Are you someone who doesn’t worry? Then I want to study at your
feet. You are more centered than I am. Right now, one of the biggest
sources of worry for most people is money and debt. We all have issues
we need to address money, debt and finances. But, we spent time during
worship writing down what we are worried about when it comes to money.
Some of us at the Village have started a class called Financial Peace
University. Author and financial advisor Dave Ramsey’s advice in this
class is pretty simple and common sense. Put $1,000 in an emergency
fund right away. If you make less than $20,000 per year, then $500 will
do. Next, pay off all your debts. Then 3-6 months of expenses in
savings. The more advanced stuff comes after you get these in order.
We are still working on step one and a half.
Now I know there are some folks in this room who have been out of
work for quite a while, and there are others who are disabled and living
on Social security. There are others who, especially in this economy,
are what we call, “under employed.” You are not making as much money as
you were few years ago. So saving money seems really hard, really hard.
Many of us wish we had started saving a long time ago, when things
were different in our lives, or when the economy was different. But
here’s the thing, it is what it is. His point is this: We’ll feel
more secure when we have some money in an emergency savings fund. I
don’t think anyone would argue with that.
And unless we are homeless, and destitute, we can all save something.
In the class we are learning some tips and we are supporting one
another as how to do it. Because you just have to start where you are,
even if we are in the worst economy since the Great Depression. But
here is the thing. Some money in savings will give us some sense of
material security, and it will help us have less stress when those
absolutely predictable life emergencies come along. Because they WILL
come. Your car will break down, your house or apartment will cost you
something for repairs or replacements.
But I think even Dave Ramsey, who is a Christian, would agree with
me, that ultimately, you can’t serve God and wealth. At least that’s
what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. “You can’t serve God and
wealth. No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the
one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the
other.” Mt 6:24
Now, of course, we need money in order to function in this world. But it’s a matter of where our first loyalty is. Where do we put our trust? In
God, or in wealth? Wealth is just a tool. It is something we use while
we are living here on this earth. That is all it is. And so we need to
be good stewards of the resources that God gives us. We need to manage
our money instead of letting it manage us.
In fact, when we take control of our money, we have more of it to
give away, to make the world a better place for others. Wouldn’t you
just love to be able to write a big check every month to support the
causes that you believe in? Wouldn’t that make you feel great?
I don’t think God does allows us to have jobs and other sources of
income and resources, and then watches with pleasure when we worry about
money and live paycheck to paycheck. I don’t think that’s what God has
in mind. Seventy percent of us live paycheck to check. I don’t think
that’s what God wants for us.
So, let’s look at what Jesus said: “do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you
will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more
value than they?” (Mt 6:25-26)
Jesus tells us not to worry. Well I wish Jesus would come to Toledo,
OH in 2011 because our economy is in bad shape. I heard this week that
we are in the top 10, or maybe I should say, the bottom 10 cities in the
country, in terms of how hard we have been hit by this economic
recession. And Jesus says: Don’t worry. You are of value to God, and
God will provide for your needs. Really? Does it feel like that?
Really?
Don’t worry, Jesus says, God will provide. It’s really a matter of
which world view we are going to adopt. One world view centers on the
attitude of scarcity. There is never enough. So we need more. Just watch
the ads on TV for one hour and they will tell you. You are not good
enough, beautiful enough, happy enough, popular enough, but if you will
just buy these products, THEN things will be better.
It’s a marketing plan based on scarcity. You don’t have what you need
but we will sell it to you. Of course, the problem is, there is no end
to our scarcity and need, so they continue to create more products that
we need to buy. And so we live with a feeling of emptiness, and fear and
scarcity.
The fear comes because we spend more than we have, and we run
ourselves in debt, and then a real need comes along, like a health
crisis in our family, or necessary maintenance on our homes, or sending
the kids to college. (It comes to us as a surprise, even though we have
18 years to prepare for it!) And the worries just pile up.
This world view of scarcity is strong in our culture and we buy into
it. But there is another world view, one that Jesus invites us into,
and that is the idea of abundance. Jesus says33”But strive first for the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. 34“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
(Matthew 6:33-34 in the New Revised Standard Version for those reading
along on the web)
We have enough! Focus on loving God, and TRUSTING God. You see, God’s
love is infinite. There is always enough of God. Jesus invites us into a
relationship with God; that will sustain us and fill us in the ways
that wealth building will never do.
You see, when Jesus was here on the earth, the powers of the world,
were focused on scarcity and fear. They wanted to keep the people down.
When people are afraid and think there is not enough, then they will do
what the political forces tell them to do. But Jesus gave a message of
abundance which is a message of freedom, there is freedom. When we trust
God we have courage, and we don’t worry about not having enough. We
know God will see us through any economic downturn.
Jesus showed the human forces of his day, that their ways were not the most powerful. Because you see, they killed him. But God resurrected him. David Lose writes that “when you think about it [the resurrection], is the ultimate
act of abundance: creating something, once again, out of nothing,
drawing light from darkness, giving life to the dead.” (Source:http://www.workingpreacher.org/dear_wp.aspx?article_id=458)
I don’t know about you, but I could use some of that resurrection
power right now. I could use some light in the darkness. We could use
some life to this dead economy in Toledo, Ohio, right now. We can use
some hope right here, right now. We need some joy, Jesus.
Friends, we can choose abundance. We can choose to trust God. We can
choose to believe we have enough, and make it enough. We can choose to
live more simply, we can save money rather than spend so much. We can choose to live with courage rather than fear. We can choose all these things, when we center our lives on and in God.
So I have an idea, an invitation, a challenge. Let’s look for abundance, and take some pictures. Where do you find joy
in this life God has given you? Are there some ways that you are living
more simply, by choice or by necessity, and are you seeing abundance
in living more simply? Kurt and I like to go to dinner and a movie for
date night and last week we replaced the movie with a walk. We got some
well-needed exercise, we got to TALK, and we saw the beauty of God’s
creation. It was lovely.
Where do you find yourself experiencing joy and see others trusting God? Where do you see abundant living rather than scarcity? Over the next couple of weeks, would you snap a picture of something that brings you joy?
And e mail those pics to me? We’d like to put them on a page on our web
site so we can all see them. It will be on a page called “Live Simply,
Find Joy.” We need some pictures that remind us that we are a people who
trust God, live simply and find joy.
This will be our reminder to live simply, to experience joy and not
give into this lousy economy, this miserable situation. We need to live
out of joy and trust, rather than scarcity. Let’s share those moments
with each other. Let’s live simply and trust God and find our joy. Come
join us at the corner of Monroe & Central (or soon in Maumee) as we
share our joy and shed our fear and doubt and scarcity.
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