We are fooling ourselves when we think we are SPIRITUAL yet our TIME and MONEY reveals we are like the carnal people of this world who only care about cars, boats, campers, houses and clothes.
The way we spend our time tells a great deal about us. Because time is important to us, most of us wear watches so we can keep track of the time.
Illus: A man is at Grand Central Station waiting for his train that leaves at 6 p.m., but he has forgotten his watch. So he looks for someone to ask the time. He spots a guy carrying two suitcases and sporting this fabulous hi-tech watch, so he asks him for the time.
• The guy replies "Sure, which country?"
• The fella asked him, "How many countries have you got?" to which the man replies, "All the countries in the world!"
• "Boy, that's incredible. I wish I had a watch like that one. You wouldn't consider selling it by any chance?"
• "Well, actually the novelty has worn off for me, so for $900 it's yours."
• The watchless traveler can hardly whip out his checkbook fast enough to hand over a check for $900.
The seller takes off the watch and gives it to him. "Congratulations, here is your new hi-tech watch." Then, handing the two suitcases over as well, he says, "And here are the batteries."
Time is a very important part of our life, and the way we spend it reveals HOW SPIRITUAL WE ARE! But not only does TIME reveal our SPIRITUALITY, so does the way we spend our MONEY!
Illus: Herman and Henrietta were touring their brand-new house, a house that Henrietta had paid for with her money, a fact of which she often reminded Herman.
• In each room of the house, she said to her husband, “Herman, if it were not for my money, we wouldn’t be here.” Herman didn’t say a word.
• That afternoon, a truck delivered a load of furniture, furniture that Henrietta paid for with her money. After the furniture was in place, the couple toured the house again. As they observed each room, beautifully appointed and magnificently decorated, Henrietta reminded her husband, “Herman, if it were not for my money, this furniture would not be here.” Again, Herman was silent.
• Late in the afternoon, a truck came with a special piece of furniture which was to be the focal point of the den, a combination stereo-television-computer all wrapped into one gorgeous piece of furniture, which Henrietta paid for with her money. When it was in place, Henrietta again addressed her husband, “If it were not for my money, that piece of furniture would not be here.”
Finally, Herman spoke, “Honey, I don’t want to make you feel bad, but if it were not for your money, I wouldn’t be here!” (Harbour, Rising Above the Crowd, 7)
Our giving also tells a great deal about us. Just think about how much God gives us each day, and out of a heart of gratitude there should be a natural desire to want to give back to God.
Illus: Grandma, who appeared to become an ever-more intimidating personality as the years went on, was giving directions to her grown grandson who was coming to visit with his wife.
"You come to the front door of the apartment complex. I am in apartment 14T. “There is a big panel at the door. With your elbow, push button 14T. I will buzz you in. “Come inside, the elevator is on the right. Get in, and with your elbow, hit 14. When you get out I am on the left. With your elbow, hit my doorbell."
"Grandma, that sounds easy, but why am I hitting all these buttons with my elbow?" the grandson asked.
"You're coming empty handed are you?"
This is exactly what many do each week as they come to the house of God. God has blessed them many times with His goodness, and they come to see Him empty handed.
If you want to know something about SOMEONE, observe how they spend their TIME and MONEY. What does our Giving reveal about our Spirituality? It reveals:
I. WHAT WE THINK OF GOD’S WORD
For example, look at Malachi 3:10, we read, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
Notice, God the Father tells us to BRING. This is not a hard word to understand.
Illus: In fact, we all have seen people throw a stick in their yard and tell their dog to bring it to them. And the dog has enough sense to know what it means.
But it seems that some of the people of God do not know what this five letter word means.
Look at what God says again. Now this is not me talking, nor is it someone else, this is God almighty speaking. He says “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.”
I have come to the conclusion that the problem is not that folks do not understand WHAT IT MEANS, the problem is they just do not WANT TO DO IT!
Illus: When we were growing up and our brothers and sisters would tell us to do something, like “Bring me the newspaper”, we would look at them with the ugliest face we can make and say with great delight, “I DO NOT HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU!
But when our parents said, “Bring me the newspaper”, it did not matter what we were doing, we would stop what we were doing and bring them the newspaper!
WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE? We recognized the authority of our parents, but we did not recognize our brothers and sisters as having authority over us.
Illus: However, there are children today who do not recognize the authority of their parents.
Their parents can ask them to do something and they will say, with a frown on their face, “I am not going to do it!”
Listen, when those of us who grew up years ago see this done, we can’t help but think to ourselves, “I WOULD HAVE NEVER TALKED TO MY PARENTS LIKE THAT!”
Illus: There were two reasons we would not talk to our parents like that:
1. Because we honor them. We recognize God put these special people in our life to help us, not to hurt us
2. Because they would have slapped us down to the floor. When they got through with us, DHEC would have had an excellent case of child abuse against them
But we have children today who will talk to their parents like they were their worst enemy. These little monsters go to school and show disrespect to the teachers in the same way.
Illus: There was a time when if a child misbehaved and did not respect authority at school and got in trouble, they got a whipping at school and when they got home they got another one from Dad.
Notice, I used the word “whipping”, Because that is exactly what it was. It was not a “Spanking”, it was a WHIPPING! That is, we got whipped up on bad!
Illus: The reason that many children today are the way they are is because the “PUNISHMENT does not outweigh the Crime!” When the punishment does not outweigh the crime the child decides the act of disobedience is worth doing for the little bit of punishment, if any, for doing it!
• Some parents do not believe in punishment. Their children can be as mean as a snake, and they will not punish them, other than to say, “Johnny, you shouldn’t do that!” Listen, that is not punishment, Johnny already knew he should not have done that without anyone telling him.
But when he gets his bottom warmed up good, HE THEN WILL KNOW HE SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT!
• Some parent’s justification of not punishing their children is because they do not enjoy punishing a child.
Listen, only a warped person would enjoy punishing a child, but punishment IS A NECESSITY, and the children of parents that do not practice it will become as wild as a wild bull.
Prov. 22:15 “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”
• Some parents will say, almost proudly, “I do not believe in corporal punishment.” Listen, parents do not need to tell others this, all you have to do is look at the child’s behavior and you will know this already.
• Some of you parents need to quit reading “Dr. Spock’s” book on how to raise a child, and start reading the Word of God.
Illus: (Humor) Some parents do not like these kids wearing rings in their nose, ears, and tongue. Now listen, I kinda like that nose ring. I THINK EVERY CHILD SHOULD HAVE ONE, SO WHEN THE PARENTS SAY, “COME HERE”, THEY CAN GRAB THAT RING IN THEIR NOSE AND THEY WILL COME!
Our giving reveals our SPIRITUALITY in that it reveals what WE THINK OF GOD’S WORD.
Concerning OUR GIVING, God’s Word says, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.” If you are not SPIRITUAL enough to have the respect to obey God’s Word, this is something you are not going to do.
Some say, “Well, I give a few dollars each week”, but what does He say? He says, “Bring ye ALL the TITHES into the storehouse….”
This is why God’s Word commands us, in 1 Cor 16:2, “Upon the first day of the week (Sunday) let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”
Notice how fair God is, He tells us to give in proportion to what He has given to us.
Our Giving tells a great deal about WHAT WE THINK OF CHRIST.
Illus: A waitress in a restaurant makes her living on the tips she receives from serving customers. She is there to assist them so they will enjoy their meal:
• She is mindful of them and if she can bring them another glass of tea, she is right there.
• If someone spills something, she is right there.
• If someone needs a carry out, she is right there.
• If someone needs a high chair for a baby, she is right there. She does everything she can to please everyone at the table.
But did you know that there are folks who will let her serve them in these various ways, and not leave her anything? They depended on her for good service, and now when she is depending on them to be kind and leave a decent tip, they get up and walk away without leaving any tip. When a person does something like this, it tells me that this person has a real character flaw.
Illus: (Humor) Legislators need to pass a law so when this happens the waitress has the right to at least trip them going out the door.
But did you know that there are some who will reap the blessings of God all week long, and then come into church, and will not even put a tip in the plate, not to mention a tithe?
This tells me this person is not SPIRITUAL and they have a real character flaw. Malachi 3:9 says these are, “cursed with a curse” from almighty God.
“DO YOU BELIEVE IN CURSES PREACHER?” I certainly do.
Illus: One man had a great deal of wealth. If he had tithed on what God had prospered him with, he could have been a blessing to the work of God. But he was in his nineties and hard of hearing. He was so stingy with his money that when the offering plate passed by him, in a low voice he would grunt. He died with all that money God had blessed Him with.
But let me tell you what that cursed money did. After he died he left it to his only son.
• Inheriting all this money he left his wife and three children to marry another woman.
• His only son was in a night club one night and killed a man and much of his wealth went to lawyers trying to keep him out of the electric chair.
• Later on, his wife left him. Again, much of the wealth he had went to lawyers. His property was divided with his ex-wife, and she got half of everything he had.
• His health went bad and he spent much of this old man’s wealth on doctors. He later lost both of his legs, and today he is an old man in terrible shape.
DO I BELIEVE IN CURSES? I believe God’s Word, and God says that those who THINK SO LITTLE OF HIM that they would take the 9/10 He has given them, plus the 1/10 that belongs to Him, and spend it on themselves are, “cursed with a curse.”
God’s Word says, “Bring ye all the tithes…” When a person refuses to do this, they are revealing what THEY THINK OF GOD’S WORD!
Our giving also reveals -
II. OUR LOVE FOR GOD
Notice, first I wanted to mention to you about what we THINK of the Word of God. Why? Because when we THINK CORRECTLY ABOUT GOD’S WORD, we then will THINK CORRECTLY ABOUT GOD.
The Word of God reveals God to us.
Certainly, nature tells us a great deal about God, such as:
• Nature teaches us God loves the beautiful clouds
• Nature teaches us God loves mountains, oceans, rivers, ponds and streams
• Nature teaches us God loves flowers and trees
• Nature teaches us God loves birds and animals
Nature teaches us a great deal about God.
But if you really want to get to know God, you must get into the Word of God and READ IT and STUDY IT, and it will tell you about the wonderful God up above.
You need to attend church as much as possible and hear God’s Word preached and taught if you want to know about God. God put the church here for that reason.
Our giving reveals OUR LOVE FOR THE LORD! You see, the reason that people do not give to God is because they do not love God.
This is not what they say in words, but their actions speak louder than their words.
By looking at their lives we see that they love THINGS more than they love God. If you want to prove this, look at their check book register and it will prove they love THINGS MORE THAN THEY LOVE GOD!
Illus: Suppose when my boys were young, I took my pay check and bought all kinds of things for myself, but I would not buy groceries and clothes for them, but I would tell them often, “I love you boys!” Now after a little while and they have no food and no clothes, and I keep spending my money on myself and keep telling them I love them, they are going to say to me, “Show me, do not just tell me, show me!”
We can take our money and spend it on anything we want to spend it on, but when we obey God:
• We are OBEYING what He told us to do
• We are SHOWING that we really do love God more than we love things
Conclusion:
Our money can teach us a great deal about SPIRUTALITY.
Illus: Mother Teresa visited Australia. A young man was assigned to be her guide and “gofer” during her stay. Thrilled and excited about her coming and having the chance to be her guide, he could envision having opportunities when he could talk with her about her life.
But during her visit he became frustrated. Although he was constantly near her, he never had the opportunity to speak to her alone.
Finally, her tour was over, and she was due to fly to New Guinea. In desperation, the young man spoke to Mother Teresa. “If I pay my own fare to New Guinea, can I sit next to you on the plane so I can talk to you and learn from you?”
Mother Teresa looked at him. “You have enough money to pay airfare to New Guinea?” she asked. “Oh, yes,” he replied eagerly. “Then give that money to the poor,” she said. “You’ll learn more from that than anything I can tell you.”
Our money will tell whether or not we are SPIRITUAL!
Our giving reveals:
I. WHAT WE THINK OF GOD’S WORD
II. OUR LOVE FOR GOD
