CH 11 Money
Jesus had more to say about money and our attitudes surrounding it than just about anything else he taught on and warned against. One-sixth of the gospel narrative and twelve of thirty-eight parables allude to money and / or possessions in some way. The reason is that money really is a test. The way men respond to money & the love of it determines their heart state. God is raising kids and he uses money and our attitude toward it to grow us up. His ultimate aim is that we learn to release our attraction to money & possessions. That we stop coveting earthly trinkets & bobbles and look to the heavenly treasures and rewards which he has promised those who are faithful in their use of money.
Thus far in this book we learned from the Sermon on the Mount, the Constitution of the Kingdom, that we are to give alms in secret, not to be seen of men. We learned how hypocritical it is to show off our giving. Any reward we would receive was obtained when we gather the praise of men. We extolled our Father for being a giver and applauded the fact that a giving heart is wonderful. God being the ultimate giver, we noted that when we are generous, we are imitating him! We affirmed that everything belongs to him. Remembering that fact is the proper attitude in generosity. We called it the “sweet spot” of giving.
Later in the Sermon, Jesus told us to lay up our treasure in heaven and the secret to doing that was to focus on the eternal and not the temporal. We reminded ourselves that human beings are the eternal things that make up our world. We want to pour into opportunities that build up people over programs and organizations that focus on the worldly and not the eternal. In that same section, our Lord proclaimed that no man can serve two masters, we cannot serve God & Mammon. We realized that Mammon, indeed, is a spiritual force that tempts men to live for the trivial over the everlasting. Possessions over people, earthly kingdoms over heavenly homes.
Finally, in the last section, the Teacher warned us about the dangers of prosperity and the draw towards covetousness. We saw parabolically that a life lived for possessions was tragically missing the point of life! We learned wonderfully from him that the two responses against the temptation to covet was to give our stuff away (money, time, talent) and to be looking for his return.
Next, let’s cover the Rabbi’s words concerning the need to plan for “retirement.”
And he said unto his disciples, there was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, how is it that I hear this of you? Give an account of your stewardship; for you may no longer be a steward. Then the steward said within himself, what shall I do? For my lord takes away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. Luke 16:1-4
Follow the flow here. The rich man’s accountant was caught with his hands in the cookie jar. He was about to be fired. He realized that life was soon going to get tough. He would need to learn a new skill, possibly one involving manual labor, or he would have to humble himself and beg. Both where not good options for the man. So, he came up with the following plan;
So, he called everyone his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, how much do you owe my lord? And he said, a hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, take your bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then he said to another, and how much do you owe? And he said, a hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, take your bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: For the children of this world are in their generation wiser that the children of light. Luke 16:5-8
In an effort to save his hide, the slippery accountant cleverly pulled in for his master some of the outstanding debt that he was owed. He obtained much of the rich man’s accounts receivable for him. Money he apparently felt he would not ever get back. In that, the lord commended the accountant for his shrewdness. Now the point Jesus is making for us is piercing. Our Lord is noting that the children of the World are more aggressive in preparing for their futures than we, the children of the Kingdom, are in preparing for ours! They are saving up for their temporal and fleeting retirement while often we are not thinking about or acting towards our eternal and everlasting abode. Our Friend is gently warning that this ought not to be!
And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when you fail (die), they may receive you into everlasting habitations (it will be there to greet you). Luke 16:9 (italics added)
Make friends with money, Jesus is saying, by giving it away. Otherwise it just leads to unrighteous things. But if you do, you will be blessed eternally. It’s a good deal. I can’t take it with me but this verse clearly says I can send it ahead!
Paul echo’s this idea of using money for my eternal investment portfolio; “As it is written, he has dispersed abroad; he has given to the poor: His righteousness remains forever,” (2 Corinthians 9:9). This chapter is full of wisdom concerning the use of money for good.
For the administration of this service not only supplies the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God: While by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them and unto all men: And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. 2 Corinthians 9:12-14
This difficult “old English” section notes three wonderful benefits of passing money forward. People’s needs are met, God is praised and the recipients of your charity will pray for you. Once again, when you think about this critically, generosity is a “no brainer!”
He that is faithful in that which is least (money) is faithful also in much (Kingdom matters): And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches. Luke 16:10-11 (italics added)
Giving releases ministry potential and opportunities that would not otherwise be available to you. Do you desire to be used by God? Remember, we said, money is a test. I have to be able to let it go. And when I do, I pass the test! And watch what happens. This is a law, just as strong as gravity. If I give, I receive. Period! God is looking for men & women he can trust with wealth as he knows they will use their blessing to bless others. He wants to bless you so you will bless others!
One last point from Jesus about generosity and then we will tie this topic up. That is, give, not expecting to receive in return. If that is your attitude, your liberality will return to you in eternity.
Then he said also to them that invited him, when you make a dinner or a supper, call not your friends, nor your brothers, neither your kinsmen, nor your rich neighbors; lest they also bid you again, and a recompense be made you. But when you make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And you shall be blessed; for they cannot recompense you: For you shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Luke 14:12-14
So, we see that big-heartedness is glorious. We see that we can turn something that often causes men to stumble, i.e. money & the love of it thereof, into something that will benefit others presently and you eternally. All that is needed is to become a conduit of grace, a vessel of open-handedness. As Levi Lusko has said, generosity puts a stake into the heart of idolatry (spirit of Mammon) and opens you up to prosperity.
In closing, God’s financial plan is the opposite of the World’s. When I bring in the “bread” to my home the World says to first spend to live, then if able, save some, and then if any is left over, give. Contrastingly, the Designer’s plan is the one that offers life. First give, then save, then use what is left to live.
For wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense: But the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom gives life to them that have it. Ecclesiastes 7:12
Money is a tool, that’s all. And it can be a defense. But wisdom, especially in the use of money, brings life.
We said that God wants to bless you so you can bless others. When that happens, there will be two different attacks from the other team. The first is pre-giving selfishness, “I can’t afford to do that now, I need it.” The second is post-giving regret. “My, that was ostentatious. I can’t believe I provided that much!” The relief for both of these temptations is to always remember that everything belongs to God. As we noted in an earlier chapter, all of our stuff really is just on loan from him. We are caring for it, but it isn’t really ours. When I do that, pre-giving selfishness and post-giving regret fade away.
Now for the application for our present day. In America, the Land of the Free & the Home of the Brave, we have a serious problem with our take on money (excuse the pun). We, as a nation, are not passing the test for the most part. Oh, there are pockets of generosity, but if calculated numerically, our gifting is in the single digit percentage points of our total spending. I’m reminded of a warning given to Israel during a time when they were turning away from God’s directives also. It sounds eerily like God could substitute our country’s name in place of Sodom.
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness if bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: Therefore, I took them away as I saw good. Ezekiel 16:49-50
The sin for which we associate Sodom is not mentioned until the end. It was the end result, if you will. Prior to that, pride, fulness & idleness set the stage for an unloving, uncaring hand towards the poor and needy. Let that not happen to us! Unlike Sodom, I want to belong to a country, to a city, to a church that is magnanimous, that is loving, that is caring. It all starts with me; it all starts with you. Together, with the Lord’s grace & help, we can make it happen!
Summary:
Money is a test & God is using our relationship to it as a means to mature us.
God is a giver & as we are generous, we are imitating our Father.
Benefits of big-heartedness include meeting people’s needs, God getting praise & glory, people becoming motivated to pray for you & releasing ministry opportunities for you.
For Further Study:
What is the secret to storing up treasure in Heaven?
Is it always necessary to “pay back” someone who has been liberal to you in some way?
Why can fulness of bread and / or abundance of idleness sometimes be a bad thing?