Malachi 3:6-10
“Can We Ever Earn Enough to be Happy?”
By: Rev. Ken Sauer, Pastor of East Ridge UMC, Chattanooga, TN
Are these tough economic times or what?
Stress.
Anxiety.
Fear.
These words capture well the state of mind of many of us today.
We have witnessed dramatic market losses, the collapse of the world’s largest insurance company, and many bankruptcies and mergers.
Every day seems to bring another piece of economic uncertainty!
A recent survey found that over three in four Americans are stressed about the economy and their personal finances.
Half were worried about providing for their family’s basic needs.
Over half of respondents reported feeling angry and irritable, and reported laying awake at night worried about this.
That’s good for the sleeping pill industry…but that’s about it!!!
The declining state of the nation’s economy is taking a physical and emotional toll on people nation-wide!
Our economy is depressed.
The entire country is depressed.
People are stressed to the max about money.
So, I figured, what better time could there possibly be to preach about tithing to the local church?
It’s interesting to note that the Methodist Movement, of which we are all apart, got it’s start during a time that England was in such bad economic straits that all the pundits were placing their bets on a bloody revolution!!!
The workers were mad!!!
Those who were out of work were even more angry!!!
And the business people were scared to death.
The Methodist Movement staved off a bloody revolution and helped bring England out of their economic crisis by converting the masses to Christianity, through which persons began to see the world and other people through a completely new lens!!!
The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, stressed honest business practices.
And the workers were given instructions and the motivation from God to work hard and cheerfully.
It got so good that Wesley became worried because the previously dirt poor Methodists were beginning to become wealthy…and wealth was a spiritual danger in Wesley’s eyes.
So John Wesley came up with the Methodist Stewardship plan:
“Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.”
And in keeping with that plan, the Great Awakening continued to take on speed.
Methodism spread like wildfire, and thousands were converted to Christianity across the globe.
We sure could use a Great Awakening today!!!
In the Book Justice in the Burbs: Being the Hands of Jesus Wherever You Live Lisa Samson writes: “I realized something about myself I never had before.
I spent loads of money.
And when I did that, I kept myself from helping others the way Jesus wanted me to.”
Are we keeping ourselves from helping others the way Jesus wants us to?
If so, we may be robbing God and robbing ourselves.
We live in an extraordinarily materialistic and consumerist society.
We are immersed in a culture that feeds an appetite for more and bigger, and it fosters the myth that self-worth is found in material wealth and that happiness is found in possessing.
Thirty-year-olds feel like failures because they don’t already have the kind of house and car that their parents own, and forty-year-olds feel unsuccessful because they aren’t millionaires.
My friends, this kind of thinking is killing us all!!!
Millions of couples struggle under oppressive levels of debt that strain marriages, destroy happiness, and intensify conflict and anxiety.
As one radio host says, “We buy things we don’t even need with money we don’t even have to impress people we don’t even know.”
Now how silly is that?
Jesus emphasizes that all money belongs to God.
For example, if we drive a company car, we know that it’s not our car.
It’s to be used for the company.
And God wants us to use our possessions with that attitude.
God is letting us use the money God gives us in order to reach the world for Jesus Christ.
What a relief that is.
Our money is not our money…
…it’s God’s money.
And it is only through God that we possess it.
As Christians we need not worry about trying to ‘keep up with the Jones’.’
That’s not what we are about.
What a stress-reliever!!!
What a load-off!!!
Jesus tells us: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet their heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?”
When people with different incomes are asked, “How much more income would it take for you to be happy” they answer in surprisingly consistent ways, saying that 20 percent more income would ease their burdens, help them buy all they needed, and bring security.
People earning $10,000 think an income of $12,000 will finally bring happiness, and those earning $50,000 think that with $60,000 they can finally get on top of things, and those earning $500,000 feel that with only $100,000 more income, they will finally have it made!
At the root, this is a spiritual problem.
We can never earn enough money to be happy when we believe that satisfaction, self-definition, and meaning come principally from possessions.
At some point, we must decide whether we will listen to the wisdom of the world or the wisdom of God!
Proportional giving and tithing enables us to look at our earning, saving and spending through the eyes of God.
It reminds us that our ultimate self-worth comes from our assurance that we are children of God, created by God, loved by God and saved by God!
When God’s eternal love-- revealed to us in Christ Jesus-- is the source of our self-worth…
…that’s when life really starts to become joy-filled and exciting!!!
That’s when true happiness begins!!!
When we stop worrying about money and possessions—we are set free to live—really live and give—really give our entire lives to God!!!
When we rob God we are really robbing ourselves!
The greatest beneficiaries of generous-active giving is the giver!
Giving increases our faith, frees us from anxiety, and brings us closer in our walk with God!
Sir John Templeton, chairman of the $15 billion Templeton fund is quoted as saying: “I have watched over 100,000 families over my years of investment counseling.
I always saw greater prosperity and happiness among those families who tithed than among those who didn’t.”
Giving the substance of our lives to God goes back to the beginning of Scripture.
It is what God asks of us because it is what is most healthy and good for us.
It is intertwined with salvation and worship.
“Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.
The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not.”
My Old Testament Professor used to joke: “Abel brought the Lord Filet Minot…
…Cain brought the Lord some old left-over broccoli.”
What are we bringing God?
Tithing means that, as believers—we give one-tenth of our income to the Lord.
In our Scripture Lesson for this morning, God says, “Bring the whole tithe into my storehouse…Test me in this…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
“Storehouse tithing” means that we give our tithe to God through the local church.
This is God’s designated storehouse!!!
And through your tithes, we will be able to better reach this community for Christ.
Currently, we are unable to pay our Conference Askings.
Much of the money sent to the Conference goes to world missions!
Did you know that the United Methodist Church is the biggest Mission Organization in the world?
And YOU are a part of that!!!
Through your tithes, we will be able to help people in over 150 countries around the world experience the saving message of Jesus Christ.
Through your tithes, the hungry are fed, the children and orphans are cared for and God is praised and worshiped because of it!!!
This is part of what it means to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth!!!
There is no doubt that we are living in difficult economic times…
…but, but…
…if everyone of us would at least tithe…
…this church would have absolutely no problem doing what we are called to do—reach this community and this world for Christ!
At Annual Conference this year we were told that if every church member would just tithe at the poverty level of income—our churches would have no financial problems.
One Sunday morning a pastor encouraged his congregation to consider the potential of the church.
He told them, “With God’s help we can see the day when this church will go from crawling to walking.”
The people responded, “Let the church walk, pastor. Let the church walk!”
He continued, “and when the church begins to walk, next the church can begin to run.”
And the people shouted, “Let the church run, pastor. Let the church run!”
The pastor continued, “and finally the church can move from running to flying.
Oh, the church can fly!
But, of course, that’s going to take lots of money for that to happen.”
The congregation grew quiet and from the back someone mumbled, “Let the church crawl, pastor. Let the church crawl.”
Brothers and sisters of East Ridge United Methodist Church, we can either fly or crawl.
Which do we choose?
We can either be wise or unwise.
We can either watch God open the floodgates, or we can hold onto what we’ve got—which is really “Robbing God,” our community, our world and ourselves.
A pastor got up at the beginning of a huge stewardship rally, held his hands up for silence, and said, “Friends, I have a marvelous announcement to make about our stewardship campaign for the coming year.”
He paused to let the importance of his opening remark sink in.
He then added with dramatic phrasing: “Friends, we have the money!”
A buzz of excitement went through the congregation.
He held up his hands for quite once again.
He finished, “Yes we have all the money we need.”
“Now all we have to do is give it.”
During this month of September, I will be preaching sermons on stewardship—stewardship of our money, and of our time.
On the last Sunday of this month, you will be given the opportunity to fill out a pledge sheet.
What will you give to God in this coming year?
Let’s all ask ourselves:
What defines my life?
Is it money?
Is it belongings?
Or is it my relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church?
I’m going to ask that we now go to the Lord in a time of silent prayer.
And as we do so I want us all to listen for God’s still, small voice.
I want us to listen for what God is instructing us to give to God’s Kingdom.
Let us pray: Change my heart, oh God. Clean me out inside. Make me new. Heal my desires. Help me hold my possessions loosely. Help me to love YOU. Teach me simplicity. Teach me generosity and help me to have joy! I offer my life to You.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
