dark instead of five…
And what troubled was not so much losing $45 US dollars, but that person willing to compromise his soul for $45 (I gave him $50 instead of $50, but presumably $5 in the till to balance the stash).
As we now from high profile government, corporate, church and much lower profile failures of integrity, people will allow money to re-shape their values and character….
A second way in which “money god” tries to mirror the living God is that it promises to provide us with security…
The Proverbs 18:11 tell us that wealth of rich is their fortified city .
It’s their place of security. A lot of us at a subconscious level put our security in our money.
If we have money in the bank, investments… we feel this sense of safety.
Many Christian people hesitate to tithe (responding to God’s call to give the first tenth of their income to the work of God) or to give money generously to people in need, not necessarily because they are so greedy, but because they believe that there money is their security.
So, how else can money be like God?
Like the living God, money tries to offer us a sense of significance… Most of us are not as ambitious as Bill Gates or Jim Pattison, but a lot of us feel significant (or would feel significant) if we can our can eat at certain restaurants, have a certain style, be able to pursue certain recreational pursuits… it’s very subtle but we get a sense of significance from our ability to do this or that with money…
Like, God, the money god seems to promise joy and happiness…
That’s part of the reason why, as I alluded to earlier, the lottery is so popular…
But what does the money god deliver…? Well let’s go down the list? Does it shape our values and character yes. Yes, but in the way we like?
My seminary professor Haddon Robinson says that for every verse in the Bible that tells us the benefits of wealth (and there are some as we’ve said), there are ten verses that tell us, the danger of wealth, for money has a way of binding us to what is physical and temporal (prop rope), and blinding (prop) us to what is spiritual and eternal.
Does money offer security? Real security?
My wife, a former journalist in Japan, observes that in Japan a country has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world says if you grow up without much money, it’s not going to hurt you (you might not have all the advantages), but if you grow up in a family lots of money… there’s a much greater chance of family dysfunction…
Money cannot save us from tragedy, relationship pain, and heart ache.
Does money bring a sense of significance and happiness?
Brad Pitt in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine says:
Hey, man, I don't have those answers yet. The emphasis now is on success and personal gain. I'm sitting in it, and I'm telling you, that's not it. I'm the guy who's got everything. I know. But I'm telling you, once you've got everything, then you're just left with yourself. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it doesn't help you sleep any better, and you don't wake up any better because of it.
Chuck Colson who works with both poor in prison and mixes with the wealthy and powerful says that it’s better to be than poor than rich, because the poor still think money will bring them happiness, but the rich know better.
If money has the power become a god in our life, but will not “deliver” what do we do?
One of the things that Agur prays for in vs. 8 before he dies is that he would be free of falsehood and lies. He is saying he wants to be a person of truthfulness and integrity…
Part of the way we avoid the fate of making money our “god” is to always act with complete financial integrity…
My professor Haddon Robinson grew up in Harlem New York. He grew up in a family that didn’t have much money… one time when he was boy, he and his dad were going to ride the subway and the person collecting the money at booth wasn’t there and Haddon as a boy we don’t to have pay! And his dad pulled his wallet to put money in slot… Haddon’s dad who had no theological training, said that just would be right.
Psalm 115 says if we follow the way of the idol, we will become like the idol… if bow down to money we’ll become spiritually deaf, dumb, and life-less like money… if we follow of the living God we’ll become like God.
On Wednesday I was in Boston to attend the board of trustees’ meeting for a seminary. When the cab driver dropped me off at the hotel, he said I’ll give you two blank receipts to fill in (expecting I could fill them both out and claim bogus expenses so I could be doubly re-imbursed!).
The Proverbs would say if you want to be free of money as your god, never, ever falsify your expense sheet.
If you want you don’t want money to be your god, never list time sheet more hours then you actually…
If you want you don’t want money to be y our god, if you business leader, never let you’re the bottom line become the bottom line.
Bill Lear was devastated when he learned that two Lear aircraft had crashed under mysterious circumstances. He'd developed the plane to offer business travelers a fast, economical alternative to the airlines. At that time, 55 Lear jets were privately owned. Bill sent word to all the owners to ground their planes until he and his team could determine what had caused the crashes.
To Bill, a Christian, risking the loss of more lives meant far more than the adverse publicity that grounding all Lear jets might generate in the media. He protected his customers.
As he researched the two ill-fated flights, a possible technical problem emerged. Bill experimented with his own plane to recreate the same problem. He nearly lost control of the jet in the process, but found that a defect in the plane's mechanism did exist. All 55 planes were fitted with a new part, eliminating the danger.
Bill spent two years rebuilding the business.
According the Proverbs the wise person is willing to forgo profit to serve the common good, the wicked forgo the common good for the sake of profit.
Let your Christian influence shape how you work with money from M-F 9-5 and in every other hour of your life…
If you want you don’t want money to be y our god, honor the real God with your wealth by living a life of integrity, by honoring your financial commitments.
Pay people what you’ve agreed to pay them…whether your suppliers, employees…
Don’t’ spend more than you can pay on your credit card.
If you want you don’t want money to be your god and money to bring you God, to those who would consider yourself followers of Jesus (everyone else relax and eavesdrop if you want), honor with your money.
In Proverbs 3, the Scriptures honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of your crops…vs. 10 then your barns will be filled to over flowing and vats will brim over with new wine.
One of the most powerful ways we can say that God and not money is our God is by honoring God our first fruits, the first tenth of our income, which the Bible calls the tithe… because our tithe is an extension of ourselves, when we offer it, we are saying, we are putting our trust in God not in our out money…
Richard Foster says When we let go of money, we are letting go of part of ourselves and part of our security and putting it in God. It produces an air of expectancy as we anticipate what God will lead us to give. It makes life with God an adventure in the world, and that is worth living for and giving for.
I would encourage faithfully, particularly if you’re in one two situations…
If you’re financially tight…
Someone I know said one of the things I can do to express my gratitude to God is to tithe… sometimes it’s difficult when things are financially tight to tithe, but one of the things I can to express my thanks to God is to honor in this way.
When things are tight, it’s tempting to short-change God, perhaps that’s one of the reasons why Augur prays he wouldn’t fall into poverty.
When I started in ministry, I was making $200 a month (US dollars). I felt I had to tithe more than $20--at least 21 dollars… as way, I of demonstrating to God and me that I was putting my security, in God, not in my money.
Second time I would particularly encourage you to tithe is when you making a lot of money…
When I was 2 years out of undergrad, making the equivalent of a 6 figure salary… People (none of them Christians) were telling me, “You seem to be becoming more materialistic, I stared to think I need to give more… more away….”
For a lot the more they make, the harder it is to tithe… Every giving study suggests that more money people make the less they give as a percentage of their income…
A man who came to Peter Marshall, a pastor and then well known chaplain of the US Senate, with a concern about tithing. He said: "I have a problem. I have been tithing for some time. It wasn't too bad when I was making $20,000 a year. I could afford to give the $2,000. But you see, now I am making $500,000, and there is just no way I can afford to give away $50,000 a year."
Dr. Marshall reflected on this wealthy man's dilemma but gave no advice. He simply said: "Yes, sir. I see that you do have a problem. I think we ought to pray about it. Is that alright?"
The man agreed, so Dr. Marshall bowed his head and prayed with boldness and authority. "Dear Lord, this man has a problem, and I pray that you will help him. Lord, reduce his salary back to the place where he can afford to tithe."
The tithe is technically just a tenth, but the spirit of the tithe to give sacrificially and in faith…for most of us to give 10% of our income is a sacrifice and that’s the point… and if you’re making money such that it’s no longer a sacrifice, in terms your lifestyle, you’ve got to give more than a tenth, give until it hurts in some way… That’s hard, but Jesus said, in parable the features stewarding our Master’s possession, that to whom much is given much will be required…
Be generous with your money to God and to others…
Gerald May says that money can be an idol, but it can also be an icon… something that that reminds of God…. if we use our money to honor God and bless people…
If you don’t want money to be your god and your money to bring you God honor God in your giving and be generous to people.
Someone has said, We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give….
Jesus says in Luke 16 said use your money on earth… to bless others and you will be welcomed in eternity by them.
If you bless financially they carry that memory into the next life…
(illustrate with people right there).
Money itself will not last, but what we do with money will last
How do we become that way people of integrity and generous with what we have?
By looking to Jesus.
According to 1 Corinthians 8, we read that Christ though rich became poor for our sake, so that through his poverty we might become rich…
When we center our lives on Christ and what he did for us by emptying himself of his wealth to become a human being and dying on the cross so that we might become spiritually rich… we can become people who can honor God and bless people with our money…
In the movie Saving Private Ryan… Ryan this grey haired elderly, World War II veteran accompanied by his family, searches for one particular grave, Captain John Miller’s, the captain who led his platoon to rescue private Ryan, laying his life and the lives of some of his men on this rescue mission…. When Ryan is at captain John Miller’s grave, he's overcome with emotion and gratitude and he turns to his family, and says, “Tell me I’ve been a good man, lived a good life…”
When we realize Christ didn’t just say I’ll tithe my blood to you, but gave his life… When this truth sinks deep in our heart and we see all he’s given us, like Ryan we become deeply grateful person, and we will become people who don’t serve money but God and people through our money. Martin Luther said the Gospel is just the ABC of the Christian it’s the A-Z it applies to each area work, money.
When we our lives are centered on Christ and what he did for us, money will not be our god, we’ll lead us to God as we honor him and bless people with it. As we look at Christ, we’ll find we have a reason to live and reason to give.
(The sermon can be heard on line at: www.tenth.ca/audio htm)
posted by Shigematsu at 7:55 PM
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