Series: Saving For Life
I Have More So I Can Give
2 Corinthians 9:6-11
An economist was leaving his office building and saw a little boy sitting on the curb with a dog. The boy yelled at the economist, "Hey, how would you like to buy a dog".
The man was intrigued by this sales approach and asked the boy, "How much do you want for your dog".
The boy told him, "Fifty thousand dollars".
"Fifty thousand dollars!" the man repeated in astonishment. "What special tricks does this dog do that he can earn enough money to be worth fifty thousand dollars"? the man asked the boy?
The boy replied, "Mister, this dog never made a nickel in his life. Matter of fact, count what he eats I guess you could say you lose money on him every year".
The economist felt this was a good time to explain economics to the young man and expounded on how an item had to produce more income than it consumed to equal a puchase price ending with he might get five dollars from someone who just wanted a companion. Feeling he had imparted a very valuable lesson to the young man, the economist went on his way.
A few weeks later, the economist came out of his office building and the small boy was again sitting on the curb minus the dog. The man said to him, "I see you took my advise and sold the dog for five dollars".
The boy said, "No, I got fifty thousand dollars for him".
The business man was completely flabbergasted. "How did you ever get fifty thousand dollars for that dog" he asked.
"It was easy", said the boy. "I traded him for two twenty five thousand dollar cats".
I like that joke because it brings a little tinge of truth about the way people operate – everyone wants to have more than they have now and think they can do so in a short period of time if they will just find the right deal. The truth is that becoming rich overnight is like miracles: They happen but not very often.
We begin a new study this week as we approach our time of the year talking about giving and making commitments to give for 2010. Now I know that giving is a touchy subject for some people , and some people may not realize that Jesus taught about the proper use of money more often than any other subject – so If Jesus spent that much time on it then we should also pay close attention.
This is particularly appropriate today because we face some shaky economic times in our country – and a great number of people are having to rethink how they behave with their finances. We too must make sure our priorities are in line – sometimes we let them drift hoping to correct things at some future date and it just doesn't happen. So I want us to look into a refocused philosophy in handling what we have – consider that we are called by God to “Save for Life” or in other words we should be working to save our money and store it away as a method of preparing to really live.
First things first; every Christian must have a plan to give to the church from the beginning if they ever expect God to bless them with more resources. I think it is appropriate not only to take important passages from the Bible to help make this point but also consider the people who the passages were written to. In the city of Corinth during the time the NT was written was a place filled with massive wealth. It was one of the center points of worldwide trade – a New York city of it’s day where there were people from all parts of the world selling what they had. Such a place would attract business men and women, and would also be a large market for all kinds of services that people would want to provide for those with disposable income. It was a wealthy place and the church in that city would also contain people who were well off as a result. What most people did not have was the opportunity to make money – this was exactly what the people of Corinth had an abundance of. So keep that in mind as we look at the passage of scripture. 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
The Bible speaks of our wealth as more than just gold or paper notes, it is something which has great potential to impact the world.
I. The Pointless Pursuit of Money.
A. Some real reasons why it is logical to try and gain more money.
1. For power – Money does talk. People listen to those who have money. Banks loan easier to people who have money. Politicians listen, doctors, lawyers – yes there is a certain amount of power which comes along with money. Good people use it for good things. Jesus said in Luke 16:9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. So does Jesus want us to bribe people? No, he is acknowledging the way the world works and how a giving person is given attention to say what they want to say.
2. For security – if you have a reserve to draw from or resources to keep you afloat then you can survive during times where not so much is coming in. Joseph – saved for the famine and it gave the whole country security. Gaining control in hard times gives you confidence and peace.
3. For pleasure – Wealth offers you the opportunity to have greater comfort or experience things which are enjoyable. God – blesses us for our pleasure and so that we can experience some of the great things of life. As long as we are not acting sinfully or abusing the pleasure then having more means we can enjoy more.
4. For freedom – If you can afford to purchase rather than rent you will be ahead of game. If you can buy the top of the line that lasts longer you can avoid the repairs or replacements. If you can pay someone to do it for you, there is more free time. Having more will often mean more free time or less accountability to people who do not care for you or your family.
*All of these sound self serving but they have a good use or a good foundation which people have been tempted to abuse or place entirely too much importance upon.
B. The motivations of God’s people also have these elements but it should be tempered by faith.
1. Despite the great advantages wealth offers, the Bible warns us to be careful because money or wealth will lure us into trusting it more than we trust God. We warned to avoid relying on riches for true fulfillment or security.
2. Jesus taught people not to worry not because God would keep them from hardship, but as an exercise in relying upon God. Even those with great wealth worry about losing what they have so that is clearly not a life without worry. Jesus reminded the people of God’s Promises to provide and that only he could provide complete security in an unsafe world.
3. But he went a step further than that by reminding everyone that although they controlled wealth and possessions, God is the real owner of everything. When they have God’s possessions in their hands they cannot forget that he is watching and will ask them one day how they used those things.
*Without the clear understanding of why we have wealth and what its purpose is, the whole idea of saving and giving becomes a pointless exercise in good intentions without lasting results. For if you seek power, you can never have enough – if you look for security there isn’t a real lasting guarantee. If you want to have constant pleasure you will fail, and if you seek complete freedom it just will not work. People have been there, and done that, and they still aren’t satisfied. So the question becomes how do we take those desires and stay within the bounds God intends us to live? I think it means getting back to a more basic philosophy about the wealth we have – something that has been lost for quite a while. Something that businesses and even our government have avoided doing and many have fallen right along with them: A renewed push toward saving our money and wealth for a purpose.
II. Suffering from A Saving Slump.
A. Fewer people today are diligently saving their money. Why is it important for people to save their money?
1. Because the Debt mentality is common and growing.
*For quite a few years it has been very acceptable for people to use debt in order to gain something beneficial to their family. A home is so expensive that it takes most people 30 years to purchase one – but up until recently that was a very good investment because it not only gave you a place to live but also increased in value. But it also brought the country into the mentality of going into debt for all kinds of what was perceived as beneficial things – College costs went up because people were willing to pay the huge amounts to have a degree, our government borrowed money to pay for the things which it considered too important to let slide. So I owe, I owe, and off to work I go! When everyone is in deep it doesn’t seem as bad to be there yourself.
Proverbs 22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
2. Another reason is because delaying satisfaction is weak - As a country we are such a “get it now” culture that we can barely stand to delay getting what want immediately. That leads us right into a debt trap. It means play now and pay later – that might work for a while but when EVERYTHING is play now and will all come due later, then there is just going to be one big mess. Saving our money forces us to delay our satisfaction is a Godly principle – God tells us to save ourselves from doing the bad stuff now and the reward in heaven will be unimaginably great.
3. More people are willing to put their hope in the government to provide for their needs in the future. And it doesn’t matter if you agree with the politics of our current government or not, we should never expect someone else to take care of us no matter how often and how sure they promise to do so. Too often people have placed their reliance upon a large organization or upon the government for their future only to be manipulated and left with just enough to get by. We cannot be lax on our efforts to store things away for the coming need in the future and expect the government to take care of us no matter how much of a safety net they promise -it never quite works out that way.– we become the slaves to them as easily as we could some other lender.
*Listen to what the church in Thessalonica was told – 1 Thessalonians 4: 11-12 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. There should be a mindset of becoming more independent financially because it is just smart!
B. Even stepping beyond the concept of saving our money is the smart way to live, we need to refocus on our mission to be generous people.
*Today we begin our Stewardship campaign for Forest Dale and our 2010 budget the theme is “Saving for Life” because the challenge is to give at least 10% of your income to the church as a demonstration of your love and trust for God – and the Bible states that is one method of storing up treasures in heaven. The second half of that is how we should be more diligent in saving our money to stay out of debt and trust that God will give us enough that we can be generous with our family and those in need.
1. But there is a logical problem - to give generously from what you do not have is impossible and to give generously from money you have borrowed would be wrong on so many levels. This means that we should be committed to giving to God and saving so that we can be even more generous in the future.
2. Jesus gave a little hint of God's intention in a few of his parables – the one about the men who each received money they were supposed to use wisely – in Matthew 25 when the master returns to find a few of his servants doing this he says, 21 “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!”
3. According to Jesus, being faithful with a little bit means you will be entrusted with more – if we are wasting the current blessings and getting ourselves into trouble with a small amount, why would God give us more so that we just tangle ourselves even further?!?
So back to the passage in 2 Corinthians and notice how Paul connects their willingness to save and give to God's increased blessing in their life.
8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
I believe that we as people really have been made to give and that there are some great experiences which happen when we give that have been lost because of our struggle with managing what we have. But what if the solution to this problem was not about finding more income or cutting our expenses to the bone, but it was found in our attitude about why we should keep control of money in the first place. We should have a bigger reason for saving than fear of disaster or trying to obtain something which will eventually fall apart.
III. A Clear Cause to Work For.
A. This means rethinking why we should save. A deeper truth exists: an objective for saving our money is for so we can be more generous.
1. Refocuses view of our treasures. Because not only should we save our money to provide for our families and enjoy being able to purchase nice things, but to also to have the experience of being able to give generously to some really great things. Those treasures we are saving are about more than our own life – we are saving opportunities and possibilities.
2. Have a greater desire for cheerfulness. If you look at the people who have more than you do, it is tempting to think that they are much more cheerful – but really the ones who have cheerfulness are those who understand how wonderful it is to be on the giving end .
*I know you have seen the show “Extreme Home Makeover” where Ty Pennington and his crew show up to a person who needs some help with their dwelling and completely transforms their dwelling. You know “Move that Bus!” where they wait to see the reaction of the person after the house has been transformed. The whole crew that works on the house just has this incredible sense of purpose and joy because they know that through a combined effort. Now if you personally had enough to be able to do that for someone one, don't you think that would be the greatest experience? I believe that is the kind of life God wants for his people to live – on in which they are able to give at just the right moments and share a great joy with someone who needed it right at that moment. Really, can you think of something more noble and just a great moment than that?
3. Also we need to strive to be Be truly rich. More money does not make a person rich. There are those who make more than you do who also have twice as much debt – they appear rich but they aren't. Truly being rich means having a life of experiences and a larger impact. Paul states that he they would be “Rich in every way...” which means there are more riches. Those who have no family would consider those with many relatives to be rich. Those who have failing health would consider the healthy to have great riches. Those who live in turmoil consider those who have peace to be so much richer.
a. Do you want more than just money to be in your riches? Yes, who doesn't? Those things you don't pursue, they are gifts from God offered to his children who he knows are his and believe in being generous with what they have. Saving and giving are increased when God is involved.
4. The more we save the greater the opportunity to bring glory to God. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
In some parts of Mexico hot springs and cold springs are found side by side. And because of the convenience of this natural phenomenon, the women often bring their laundry and boil their clothes in the hot springs and then rinse them in the cold ones. A tourist, who was watching this procedure commented to his Mexican guide, “I imagine that these women think Old Mother Nature is pretty generous to supply such ample, clean hot and cold water here side by side for their free use.” The guide answered, “Not really. There’s a lot of grumbling because they have to bring their own soap!” (Bruce Howell, www.sermoncentral.com)
That's funny for two reasons: First because it is probably false but demonstrates a knowledge of human nature to always want more or second, it is true and it just shows how willing we are to overlook good stuff. The good stuff is God's gift to us, and when we have the opportunity, let's thank Him and point out to the world how great he has been to us.
