Godly Financial Management Part 2
Paying God Part 4
Scriptures: Luke 18:18-25; 21:1-4; 2 Corinthians 9:7
Introduction:
In my message last week I shared with you two situations Paul addressed as it related to the Gentiles and their relationship to the Law (which they did not have) and how some tried to make them come under the Law. I shared with you that tithing, as we practice it today, was part of the Law and therefore once again is not applicable to the New Testament Church as a requirement of the people. I also talked about Jesus’ parable about the talents and how God views our stewardship of the finances He places within our control. During our bible study lesson on Thursday, we spent some time discussing Paul address to the Corinthians pertaining to their support of the poor Christians in Judea. He did not ask them to tithe, he asked them to give from their hearts and through that type of giving they would be blessed.
I. Aligning Our Hearts
As a Christian I proclaim the blessings of God over my life. Each of us, when we accepted Christ and came into the knowledge of what that meant, came into the knowledge that our lives were in His hands and He was responsible for us if we chose to follow where He leads us. This decision requires us to place everything in His hands (once again becoming a slave) and believing that everything we receive comes through Him and belongs to Him. Once we have this mentality we change how we view, manage and release our finances. Our finances becomes a means to an end, not an end just for our needs, but an end to accomplishing what Christ would have us to do in this life for Him. As it relates to our giving back to God, we should be in a position to give freely because of the riches we receive from God through His grace. We know we do not deserve it, but because we are receiving it by grace it should motivate us to not waste it. What would we say to our child if we gave them their allowance and they spent it all in one day and then came back asking for more? We would use that opportunity as a teachable moment about managing their money better. God is trying to teach us the same lesson in order to stabilize our lives and to help us be in a better position to fulfill what He is requiring us to do for His kingdom. We are called to a life of service to Him; sharing with others; and being great stewards of whatever He places within our control. Let’s review one lesson Jesus taught us about money. Turn to Luke chapter eighteen and we will begin with verse eighteen.
“A ruler questioned Him, saying, ‘Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.’ And he said, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth.” (Vss. 18-21)
A rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus reminded him of what was written in the Ten Commandments and the man replied that he had kept them since his birth. It appears on the surface that this man is like many of us. We think about the things that we do and rate ourselves as righteous based on those things. But as the word of God tells us that God looks at the heart and in this situation Jesus looked at the heart of this man. Even though this man was keeping the commandments and feeling good about himself, his heart was not still fully aligned to God. You see, we sometimes feel that if we do some things well that is enough and we do not have to do some other things. God looks at what is driving the behavior and more important, what we truly value. Jesus knew what this rich man valued. Let’s continue on with the story.
“When Jesus heard this, He said to him, ‘One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor; and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Vss. 22-25)
Although the man had apparently kept the laws from his youth Jesus understood the man’s attachment to material things. He asked the man to sell everything that he had, give it to the poor and to follow Him. On the surface this seems like a harsh request but examine it closely. Jesus did not ask the man to sell everything and then live in poverty. Jesus invited the man to walk away from his material things and to become one of His disciples. Jesus gave this man the opportunity to be one of the chosen few to walk with Him and ultimately change the world. He could have been the 13th disciple for all that we know. Regardless, the man was so attached to his material things that he turned down Jesus’ invitation. This man made a decision that possibly affected his eternity. Jesus made it clear to him that he could have riches in heaven and this man chose to have his riches here on earth.
What should we gather from this situation? Jesus said that it would be difficult for a wealthy person to get into the kingdom not because of their wealth, but because of their heart’s alignment to the wealth. We must understand that we can have wealth as long as our love of it does not overshadow our love for Christ. In the story this man was following the law and feeling good about himself but Jesus told him he was still lacking. What was he lacking? He was lacking the desire to walk fully with Christ separate from his riches! We have the same opportunity as it relates our heart’s alignment to Christ. We can say that we love and follow Him and actually do so in some areas, but do we do it with every area, especially our wealth? The reason I raise this is because it is our wealth that enable us to fund the work that needs to be done. If our hearts are not aligned to Christ as it relates to our finances, we are just like this rich man who although he followed the law, he loved his wealth more. We can do a lot of work in the Church and try to make those things equate to our giving and it will not happen. Wealth can be an enemy of our faith as it can choke it and cause us to be unfruitful. Sometime wealth generates more greed to have more or to keep what we have. Jesus said no man can serve two masters (Luke 16:13) and sometimes wealth competes with our allegiance with Christ as it may cause us to seek our own desires rather than the needs of the kingdom. But it does not have to be this way.
One more point before I leave this story. After those who were present heard what Jesus said to this man some asked who could be saved. This question was probably motivated by the fact that to most people this man had to be saved because of his adherence to the law. But again, Jesus looked at his heart. To answer the concern about who can be saved Jesus said that with God all things are possible. There are many wealthy Christians who give a lot of their wealth to Christ’s work so as Jesus stated, with God all things are possible and there will be many wealthy individuals who will make it into the kingdom. Turn to Luke chapter twenty-one.
II. A Heart To Give
This story is recorded twice in the New Testament (also told in Mark 12:41-44) and I believe that it is recorded as a critical teaching for the followers of Jesus. In this story what is being given is not a tithe but an offering. Let’s read what happened in Luke 21:1-4.
“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-4)
Jesus was sitting and watching what people were giving in that part of the Jewish temple where women were allowed to come. There was in this part of the temple the treasury with its thirteen boxes on the wall. These boxes were called trumpets (because they were shaped like trumpets) and were there to receive the offering from the people. Notice, these boxes were not there for tithes but for offerings. Some of these boxes were marked with special inscriptions denoting where the offerings placed in them would go. As Jesus watched different people coming through, He saw some rich men come in and give an offering. Then He saw a poor widow come in and cast in two “mites,” the smallest of the current coins (our equivalent of a penny.) This was the smallest amount that could be placed into the boxes legally. There were rules pertaining to these offerings. When she gave this money Jesus knew that she was giving all that she had and she won Jesus’ praise. After she placed her offering into the box Jesus told His disciples that the rich men gave out of their surplus but she gave all she had to live on. Understand, the word surplus means the quantity remaining after what is needed. The rich men brought an offering out of what they had remaining after they had done everything that they wanted to do. They looked at what was left over and brought an offering from that. This poor widow gave all that she had left, to the point of giving what she had to live on. Jesus said that her gift was more because she gave all she had. In order for the rich men to match her gift they would have had to give all they had to live on and we know that would not happen.
This story speaks to the heart of the issue that Christians face today. I shared with the group during bible study that in the Church that I grew up in, every January they would post on the bulletin board how much people gave for the previous year. I always found it interesting that one family was always at the top (the father was one of the trustees so he knew what he would have to give to always be in the top position.) This “ranking” allowed for everyone to see what each person or family gave and I guess if you were at the bottom you were supposed to be motivated to move up. In my opinion this listing became a source for competition which I do not believe gave God any credit. As I said, this story speaks to the heart of the issue that Christians face today. We often give out of our surplus and while your offering is still acceptable to God it is not as great as when we give sacrificially. This woman gave all that she had – not because she was required to, but because she desired to. How blessed would the rich men have been had they gave to God first and then chose to live on what they had left over after they gave to God sacrificially! There is a big difference between giving a “required” offering versus a “desired” offering. Let me explain this before I close this morning.
III. Require Versus Desire
To keep this simple I want to share with you three definitions and I think by sharing these definitions it will make the point I need to make. Consider the definition of offering; required; and desired.
Offering: The act of making an offer. To offer means to present in worship or to present for acceptance. To present something in this fashion means to give a gift.
Required: To insist upon; demand; to order.
Desire: To long for or crave; to have a desire for.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:7: “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
By definition an offering cannot be required because an offering is something that is given by choice. A required offering is the same as a tax! The difference between desiring to give and being required to give is the motivation of the heart. A heart that has a desire to give is one that is more aligned to God versus someone paying a tax (required offering and/or tithe). If you get a bonus the Federal government has a flat tax of 25% on that bonus not including any state taxes. Being required to pay 10% to the Church is like paying a tax to the Church. Now if you desire to give 10% to the Church and you do so, that is perfectly acceptable to God as long as you’re also listening to Him for any other specific directions He might give you as it relates to your gifts to the Church. You are free to tithe to the Church, but if it is mandated then it becomes a tax and not an offering in my opinion. God desires that our hearts are so aligned to Him that we have a desire to give even when it might not be feasibly possible. But because the desire is so strong we begin to find ways to ensure that we have money to give back to Him. Not out of compulsion, but out of a desire to give. This is why during offering you often hear people ask God to “bless those who have a desire to give but may not be able.” It is about what is in the heart and how our hearts are aligned to Him. Do you see the difference?
As I close this morning I want you to think about your giving. Are you giving as a requirement or out of your desire? Remember, you can only freely give what you wish according to what is in your heart and that is what God accept and blesses.
May God bless and keep you.
