INTRO:
I’m a cheapskate when I go to fast food restaurants with my family. Instead of buying separate packages of fries for everyone, I usually try to save money by just getting one “biggie” size package. This works good for saving money. But with four of us trying to share one package, and two of those being children under the age of 10, and one being a man who doesn’t like sharing his food that much – it’s amazing how fast those fries disappear. Everyone wants to make sure they get their fair share before they are gone!
I’m amazed when I really think about this, because here I am, the father of the family, someone who has been a disciple of Jesus Christ for 25 years, and the urge to hold onto what is mine and make sure I have what I think I need is VERY strong.
In this 2nd part of the series on Money Matters, I want to take a look at what the scriptures have to say about this tendency of ours to hoard things. There are some people who live their lives always grasping onto the things they have – never sharing it with anyone. But there are also many people who read portions of the word of God and believe it teaches that it is wrong to save any money for the future. What I want to do today is to take a look a look at some of the major passages in the Bible that address this question, “Is it a sin to save?”
Does God want us to set aside money for future needs, or does he want us to simply “live by faith” and allow him to provide for us when the time comes? Let’s take a look at what the scriptures say, starting in Luke 12.
Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ’What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
(Notice he is already a rich man and now he is even richer! This man already has things put away for the future. Now at this point he has a number of ways to answer this question: give some of it away, sell it so that others can benefit from his plenty, or build more barns)
"Then he said, ’This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ’
"But God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
What’s Jesus’ main point?
1. Hoarding is a sin. (Luke 12:16-21)
When we give in to the impulse to keep everything we have – just in case we ever need it – we’re setting ourselves up to hear the words you never want to hear from God: “You fool.”
The man in the parable was already a rich man. He was not called a fool for being a rich man and having material things. He was called a fool because he never learned how much was enough. He never reached a point where he said – my needs have been taken care of, now I’ll use the blessings I have to bless others. Instead, he hoarded. And for that – he was condemned.
TRANS: But Jesus continues his teaching about the role of money and STUFF in our lives…
Luke 12:22-31
Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
What is Jesus’ main point here?
2. Preoccupation with material goods and future needs is a sin. (Luke 12:22-31)
All throughout this passage Jesus keeps saying the same things:
“do not worry about what you’ll eat or wear”
“don’t set your heart on material things”
“seek His Kingdom, and all these material things will be given to you.”
He says take a look at the birds and the flowers – you are worth so much more than that to God – and he will take care of your needs.
You don’t need to fret about it. You don’t have to stay up late at night trying to figure out how you’re ever going to pay for your children’s college tuition, or to fund your retirement, or to purchase the next car you’ll need. Jesus tells us that if we make the Kingdom of God our first concern, we will have our material needs provided for us.
TRANS: Jesus meant to free us from the pressure that comes from always worrying about the future and how our needs will get met. And that is something good. What is not so good, however, is when people misapply Jesus’ teaching in such a way that removes them from being financially responsible.
There was a strange story in the news a few years ago that proves this point:
“When Norman and Melissa Cameron stopped making payments on their Hartford, CN, house, the Federal National Mortgage Association began foreclosure proceedings.
The Camerons then contacted FNMA officials to explain why they had stopped making payments on their $54,000 mortgage: God told them they could.
“It was our desire to be free from this mortgage debt.” the Camerons told the court overseeing the foreclosure. “Therefore, we asked God our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ. He heard us and he freed us from this mortgage bondage.”
FNMA officials responded by saying they will continue with the foreclosure proceedings until they, too, are contacted by God.
Was Jesus really saying that Christians shouldn’t be concerned at all about their financial future? Is it really a sign of spiritual maturity to have nothing saved for the inevitable future events like paying the mortgage, or kids college, or retirement? As you can probably guess – I don’t think so. As the third point in your outline says, I believe…
3. Saving is not a sin. Saving is wise. (Prov. 21:20, Gen. 41:28-37)
Prov. 21:20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.
Proverbs teaches us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so a wise person is one that starts with that foundation – of having a healthy awe and respect for God’s holiness and power. And here in 21:20 the description of this wise person is one of a person who does not use up all of his or her resources every month, but one who stores things up for the future.
There is an incredible example of this principle found in the book of Genesis, where you may remember that Joseph, rotting away in prison, where he has been left unjustly, is suddenly brought before Pharaoh to help him interpret his disturbing dreams…
Gen. 41:28-37 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe….
“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”
And so the story goes. Pharaoh selects Joseph as the one to implement the process of saving during the 7 good years, so that when the 7 years of famine come, they will have what they need.
You might think – yeah – but that was a special circumstance. God supernaturally intervened to tell people the future.
Well, let me tell you something. I can tell you the future, too. If I throw this ball down on the ground, I know exactly what is going to happen. It will bounce back up.
I can also tell you the future. Someday you’re going to get so old you’ll not be able to work 40 hours a week anymore. And when you get that old, you’re still going to need clothes, and groceries, and medicine, and heat in your home.
Someday the car you drove here in is going to need a major repair – or it will need to be replaced.
Someday you or someone you love is going to need hospitalization – and the bills will quickly stack up.
None of us need some sort of miraculous dream and interpretation to tell us that these are things that are coming in all of our futures.
In the story of Joseph – God was pleased to save the whole region because Joseph implemented a savings plan.
God doesn’t want you to be a fool. He wants you to be wise – and part of being wise is planning for the future.
TRANS: But now you might be saying, “Hold on pastor, didn’t I just hear a few minutes ago that Jesus told us not to worry about material things like that?” Here’s how I think we need to bring it all together:
CONCLUSION:
Wise Christians prepare for the future without hoarding or worrying.
God wants us to be responsible to use the financial resources he is giving us today to help us have what we need in the future. Not in such a way that we’re all worried about the future. Not in such a way that we become greedy and refuse to share our resources with others, but in a responsible and wise manner.
Like I did last week I’d like to give you just a few tools to use in how to start a savings plan if you’ve never had one.
HOW YOU CAN START SAVING:
1. Create a budget.
(email oakharbor.office@ctkonline.com to request worksheets.)
Proverbs 27:34 "Know the state of your affairs and watch your business interests closely."
Too many people don’t even know where all their money goes. If you’re ever going to have enough to save some for the future – you’ll have to figure out where it is going. Then once you get that figured out, you’ll have the opportunity to decide where changes in your lifestyle need to be made. There may be choices that hurt for a while. This is to be expected, but Proverbs 13:18 tells us…
Proverbs 13:18 “He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame.”
2. Get out of debt.
Rom. 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…
If you weren’t here last week you should request the CD of my teaching last week.
3. Automate your savings plan.
Proverbs 13:11 "He who gathers money little by little makes it grow."
One of the great things about the age of computers is how easy it can make saving. For instance, we have a set amount that comes straight out of our checking account and into our savings account every month. We have an automatic deposit into our retirement account every month. Just as we are committed to paying our bills each month, we are committed to paying ourselves this bill!
Start as early in life as possible – with even $5/week
4. Balance your savings plan with a giving plan.
Remember, savings is responsible – but it cannot ever get us into a place where we lose track of some of our other responsibilities with our money: giving to the Kingdom, and helping the poor. We’ll talk more about that next week.
CONCLUSION:
Comedian Jackie Mason once said, “I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.”
The good news is that when we put the Kingdom first in our hearts, refusing to allow our hoarding urges and our lust for material goods to reign in our hearts – we will have enough money to last us the rest of our lives.
