BANKING GOD’S WAY: CONTENTMENT
HEBREWS 13:5-6
#bankingGodsway
INTRODUCTION… Back To the Future 2 Money Lesson
Back to the Future II from 1989 is a semi-solid sequel to Back to the Future (1985). Starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown, the second movie of three continues their time travelling adventures. They travel to 2015 and discover that Marty’s family is in ruins. Shortly after fixing the situation, Marty buys a sports almanac containing the outcomes of 50 years (1950–2000) worth of sporting events to make money in the past. However, Doc talks him out of it and throws the almanac in the trash bin, where the 2015 bad-guy Biff finds it and through a series of events gives it to his much younger self in the 1950s.
When Doc and Marty return to 1985, they find that Biff has used the sports almanac's knowledge for financial gain in the past which alters their present. Biff turns their town’s Courthouse Square into a casino with 27 floors, took over the town, got away with the murder of Marty's father, and later married Marty's mother. It is an absolute disaster that changed time and broke the space time continuum.
The moral of the story: Sequel stories are not as good as original movies, Top Gun excluded.
The real moral of the story: The love of money leads to disaster.
That moral sounds a lot like…
READ 1 Timothy 6:10 (ESV)
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
Today we are talking about money. My money. Your money. Cash. Coin. Investments. Savings. Spending. Material things. Stuff. It is important every so often to talk about money in church, not so that offerings will go up (which is what people think), but so that you and I keep a proper perspective on money and our possessions. I mean… just in 1 Timothy 6:10 the words ‘evils,’ ‘craving,’ ‘wandered,’ ‘pierced,’ and ‘pangs’… are all associated with money. We need to make sure we are banking God’s way. We need to make sure we have proper prayerful attitudes about our paychecks and profit or maybe even the lack of those things.
HEBREWS 13
A few months ago, Kelly and I led a ‘His and Hers’ Bible study through the Book of Hebrews. The idea is for husbands and wives to study the same Scriptures together in order to have good solid spiritual conversations at home. The men study one week ahead of the women so they can help lead and answer questions and have good discussions. At the end of the study, in chapter 13 of Hebrews, we came across a passage that hit me because I didn’t remember it was there. I remember Malachi 3 and God’s statements about tithing and stealing from Him. I remember passages in the Gospels where Jesus teaches about money and giving. I remember the passage in 1 Timothy 6 we already read this morning about ‘the love of money.’ In Hebrews 13, the writer of Hebrews throws some Truth our direction about money and I didn’t remember it being there. And yet, there it was. I went to my preaching calendar that I use and put down for today for us to look over Hebrews 13:5-6. Well, here we are… it’s today!
It’s only two verses from Hebrews 13 so I want to read the passage from different translations to make sure we get the verses in our minds. Also, since the words are on the screen, if you would please read them aloud with me as we reach each translation. Let’s read aloud together.
READ HEBREWS 13:5-6 (ESV)
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
READ HEBREWS 13:5-6 (MSG)
“Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?”
READ HEBREWS 13:5-6 (KJV)
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
TRANSITION
As we think about those verses, you and I have read some serious Truth about money. Let’s take a look at the nature of money, then talk a little bit about contentment, and then let’s look closer at Hebrews 13:5-6.
THE INSIDIOUS NATURE OF MONEY AND STUFF
When we think about money, we Christians like to think that the Bible tells us that money is evil and dirty and sinful. That’s simply not true. The Bible never once declares to us that money is evil. The Bible does tell us that money is a thing and has no value in it good or evil, but rather it is how we use it that produces good and evil.
Money is insidious because in and of itself it is not bad, but money is tied to purchasing and material wealth and the basics of living and luxury and so money can lead us to greed and discontentment and covetousness and excess.
ILLUSTRATION…knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/seven-signs-of-the-greed-syndrome-4624 [adapted]
So, how do we recognize greed? What does having money as an idol or priority look like? What does money getting the better of us look like?
First, we see overly self-centered behavior. Money and the pursuit of money creates in us selfish and self-entitled thinking which always says ‘me, me, me’ with very little regard for the needs and feelings of others.
Second, we note that envy and greed are twins. While greed is a strong desire for more and more possessions, envy goes one step further and includes a strong desire to want the things of others. Envy can come to anyone no matter how much money is in the bank. The Biblical word for envy of this kind is ‘covetousness.’ To ‘covet,’ means I want what you got.
Third, many times when money is the driving force in someone’s mind and heart we see a lack empathy. Wealth and money can create a disconnected nature with other people and caring about others and the feeling of others. Money can also make a person unwilling to take personal responsibility for their behavior.
Fourth, the love of money can generate in us discontentment and being satisfied is elusive. A person driven by money can truly believe that they deserve more, even if it comes at someone else’s expense.
Fifth, greed can make people experts in manipulation. The desire for profit or fame or success or an increase in wealth can lead them to take credit for work done by others. They can be charming, but their principal agenda is to have people around them that feed their ego and make them look good and sound good and increase their bottom line.
Sixth, material wealth and the desire for money can make people focus on their immediate needs and leave it to others to cope with the consequences. I want it so I buy it now.
And then seventh and finally, the pursuit of money and wealth can mean that moral values and ethics are compromised in order to achieve their financial goals. They look for loopholes or clever ways to cheat the rules and regulations that have been put into place.
Some of those are extreme characteristics, but I hope you see how all of them apply to someone who has money as an unhealthy priority. Self-centeredness and self-entitlement and a lack of care for others can be temptations and sins to deal with. A lack of generosity can be present.
ILLUSTRATION… A Miserable Millionaire [kentcrockett.com/cgi-bin/illustrations/ index.cgi? topic=Money (George Foreman, God in My Corner, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007, p.71-72)]
Whenever I think about such things, I always remember George Foreman. I think about George Foreman because in the mid-1990s he was my mom’s favorite athlete and celebrity. I called her this past week and asked her why she liked him. She said he always seemed giving, kind, and had a real great sense of humor and always had a smile on his face. We had to watch every one of his boxing matches and of course, we had to own a George Foreman Grill. Because of that, I have done some reading on him over the years.
Former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman and seller of a way cool grill, in his book God in My Corner (2007), explains how money couldn't buy him happiness. He writes:
“Before I met God, my attitude was about as bad as it could get. Even when everything was going well for me, I couldn’t see it. And I didn’t appreciate it. When Muhammad Ali fought me for the heavyweight championship, I received a five-million-dollar paycheck. That purse was an astronomical amount of money in those days, and would be worth many times more than that amount in today’s dollars. No fighters had ever been so well-paid in the history of boxing. You’d think that being a multimillionaire would bring instant joy to my soul. It didn’t. Because I lost the boxing match, I couldn’t enjoy my money. I had five million dollars in the bank, but couldn’t find pleasure in even one penny of it! I chose to see the worst in my situation, and my stomach was tied up in knots as a result. My sour attitude caused me to sink into deep depression, even though I was filthy rich. Five million dollars could buy me anything I wanted—except happiness.”
TRANSITION
Hearing the words of George Foreman and reflecting on Hebrews 13:5-6, lead me to the word ‘content.’
CONTENTMENT IS THE KEY
‘Content’ means a state of peaceful happiness or satisfaction. It means to be pleased and gratified and fulfilled. ‘Content’ means to be unworried and untroubled and at ease. Contentment is the opposite of all the negative aspects of money we have been talking about this morning. As we are thinking about banking God’s way, contentment is the key. Contentment is our goal and the proper attitude when it comes to money.
This is a Truth presented to us a few times in Scripture.
One is connected to a verse we’ve already read. At the beginning, I mentioned 1 Timothy 6:10. Well, in context, 1 Timothy 6:6-9 talks about contentment when it comes to money and material things.
READ 1 TIMOTHY 6:6-9 (ESV)
“But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
God tells us through the Apostle Paul that a godly attitude about money includes contentment about what we have and what we are given. Contentment is satisfaction with having our needs met. Contentment is the opposite of money attitudes that lead to ‘senseless harmful desires’ and ‘ruin and destruction.’ Contentment is a goal for us. Contentment is where our heart needs to settle.
Another emphasis comes also from the Apostle Paul in the Book of Philippians. Paul is reflecting on how the Philippian church wanted to help him, but could not get help to him when they wanted. He had an extended time of being in need. Paul says that it is only in Christ that he has found the ability to be content when it comes to money and material things. Philippians 4:13 in context tells us that only in Christ can we have a hope of being content.
READ PHILIPPIANS 4:10-13 (ESV)
“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
TRANSITION
God shaping our heart about money is at the center of contentment. This makes me think about an old story about a millionaire.
ILLUSTRATION… The Millionaire (http://www.generouschurch.com/207)
At a church meeting a very wealthy man rose to tell the rest of those present about his Christian faith. "I'm a millionaire," he said, "and I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my life. I remember the turning point in my faith. I had just earned my first dollar and I went to a church meeting that night. The speaker was a missionary who told about his work. I knew that I only had a dollar bill and had to either give it all to God's work or nothing at all. So, at that moment I decided to give my whole dollar to God. I believe that God blessed that decision, and that is why I am a rich man today." He finished and there was an awed silence at his testimony as he moved toward his seat.
As he sat down a little old lady sitting in the same pew leaned over and said to him: "I dare you to do it again.”
We have looked at the nature of money, talked a little bit about contentment, and now we need to look closer at Hebrews 13:5-6 which answers for us how we reach for contentment. It is in Hebrews 13 that we have some specific attitudes to help us bank God’s way.
ATTITUDES OF FAITH THAT LEAD TO CONTENTMENT
I think there are four basic attitudes in Hebrews 13:5-6 that overlap and help guide our hearts when it comes to money.
#1 ‘I don’t love money’
You and I have to decide not to love money. We have to decide that money is not a good motivator for our lives. We have to have some other goal for work and life and hobbies and sports and family other than making ‘the almighty dollar.’ The dollar needs to not be ‘the almighty dollar’ to us, but rather just a dollar. I think this is an active purposeful decision you and I need to make because money and stuff can slip in and grab our affections. We must decide ‘I don’t love money’ to bank God’s way.
#2 ‘I am content with what I have’
We also, because money is not the chief end goal of our lives, settle down the temptations in our hearts to want more and more. These are temptations that can come to anyone. Being envious and coveting what others have is the opposite of contentment and can become part of anyone’s heart and we need to watch for it and move towards contentment.
Contentment means you don’t have to have the latest and greatest.
Contentment means you don’t need six of one thing.
Contentment means focusing on needs and being thankful.
#3 ‘God is my Helper’
Building on having our love and priorities in the right place as well as focusing on contentment, we understand overall that all material things come from God. He is our helper. He is our provider. Understanding that all material things, jobs, money, cars, and investments come from the very hand of God pushes out selfishness and self-entitlement. Prayerfully knowing that the stuff you have comes from God and being thankful is extremely important in baking God’s way because when we think it is all about us, this leaves the door open for temptation.
#4 ‘I will not fear’
Life is not smooth sailing. We already read in Philippians 4 how the Apostle Paul said he knows low times and being in need and he knows high times and having abundance. A proper way to frame the low times and needs is not giving into fear. We don’t give into fear because God will provide. God will provide help. God will make a way. God will give us discernment in making financial decisions. We trust in God with our finances and this counteracts fear when we trust in money.
SUMMARY
Can you see how these four attitudes presented in Hebrews 13:3-6 guide our hearts away from making money a priority and towards keeping God as the priority?
‘I don’t love money’ added to ‘I am content with what I have’ added to ‘God is my Helper’ added to ‘I will not fear’ equals a Godly perspective about money. That is what we are after. As believers in Jesus Christ, He gets to have input on how money shapes our heart and how we spend the blessings He gives us. That is lordship.
CONCLUSION/CHALLENGE
I started us out today talking about Back to the Future 2. Those movies are all about having a time machine to go back and forth in time investigating and fixing lives. That is of course fiction. We don’t have a time machine. We don’t have a time machine to go back and fix financial decisions we have made or change our younger self to have a better attitude about money. All we can do is start today. I challenge you today to start today banking God’s way.
PRAYER
INVITATION
We talked about money today. Like I said at the beginning, it is good to talk about money every so often so that we have a proper perspective on money and our possessions. When we think about money, we can also think about debt. Let me mention one thing to you as we close and as I invite you to make decisions for Christ. A way to think about God and Jesus and the Bible and the reason for salvation is that you and I are in debt to God. Sin creates a debt between us and God that we are hopeless to pay. Jesus comes alongside us and willingly died for us to pay the sin debt between us and God. Accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is accepting His payment for your sins. We have been talking about money so putting salvation in those terms might make some sense to you. Come if you have a decision to make.
