GAIN YOUR MONEY CORRECTLY
MATTHEW 25:14-30
INTRODUCTION:
VIDEO CLIP: INTOLERABLE CRUELTY - 2:03
1 Tim. 6:10 "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." There are some who will do anything, even as referred to in that clip: marry again and again, just for the love of money. Now, notice that God, in 1 Tim. 6:10, doesn’t say money is evil. Money is neutral like fire, it can warm you or burn you depending how it is used. But the stark reality, the honest truth is that you will never have enough money or things to satisfy you. Our two characters in that clip had used and abused people, one marrying & divorcing for the purpose of getting hefty settlements and the other making money representing them, and yet they still felt unfulfilled. They could of used this scripture: “Ecc. 5:10- "Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness."
Please understand that God wants our best. He wants us to be content, fulfilled. So, this morning I want us to look at Matthew 25 where Jesus tells a story that has many applications. One of those is about the proper way to gain money. If you have been with us for the first two parts of this series you will remember that God is interested in all aspects of our possessions. How we spend it, invest it, give it away and how we gain our possessions. (Insert) A wealthy land owner entrusted 3 servants with a portion of his estate and then went on a journey. He gave 5 bags of gold to one servant, 2 to another & 1 to a third. Some of your translations these money amounts talents. Some research suggests that in Jesus day a talent was worth about $1000 in today’s currency. So, this money, these bags of gold, were worth approximately $5, $2 & $1,000 respectively. The point here is that this is not chump change, it is something valuable and represents any kind of resource we are given.
So, each servant is given an amount and after a time the master returns and asks for an accounting. Both the man with 5 and the man with 2 bags had doubled their trust and the owner was very pleased. But the man with 1 bag was afraid to risk and intimidated by the competition simply buried his talent in the ground and returned it as it had been given. The owner was very displeased wit him. Notice vss:26-27- "You wicked and lazy servant! ...you could of at least put my money in the bank where it would of gained some interest." That servant was cast out of the owners presence. So, from this story let’s see three principles about gaining money correctly.
I ask you to please listen carefully this morning. There are some people, who eager for money, fall into a trap of greed. On the other hand I’ve known some Christian people who think if they were really spiritual you would have no ambition for money. They think poverty and spirituality are synonymous, and they go through life feeling guilty about what they have or being critical of those who have more. I think that Jesus gives us a balanced view of earning and investing money.
I. KEEP YOUR FAITHFULNESS FIRST:
The first principle is: You make sure you keep your faithfulness to Jesus Christ first. Let’s remind ourselves of a principle that we discussed last week. Please remember the principle of stewardship. A steward is simply a user, a manager of what someone else has given to them. Vs:14 Jesus said- "...the kingdom of God can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a trip." So, God here is the owner and we are the servants. Jesus is saying that God has entrusted His possessions to us. In fact, if you live at the poverty level in America, and you live a normal life span, by the time you die at about age 72, even at the poverty level, you will have been entrusted with over a half a million dollars. If you happen to do much better than that, say you average $25,000 a year in income and retire at age 65 you will have been entrusted with approx. $1.25 million. So the stewardship principle simply says that whatever you have, has been given to you by God. Just as in this story, where the talents were given to the servants to use for the master, so everything that we have, our cars, our houses, our children, our bodies, everything.. has been given to us by God & we’re to manage it, use it in a way that is pleasing to the owner.
And that brings us to the principle of Divine distribution. Notice in Jesus’ story that each man was given a different amount. V:15 tells us they were given money, "..in proportion to their abilities." Jesus is teaching us here that the amount you are entrusted with varies and the financial ability God gives you varies. I think if we were to tell this story we would not have divided the money among the men unequally. We would of started everybody out with equivalent amounts in order to demonstrate that "all men are created equal." So we would of distributed our $8k by providing 3 for the first, 3 for the second and then we would of borrowed 1 from the government in order to give 3 to the third. But Jesus knew that all are not created equal. Please understand: All people are equally important to God but we are not all born equal. We have different physiques, different temperaments, different abilities and the point may be made here that certainly some people have more ability in handling finances. Maybe you are a “5 bag” manager, you seem to have an innate gift to handle finances well. Now, on the other hand, some of you are not extremely gifted in the area of finances, in fact, you think God has given you the gift of spending. You know, the Lord said "don’t lay up treasure on earth," and so you’re being obedient to that. But the point is that everyone has been given some ability.
But He also wants us to respect the principle of ultimate accountability. Not only is everything we have given to us by God, not only has God given each of us at least one ability, but we all are to develop our abilities and use our resources in a way that is pleasing to Him. Because one day He is going to take an accounting. Notice in the story that the master comes home and goes to each servant to see how they did with his property. He was pleased with the first two servants. V.20 - “The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of gold said, `Sir, you gave me five bags of gold to invest, and I have doubled the amount.’” In v:22 we see that the man given two bags doubled his also. And notice that v:21 & v:23 are identical. The master’s response for both these men is exactly the same.. verbatim. “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together.” You see, God is not going to judge us on how much we had but on what we did with what we had. God knows your opportunities, he knows your abilities, he knows your background and He will judge you fairly, but judge us He will. And if we are found wanting in our stewardship, like the 3rd servant, God will not be pleased. That is why it is imperative that we put faithfulness first. Truly we can count on God’s faithfulness to us. But the question this story poses to each of us is how faithful are we being to Him?
I think Eph.4:28 is a key verse in this matter. It says: “If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need.” In this verse you can find four criteria that God will consider in evaluating our stewardship. (1) God is going to judge our motivation. You see, we don’t work out of selfish motives. We don’t work just for ego gratification or to be able to indulge ourselves. Our motivation he says, is so we “..give generously to others in need.” Ron Blue says that the primary motivation for getting out of debt is to be able to say, "Great! Now I have some extra money, who can I help?" We are to be growing to the place where our primary motivation for making money is to provide for the Lord’s work. (2) Another criteria for God’s evaluation is that we work at something honest and useful. "..using your hands for honest work.." There are some jobs where you can make money but they are not honest but harmful and God is not pleased. Marrying for the purpose of settlement or in an even more extreme case, selling pornography or prostitution or drug dealing. To anyone involved in an occupation that is harmful to society & God is saying, "When you work, you do something that contributes in a positive way." (3)The next criteria for our judgement is that diligence or effort is expected. “..you are to "work." You can’t read the Bible without understanding that the Lord has little patience with laziness. You don’t hear people called lazy anymore, they just have a high leisure level. I think laziness is a factor in why so many today are looking for get rich schemes. So con men deceive, gold diggers marry, gamblers play the lottery or go to the track, opportunists look for chances to sue. You know the reason? Because get rich quick schemes don’t take any character. The purpose of work is not just to provide needs but to develop character. But if you can get rich quick you don’t have to work and you don’t have to wait & you don’t have to trust. Pro.28:19-20 "Whoever works his land will have plenty to eat. Whoever chases unrealistic dreams will have plenty of nothing. A trustworthy person has many blessings, but anyone in a hurry to get rich will not escape pain."(GW) The (4) criteria that integrity is crucial. "If you are a thief, stop stealing." This may be the most important area for those of us who want to please God. There are all kinds of ways for people to steal.. cheat the government, cheat their employer, cheat the employee. May I encourage you to make all of your business dealings above reproach? You stay out of any "gray" areas, you go the extra mile to make sure there are not little pinpoints of dishonesty. Pro.13:6- "Righteousness guards the man of integrity.."(NIV) You see, for the committed believer, Jesus Christ is not just Lord on Sunday morning but of every moment. And few things will test your character like the opportunity to make money. So when a temptation for laziness or dishonesty, no matter how trivial it may seem, comes in your path, would you remember that you are a temporary trustee of God’s possessions. One day He is going to require an accounting of your motivation, your usefulness, your diligence and your integrity and 1 Cor. 4:2- "Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful." No matter the consequences, no matter the risk, no matter what.. you put faithfulness first.
Now, I’ve spent a lot of time on this point because I think it is the major lesson from this story about gaining money correctly. But there are two more principles to deal with, albeit a little more briefly.
II. KEEP YOUR AMBITION BALANCED:
The second principle is: Keep your ambition balanced. Notice two things that Jesus teaches here about ambition. (1) The man with 5 bags and the man with 2 bags of gold wanted to increase their yield and the owner didn’t say they sinned by that desire or action. You see, there is such a thing as correct or controlled ambition. It was expected by the master that his servants would want to enlarge their return. And God has placed within each of us the desire to excel and improve. When Bob Hayes broke the world record in the 100 yard dash, he ran it in 9.2 seconds. He was interviewed immediately after he had broken the record and the reporter asked him how he felt. Hayes responded, “You know, I think I can do it in 9 flat.” Bernini, a great sculptor was once asked what his greatest masterpiece was and he said, “My next one.” When I first started in ministry I would spend 4 or 5 hours preparing a sermon and practice it once or twice. Now I spend as much as 25 hours in preparation. I practice it once Saturday morning, once that night, I get up at 5:45am on Sunday morning so I can run through it twice more. Why? Because I want to do better. I can’t read enough, I can’t listen to enough tapes on my passage and I can’t prepare hard enough to give you something relevant and applicable when you come in here. But I’m no different than you.. all of us have a drive to want to do better. It’s not wrong to work hard for something you want. Ambition is good because it maximizes our potential. Paul wrote in Phil.3:13- "I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and "(GW) Paul didn’t say, "Hey, I’ve already been on two missionary journeys and I’ve written a bunch of letters, I’ve preached for 10 years, I think I’ll coast." No, he says, “I lengthen my stride..” That kind of ambition is correct and pleasing to God.
But, there is such a thing as uncontrolled or incorrect ambition. John Dean wrote the book, Blind Ambition about politicians during the Watergate scandal willing to do anything, including burglary, to get ahead. Ambition that is out of control can be devastating to yourself and to others around you. Someone with a brilliant mind can be arrogant. An overly ambitious pastor can compromise doctrine for numbers. And the same principle can be applied to making money. To have a drive to make more money is not wrong. You see, this story teaches us that ambition is not wrong, being wealthy isn’t evil, but there is a Biblical balance. If you have the wisdom to make money that is a sign of achievement just as it was for these first two servants. But.. The Bible flashes all kinds of warning signs to those who want to get rich. Jesus said in Matt. 25:24 "...it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!"
Prov. 23:4 says it this way: "Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; be wise enough to control yourself." (NCV) Don’t become a work-alcoholic, don’t become dishonest, don’t work in the grey areas, don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Keep the ambition under control, have the wisdom to show restraint.
III. KEEP ANY PROFIT PLEASING TO GOD:
And that brings us to our final point. If you do well with money, you make sure you keep your profit pleasing to God. When the owner returned from his journey he was pleased with the two servants who had made a profit. But to the man that buried his in the ground he said in vs:27- "...you should at least put my money in the bank so I could have some interest."
You see, just like ambition, profit is not a dirty word. The entire American economy is built on the principle of making an honest profit and supplying needs. But because we have some who have given into the temptation of greed and have been corrupted there are some Christians who would advocate not having anything. insisting that any profit above what you need is evil. Now, profit can be evil when it is gained incorrectly or used selfishly. But having wealth is not inherently wrong.
In Luke 19 Jesus meets a man by the name of Zacchaeus. He was making a profit dishonestly but after having one lunch with Jesus he said, "Half of what I have I will give to the poor." Jesus didn’t say, "No, everything must go to the poor." He said, "Salvation has come to this house." Sure, Jesus had poor friends but he also had rich ones.. Mary, Martha & Lazarus were known for their wealth. Joseph of Arimetha who buried Jesus in his garden tomb was said to be very rich. Earning a profit is not evil, as long as that profit is gained honestly and used wisely for God.
Let me give you an illustration I heard the other day. Let’s suppose that I invent a new grass seed that will grow grass in any kind of soil and then stops at 2" high. I mean, it looks great, grows to a perfect height and I can make it for $10 a bushel. I put it on the market for $100 a bushel. Now for 2 bushels you can completely seed your yard and you never have to buy a lawn mower, never have to weed again & you save in your first year, over $300 in yard expense. You see the consumer has profited and I’ve profited. Now, you may be thinking that it should be sold for $20 a bushel, that $100 is greedy. But, you have to take into consideration, the years of research, the brilliant mind behind it, the cost of continued service and eventually the fact that once everyone buys it, no one else will need it.
But let’s go on with this illustration from a Christian giving perspective. Let’s say that this new invention makes me, in the first year, $200,000 clear profit. After expenses, after taxes, clear. Now, I have to decide what to do with that money. Well, I could give it all away, that would be noble. I could spend it all on myself, that’s indulgent. I could re-invest it all back in the business, that’s stingy. So, I decide that I’m going to do all the above. I’m going to give a fourth to each. So I give 25%, $50,000 to ministry, I put $50,000 away for my children’s education, I re-invest $50,000 in the company and then I with the last 50k I buy something for myself- a really nice new car. Now, all you see is the new car. But let’s say that my company does really well. Each year it does a little better and each year I use the same formula. But then it really booms and at the end of the 5th year I make $1 million profit. Now, I believe, as a Christian I’ve got to re-think my percentages. I don’t think putting another $250,000 into savings is right, because I’ve got $50,000 saved up already. But, I don’t feel right just blowing $250,000 on me. So, I’ll give half, $500k to the Lord’s work, I’ll save another $100k, I’ll re-invest $300k back in the company because it’s grown so large and then I’ll spend $100,000 on me. I’ll take my family to the world series which will naturally be in Atlanta this year and I’ll buy a RV. But all you see is the expensive trip and the RV.
Now, I use that illustration in order to caution us about two attitudes. (1) To those of us who don’t make near that kind of money, who don’t have as much, don’t be judgmental of others. Some people might say about some church parking lots, "Well, you can tell how materialistic or money hungry that church is, look at all the new 4-wheel drives and the ski racks on top of the SUV’s parked there." That’s a judgmental statement. You don’t know how much money they’ve given to the Lord’s work or saved or anything. Only God knows the total picture. It’s possible for someone to live in a $1 million home, have an expensive car, a cabin in Aspen, and still be good stewards of the money God has given them. In our illustration I gave 40% back to the Lord. So it is possible to have those kind of things and still be a good steward, but it is also very rare, it takes a very special Christian to do that. But don’t be judgmental because you don’t know what goes on behind the scenes.
But (2) let me address the attitude of those of you who may have or still make a good bit of money. Don’t be selfish if you have been blessed. A wise steward takes care of themselves and their families but he or she must set limits on spending on self, investing in self, saving for self. As the amount of earnings goes up, the percentage of generosity should increase & the percentage of indulgence on self should decrease. If that doesn’t happen then you may be close to falling into the trap of bigger barns, more elaborate vacations, bigger boats.. and your profit will not be pleasing to God. Paul wrote in 1 Tim.6:17- "(Don’t) trust in money which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who (listen to this) richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment." Just as a parent give their child a new bike and loves to watch them enjoy it, so too God gives some good gifts to us and wants us to enjoy it.. but listen to the rest of the verse.."Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them."
You see in the final analysis, it’s not a sin to be successful, as long as success is the bi-product of a fruitful life dedicated to God’s service. So, keep any profit you have pleasing to God, keep your ambition for things in balance and above all else, you keep your faithfulness to your Savior first. Then you’ll hear what is the greatest thing to hear about your possessions. Not, you’ve doubled your money or you’ve got more than you’ll ever spend, but from the lips of Jesus you’ll hear.. "Well done my good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together."
You see, the most important issue is not in what you have but WHO you have.. Because the greatest profit at the end of this life is to have God with heaven thrown in! Have you.... Got Jesus?
(All Scripture taken from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted)
