Are you a spender or a saver? My financial advisor says there are two
kinds of people: spenders and savers. Of course it’s obvious that the spenders
spend every bit of money we have. We buy things and more things. We probably
buy things we can’t afford on credit. So we end up spending not only every
penny we have, but more than that and we run ourselves into debt. (I will
confess that I am a spender.)
Then there are the savers. Savers are always putting money aside for a
rainy day. They set up a home maintenance fund so they will have the money to
pay for a new hot water heater when theirs dies and they set aside money for
big expenses like getting the house painted. They save for retirement like
crazy. They never run up credit card debt. If they use credit cards they always
pay off the balance every month. Now you might think you have to be wealthy to be
a saver. But it’s just not true. Anyone in just about any income bracket can
save something each month. Now these are the categories put forth by a
financial advisor. And they are sound.
But today I would like to argue that from a theological perspective there
are two other approaches to money. There are those who hold on to money and
those who let it go. When we hold on to money we are putting our trust in
money. We hold on tight to it because if we let it go something bad might
happen to us. We hold on tight to our money because it’s ours and no one else
has a right to it. We hold on tight to our money because we believe that money
will keep us safe from harm. When we hold on tight to our money, we are
forgetting one thing. That is, our money is not really ours. It belongs to God.
You see we are blessed to have jobs and other sources of income. But our money
is not ours, it is a gift from God. Another way of looking at it is this:
everything on this earth belongs to God, our money included. So God allows us
to take care of a chunk of God’s money. It’s called being a steward. We are
given God’s money in trust, to care for it as God would have us care for it. So
we are called to use our money in a way that pleases God.
When we look at money from this perspective, it does not make sense that
we put our trust in money. Money is just a tool. Where we are called to put our
trust, is in God. God’s love is there to pick us up when we struggle and face
adversity. Money can’t really buy a sense of security. Only a life in God will
give us security.
Now let’s look at the other kind of person: the one who lets go of money.
These are the people with generous hearts. When we let go of our money, we see
that it belongs to God and not to us, and so we ask ourselves, “How would God
use this money for good?” We see money as a tool. When we let go of our money
as followers of Jesus, we don’t go crazy buying stuff because we know that no
matter how much stuff we have it will never be enough. When we let go of our
money as stewards of God’s resources, we don’t run ourselves into debt. We use
God’s money wisely and don’t over extend. We use money for God’s purposes.
Now, this is not to say that saving is a bad thing. Saving so you will be
prepared for unexpected expenses and saving for retirement, these are good
things. This is also not to say that you are a bad person if you have debt.
You’re just a good person, who has let spending get out of control. It’s time
to talk to a financial advisor about how to form a budget and have a plan to
get out of debt. Or you might want to talk to Karen Shepler about a class she
teaches called, “Faith and Finances” that is designed to help people get out
from under debt. Debt is a weight that keeps us from being free to let go of
our money in the ways that God wants us to let go.
Let me tell you a story about
a woman who let go of her money. 21 1-4 Just
then Jesus looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the
collection plate. Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, “The
plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All
these others made offerings that they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly
what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all!”
Jesus was teaching that day about generosity. He praised the widow who
gave her all, even though it was only two pennies. That widow knew about
letting go of her money. She knew that everything she had, her money included,
was a gift from God. And when the time came for the offering at her synagogue,
she chose willingly to give all she had for God’s work.
The widow was not holding on to her money. Though some of us might think
she should have because widows had very little source of income in those days.
The woman probably needed that money to put food on her table. But she did not
care. She had a deep faith. She believed that God would take care of her and so
she gave what she had for the offering.
What about us? When do we hold on to our money, and when do we let it go?
Today we’re inviting you to consider letting go of your some of your money so
that we can do God’s work through The Village Church. Once a year we ask our
members and regular attenders to make a financial commitment to The Village so
that we can pay our bills and do ministry. We can’t have worship in this
wonderful space without money to pay the rent and to pay musicians and the
pastor. We can’t have Village Kids in the basement without money to buy
curriculum and to pay a child care worker. We can’t be in communication with
one another through our website and other means without money to pay for the
website and to pay our office manager to do her work. We can’t reach out with
financial gifts to mission without funds to do that.
So today we’re asking you to let go of some of your money, money that
came to you as a gift from God. We’re asking you to return some of that money
to God in the next year by giving to The Village Church. I encourage you to let
go of your money in other ways to make the world a better place too. Explore
charities that do good work, and give some of your money to them.
One rule of thumb is to save 10%, give away 10% and live on the other
80%. Giving 10% to the church and to other charities is a biblical goal called
a tithe. If you have never tithed, then it seems like a lot of money. For those
of us who do tithe, we do it because we want to put our trust in God, and not
into holding on to money. Even if you do not tithe, I encourage you to be
intentional about what you give. Don’t give God your leftovers at the end of the
month. Decide what you will give, make a pledge to the church today, and then
give that money first each month. This is a practice that means we put our
trust in God. We trust that if we are faithful and let go of some of our money,that
God will provide for what we need. Give 1% of your income. Give 2% or 5%. Give
what feels right to you. It’s between you and God.
You know, sometimes we worry about money. Organizations like churches
fret about whether or not the money will come in so we can continue our work.
But the truth is, the money is already here. It’s in our pockets and in our
bank accounts. There is plenty of money in this room to do this ministry that
God is calling us to do as The Village Church. We just have to let it go.
Tony Campolo tells this story about money. He was invited to speak at a
women’s meeting. There were 300 women there. Before he spoke the president of
the organization read a letter from a missionary. It was a very moving
letter. In the letter the missionary expressed a need for $4,000 to take
care of an emergency that had cropped up. So the president of the organization
said, "We need to pray that God will provide the resources to meet the
need of this missionary. Bro. Campolo will you please pray for us?"
Tony Campolo, who is very outspoken said, "No." Startled, she said,
"I beg your pardon." He said, "No, I won’t pray for
that." He said, "I believe that God has already provided the
resources & that all we need to do is give. Tell you what I’m going to do.
I’m going to step up to this table & give every bit of cash I have in my
pocket. And if all of you will do the same thing, I think God has already
provided the resources." The president of the organization chuckled
a little bit & said, "Well, I guess we get the point. He is trying to
teach us that we all need to give sacrificially." He said, "No,
that is not what I am trying to teach you. I’m trying to teach you that God has
already provided for this missionary. All we need to do is give it. Here, I’m
going to put down all of my money I have with me." He opened his
wallet. He put down his $15 & then looked at the president of the
organization. Reluctantly, she opened her purse & took out all of her
money, which was about $40, & put it on the table. One by one the rest of
the women filed by & put their money on the table, too. When the money was
counted they had collected more than $4,000." Tony Campolo said,
"Now, here’s the lesson. God always supplies for our needs, & God
supplied for this missionary, too. The only problem was we were keeping it for
ourselves. Now let’s pray & thank God for His provision."
I have no doubt that
we have the financial resources that we need to do the work God has called us
to do as The Village Church. If we will all let go of some of God’s money that
we are caring for, there will be enough. Our goal for the next year is $67,000
in donations from The Village people. I know we can reach that goal. So I
invite you now to fill out your pledge card if you have not already done so,
and bring them up and put them in the soup bowl. Let’s put our trust in God as
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