Money Matters Pt. 2
September 22, 2011
In part 1 I shared a simple idea for combating greed, and creating a discipline of giving both to God and to others.
Pregressive - has your giving amount changed as your income has, or as God has revealed His faithfulness to you.
Priority - have you dedicated money to God and His kingdom before spending or saving money for yourself.
Percentage - follow the example of the Old Testament and decide on a percentage and re-evaluate it periodically.
Having disciplined giving...actually helps us grow spiritually. Our heart is in direct contact with our finances. Jesus makes this clear in Matt. 6. "where your treasure is there your HEART will be also" . God will at times test our Faith through our giving. and we know that "the testing of our Faith developes perceverence" - James 1.
I don't know about you but I want to know that what I do here on earth matters. I know from Matt. 6 that our investments here can be stored up in heaven where they cannot be corrupted or taken away. When I get to heaven I want to be invested in as much of God's kingdom as possible. and to be honest with you...%10 is probably not gonna allow me to do this.
In Pt. 2 I want to lay out 8 myths that we have about money....in hopes of encouraging you to invest and divert your heart to where God's heart is on money matters.
1. It's my money - James 1:17 tells us that "Every good and perfect gift comes from above" It's not really your momney. God gave it to you...God created you with the talents, abilities, time, energy, health, and opportunity to do the work which earns you money...so really everything we have - we have because God gave it to us.
2. I need to give %10 of my money - There is really two myths here and we have already tackled one so understanding that it's not really my money anyway will also help me to realize that God does not want access to just %10 of His money (imagine if your banker told you that) He wants accesss to all of His money that He has entrusted to us. We talked about picking a percentage to give to the Lord in Pt. 1 and I believe this is a good discipline...but please don't assume that your percentage is %10...God' wants to use the money He has given us, and may at times want more than %10. Read the Parable of the 10 Minas in Luke 19 and see from Jesus' perspective what God wants from us.
3.What I save makes me more secure - I Cor.5 tells us that there will be plenty of people who will escape from the fire but only by the skin of your teeth. The security that we create is really a false sense. Jeremiah 17:5-10 is an interesting passage on this. Not that I am against saving, but if your hope and security and in fact your well being is wrapped up in your savings and not in the Lord you are laying a shakiy foundation.
4. If I had more I'd give more - here is one I have heard plenty of times but have NEVER seen. In fact the opposite is very often true. Luke 19 and the Prable of the 10 minas shows God's heart. He wants us to be faithful with what we have and when we are faithful with little we may be entrusted with much. Remembering God wants access to all HIS money. read again the story of the widow who brought her tiny little offering to the Temple and understand the reaction of Christ to her giving everything and you understand God's heart.
5. God's kingdom needs my investment - there are many people who would laugh at this one and say Yeah I know that's not true - and then turn around and try to hold sway in the church because of their financial contributions. They hold positions of influence not because of their spiritual maturity but because of their financial power. The same misunderstanding has led to many leaders in the church allowing people like this to make important decisions and innevitably alter the direction of the church...in fact holding the church ransom. This fear of losing donations and allowing things like this to happen comes from this misunderstanding. "That God needs our money." Do you think He puts his work on hold if we don't give...."He owns the cattle on a thousand hills" Ps. 50:10
6. What I give I lose, What I keep I gain - "Remember Lot's Wife. Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it and whoever loses his life will preserve it". Luke 17:32-33 When we make a statement like this we in fact are being like Lot's wife and looking backwards, when God has a different perspective for us. Actually great freedom and benefit comes from giving instead of hoarding or consuming. "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Pr. 11:25
7. Our Giving grows by addition - We often think..."I give $120, you give 300, and someone else gives 200 and we come to the total of $620" However. God is a God of multiplication. Look at the story of the feeding of the 5000. You see God acts as a lever- multiplying the amount of benefit that can come from a very small gift. THat's why you have instances all through Scripture where the understanding is - you give a little God will apply His power - and much will be done. So the size of your gift therefore becomes irrelevant. "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed"...
8. Our giving is a financial transaction - If there is one point that I hope you get it is this one; our giving at the very core is very very spiritual. It is really a matter of the heart. It all comes down to FAITH "And without faith it is impossible to please God, becasue anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him" - Hebrews 11:6
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