LIFE: According to Jesus
09/25/2011 - Invest in the Kingdom
Americans have trouble handling money which shouldn't surprise us because we live in a country that has trouble handling money. Currently our national debt is 14.7 trillion dollars and rising by the second.
This week I read the final report of the 2011 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey and the results were less than encouraging. Almost half of all Americans give themselves a C, D, or an F when it comes to understanding personal finance. The annual survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, measures how Americans feel about things like budgeting, spending, saving, credit, retirement, mortgages, and debt.
Over half of all Americans don't have a budget or track their expenses in any way. In other words, over half of us don't know where our money goes which is often why instead of having too much money at the end of the month we have too much month at the end of the money!
Three out of four Americans are stressed about their finances, especially because they don't have adequate savings for retirement or for emergencies. They're not prepared for the future or for a rainy day event that may occur right now. And the average credit card debt of the typical American household is $15,799 at an average annual percentage rate of 14.89%. All that spells serious financial trouble for many of us.
Somebody has described the typical American as a person who drives a bank-financed car over a bond-financed highway on credit card gas to open a charge account at a department store, so he or she can fill up their mortgaged home with furniture purchased on the installment plan.
Someone else said, "When you think no one cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments. That's when the phone starts ringing!"
Part of the reason Americans have so much trouble managing money is because nobody talks about it. Marian Friestad, who co-authored the book Deception in the Marketplace says, "In the United States, talking about money is harder than talking about sex." It's the last thing we want people to know about us.
Hal Edwards, vice president of a firm that does financial counseling says, "People try to hide the fact they are having money problems. There's still a stigma attached to not paying bills or to owing creditors. People won't discuss it with even their closest friends or relatives. They don't feel comfortable saying, 'I have this problem.' And like any problem, you have to admit you have it before you can address it."
He then goes on to say, "Personal financial knowledge is very sketchy. It's not really taught anywhere. Some people learn traits like frugality from their parents. But if you don't have it at home, where do you learn it? Not in the schools. Some people don't get the tools and the knowledge early on, and if you don't have it, it's hard to catch up."
Where did you learn how to handle money? Did your parents sit down and teach you? If they did and they were wise with their resources then you've been blessed. But for many of us that wasn't the case. We've had to learn as we go and some of us have had to learn the hard way.
Thank God that Jesus talked about money. Jesus talked about money a lot because he knew that often when we have money problems it's not really about the money it's about what's going on in our hearts. Money problems are often a symptom of something much deeper.
Sixteen out of the 38 parables of Jesus are about money. Jesus spoke more often about money than about heaven and hell combined, five times more than he talked about prayer.
Jesus taught that the two most tangible indicators of our spiritual life are not how often we read the Bible and go to church, as good as those things are, the two most tangible indicators of the condition of our heart, according to Jesus, are the words that come out of our mouth and the way that we handle our money which is why there are over 2,000 verses in the Bible that deal with money and possessions.
So it shouldn't surprise us in a series called LIFE: According to Jesus that he would have something to say to us about money. This morning we continue that series with a look at the seventh and final mark of a disciple. The first mark was to love Jesus more than anyone or anything else. The second mark was to abide in his teaching. The third, fourth, and fifth marks all came from one verse, Luke 9:23, where Jesus says, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. And then two weeks ago Matt taught on the sixth mark of a disciple which is to love one another.
And now we come to that seventh mark of a disciple and its stated best in Matthew 6:24 where Jesus says, No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
You cannot serve both God and Money. The seventh and final mark of a disciple is a commitment to investing our resources into God's kingdom.
Martin Luther, the great reformer, once said that three conversions are necessary for a person to follow Jesus ... the conversion of the heart, the conversion of the mind, and the conversion of the purse. And John Wesley liked to add that the last thing to get converted is our wallet. And for most of us that's true. That is the final mark. That's when we're all in!
God wants our money, not because God needs our money, but because God wants our heart which is why Jesus also said in Matthew 6:21,33, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also ... But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well..
Jesus knew that money is more than just a means of exchange. Money is more than just paper and coins. Money, which can accomplish great good and do wonderful things when it's used properly can also cause devastating destruction and tyrannize our lives. It can enslave us. It can master us. It can become the money monster.
Money is not a god worthy of our worship. Hopefully the great recession that we've experienced the past few years has taught us some of that. Money can tempt us to want things we don't need and to buy pleasures that don't satisfy. It makes promises it can't keep and never allows us to be content. Money is like a drug. The more we get, the more we want, until we're never satisfied which is why Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God and Money." You have to choose your master.
So, in the time we have left, I want to give you four concepts that will help you check your financial literacy against the priorities of Christ and his kingdom, four concepts that can free us from the money monster. These are time tested concepts that I've shared with lots of people in all kinds of settings over the years. And they're concepts that work no matter how much or how little we have because they're not about amounts they're about values and priorities that free us to invest in God's kingdom work.
The first concept is that God owns everything so we honor God first with our resources.
Psalm 24:1 puts it this way, The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
James puts it this way in James 1:17, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.
Everything we have comes from God. God owns it all. We don't own anything even when our car is paid off or our mortgage is satisfied. Everything we have is God's and our responsibility is to manage what he has given to us. The Bible calls that stewardship.
And the first way we do that is by giving back to him. From cover to cover the Bible makes it clear that our first financial obligation is to the Lord and in every passage where giving is mentioned there's always the promise of reward either in this life or in the next. And often that reward is peace and contentment which is really what we're all looking for.
Look at Proverbs 3:9-10, Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
The key word is "firstfruits." In Israel's agricultural economy "firstfruits" meant that you literally brought the firstfruits of your wheat harvest, your grapes, your olives, your figs, your sheep to the priest who lived off them. The priests in Israel were engaged in full-time ministry and didn't have the time to farm or earn any other income, so they relied on the firstfruits of the people for their livelihood. Giving to the priests, giving to the spiritual leaders in the community, was like giving to God. It freed them up to serve the people. And there's a promise of a very tangible reward. Your barns will be filled and your vats will brim over.
In the New Testament the principle is the same. Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.7Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
In this passage the emphasis is on our attitude in giving, not on the amount we give. One reason we don't pass an offering plate on Sunday mornings is because we don't want you to feel compelled to give. Instead we want you to give willingly, thoughtfully, generously, and cheerfully. That's what God honors. Paul uses the analogy of sowing and reaping to say that if you want to reap the blessings of God sparingly then give sparingly, but if you want to reap generously, then give generously. Wouldn't it be nice to have "all that you need" and be content with that? That's God's promise to those who give this way.
How does this apply to us? Well, if Valley View is your church community, the place where you're nurtured and cared for spiritually, then giving to Valley View is giving to God. He wants it to be your first financial priority. And God will bless you for that and move you towards contentment and together we'll see God do dramatic things around here like giving us a building on seven acres of property free of charge. I believe that if we obey this first key concept as a church we will always have plenty of resources around here to do what God wants us to do.
We also have a Community Care Fund that we use to help those in need and some of you designate an additional gift each month to that fund. That's also giving to God. I love how Proverbs 19:17 puts it, Those who are kind to the poor lend to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done. How's that for a promise! When we give to those in need we put the Lord himself in our debt.
Putting God first is the most important thing we can do to manage our money well and be released from the power it can have in our lives. When we give our money away we're saying that we're in control of it, it's not in control of us. Giving to God sets us free from the money monster more than anything else I know. And that's why God says," Give! Give generously."
The second key concept to financial literacy is paying our bills quickly.
Proverbs 3:27-28 says, Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. 28Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"-- when you now have it with you.
Paying our bills quickly is wise stewardship and that includes paying our taxes. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 13:7, Give everyone what you owe: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
We need to be honest and report all our income. Claim all our exemptions, take all our deductions, but pay all our taxes. And then we need to pay our bills. And that's a big problem in our culture, because every day we're encouraged to buy now and pay later. Every day we're enticed to live above our means. And when we swallow that lie it's easy to get over extended and get deep into debt. And when that happens we're trapped.
Proverbs 22:7 says, The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. Nothing enslaves our lives like debt. And if we're in debt we need to get out of it as fast as we can. And to do that we need to ask two questions.
First, "how do I get out of it?" and then "how did I get into it?" Debt is not a sin. It's not always wrong to take out a loan for college, or for a car, or a house. We have a loan on this property that we're trying to pay off as fast as we can. But ongoing consumer debt is often the symptom of a deeper issue like greed or selfishness, impatience or fear, a poor self-esteem, lack of discipline or something else. So when we're tackling our debt we not only need ask how to get out of it, but what got us into this mess in the first place.
This is when we need to do what most Americans don't do and that's talk to somebody about it because the money monster thrives on secrecy. Find somebody you can trust and talk to them about your finances. You may start by talking to a good friend and then a financial adviser or a counselor to help you devise a plan and help you work on the real issues that got you into debt in the first place. This is where, as a community, we can help each other.
The first key concept is that God owns everything so we honor God first with our resources. The second is to pay our bills. The third is to save for the future.
Look at Proverbs 21:20, In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but fools devour all they have. I like how the Living Bible translates it, The wise person saves for the future, but the foolish person spends whatever he gets.
The Bible encourages us to save. Saving for the future whether it's for a car, a house, a child's education or retirement is a wise thing. It's not in conflict at all with living by faith. Hoarding is discouraged in the Bible, because that's trusting in our stuff. And hoarding keeps us from being generous. Savings doesn't.
Now the way we save will be different for all of us. Some of us may save by putting a little extra money in a savings account or in a money market. Some will use a CD. Some will invest in mutual funds or perhaps in the stock market if they know what they're doing and can stay current on what's happening. There are many ways to save. You just need to know your time horizon and be comfortable with the amount of risk you're willing to take. And a good financial advisor can help you with that.
Which brings us to the fourth key concept in financial literacy and that's living below our means.
I love the way Proverbs 25:16, 28 put it, If you find honey, eat just enough-- too much of it, and you will vomit. 28Like a city whose walls are broken down is a person who lacks self-control.
What's vomiting honey have to do with managing our money? A lot. The point is moderation. Don't eat too much of a good thing. Control yourself. Don't spend too much. Self-control is so important if we're going to experience LIFE: According to Jesus.
Ron Blue who wrote the book Master Your Money says, "The key to financial success is to spend less than you earn and do it for a long period of time." Sounds simple, but it takes self-control to do that especially in our culture. But self-control is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. God wants to move us in that direction.
Jim Tehan, spokesman for a nonprofit financial health center says, "One-quarter of the American population are 'money abusers' ... We've found that money problems aren't about money, but about other life issues. When people have debt problems, it's not that they have credit cards or a mortgage. They are spending money unconsciously, using money not as a tool, but to escape problems ... People don't take good control of their finances, so they don't always know what their situation is. People who have financial problems are often in denial until there's one event that kicks in, when they can't get that next credit card or loan. When they're up against a wall, that's when reality sets in."
But it doesn't have to be that way. We don't have to use money to escape our problems. That's what God wants to help us with. And if we're honoring him with our resources, paying off our bills quickly, saving for the future, and living below our means we'll find great contentment with life.
So that's what the Bible has to say about financial literacy. How are you doing? Maybe you want to give yourself a grade on each one of those four concepts. And if you need help please get it.
Let me close with what the apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:6-10, But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For 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.
Is money evil? No. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Is it wrong to be rich? No. But a selfish, unhealthy drive to be wealthy which puts money above God leads to ruin and destruction which is why Paul commands those who are rich to be generous and rich in good deeds.
Listen to verses 17-19, Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
That's LIFE: According to Jesus. The seventh and final mark of a disciple is a commitment to investing our resources into God's kingdom.