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Loving Jesus and Hating Mammon: A Beginner’s Guide

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By Jason Comerford

If you’re at all familiar with Jesus’s teachings in the Gospels, you’re likely familiar with the fact that much of it centers around money. Jesus has a lot of opinions about how the people of God should handle wealth. One of the more famous sections is found in Matthew 6, wherein Jesus says the following: “No one can serve two masters, for he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” Matthew 6:24.

Now, interesting thing about most English translations, they use the word wealth or money” in place of what it actually says, “mammon,” which seems to be a name. This is a small quibble: the meaning does just amount to money, but it’s interesting to me that the text and the name both personify wealth—they act as though it’s a person.

A person you can serve.

The main conflict set up here between God and Mammon is that they make competing claims about themselves. Both God and Mammon will tell you that they are trustworthy, that they are providers, and that they are worth of your admiration and worship. That you need them, because only they can provide for you.

And you can only believe one of them.

While overt worship of Jesus is important (think prayer, songs of praise, communion, etc.), what we do with our money demonstrates the truth of who we really worship in new and clarifying ways. So, I would like to propose some practical ways that we can honor our Lord Jesus and handle the money we have.

  1. Trust in Jesus: Give until it changes your lifestyle. Have you ever given so much that it changed your vacation plans? Delayed the purchase of a new car or a new home? Or even something as simple and small as forcing you to skip a lunch out one day? The one story that the Gospels record of Jesus being truly impressed with someone’s generosity was when a little old lady gave a fraction of a penny while others around her gave huge, significant sums. The difference was that she gave the only money she had to live on, while the others gave out of their excess. Their lifestyles were not changed by their gifts; hers was.

    And friends, don’t miss this. It delights our Lord when we sacrifice for the good of others.

  2. Trust in Jesus: Give immediately. Have you ever run into someone who would really be helped by an extra $500 in their bank account? While money isn’t our savior and provider, by giving it away, we can really help lift the burdens of our neighbors. A new set of tires is no big deal until it’s the thing standing between you and providing for your family. Don’t just limit your giving to the weekly collection at church or your World Vision sponsorship. Find the people around you that need help, listen to that small voice inside you, and help lift a burden right then and there.

  3. Trust in Jesus: Give indiscriminately. How often have you talked yourself out of giving money to someone? “They’ll just spend it on drugs,” we assure ourselves. Or “Maybe they’re not really homeless.” There are many excuses, but it amounts to this: precious Mammon is too valuable to risk on this person.

    While wisdom with our money can be good, I would like to propose that we demonstrate what our God is like when we imitate the God who “makes it rain on the righteous and unrighteous,” the God who instructs us to “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” into our homes to feast. The people who cannot pay us back, who might not use our money the way we want—indeed, the people who hate us—are fitting recipients of kindness and generosity in God’s kingdom.

  4. Trust in Jesus: Give until it turns to joy. Here’s the heart of the matter. Our hearts are naturally geared to believe that money gives us power and protection. We’re not naturally going to trust in Jesus to provide for us—we’re going to turn to money for that. Giving up wealth feels like embracing weakness, embracing risk, and embracing death. But what if we so trust Jesus to care for us, to do as He promises, that money loses this terrible psychological grip on us? What if generosity became a free and happy thing, knowing that the God of Heaven cares for us? I Believe one of Christ’s goals in our generosity is that we would, ultimately, delight in it. That His gladness would become our gladness and it would overflow in glad, sacrificial generosity.

Some last things to make clear: Giving money doesn’t earn more of God’s love for us or cause Him to favor us with good finances. It is because God loves us that He calls us to love and generosity. It is because God already loves us that we’re called to become more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ, who laid down his life for unworthy sinners because He loves them.

There’s great joy and peace ahead for us friends—and it’s not in hoarding wealth in a world where it can rot and get stolen. It’s in loving our neighbors so well that we come to find we’ve been storing up treasure in Heaven all along.

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What Does God Expect from Us?

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By Larry Short

“We don’t need your money.” After reflecting on Ryan’s fascinating sermon on Acts 5 this past Sunday, that’s what I considered titling this blog. But then I realized the story of Ananias and Sapphira really isn’t about money at all, and so titling what I wrote in that manner could actually be a distraction from what God really wants us to get out of this story.

And what, exactly, does He want us to walk away with now that Ananias and Sapphira are dead and buried?

Certainly, what it isn’t is that somehow we owe God (or our church, or a ministry, or fill in the blank) our money. We’re not told what happened to the money Ananias and Sapphira brought before Peter, but it was probably a sizeable amount (even if they weren’t being honest about the final sales price), so from Peter’s perspective, why rock the boat?

This may be a spoiler, but I also thought about this in the context of Acts 8, where Philip visits Samaria and the Holy Spirit does a major work to form a new church there. One of the new converts is Simon the Magician, who previously wowed everyone with his magic arts. When the apostles come to convey the baptism of the Holy Spirit upon the new converts through the laying on of their hands, Simon observes this and really wants this new “power” for himself. So, he offers Peter a big donation to give him the ability to lay hands on someone and so convey the Holy Spirit to them.

You may recall Peter’s powerful response in verse 20: “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” In saying this, Peter is no doubt turning away a very hefty donation, but he doesn’t hesitate. His core values are, once again, clear. (And no doubt the painful memory of Ananias and Sapphira falling dead was still in his thoughts!)

So, what core values do each of these stories demonstrate? If God’s not after our money, what is it He really expects from us?

One interesting facet in both accounts is envy. Simon envied Peter and John’s ability. Ananias and Sapphira envied the respect that Barnabus (“Son of Encouragement”) gained through his generous contribution. They, too, wanted to be thought well of, even if they really didn’t have the love and faith required to “give it all” or to tell the honest truth about what they were able to give.

So, they chose to lie about it in order to hopefully bolster their own reputation and gain respect. And as Peter points out, the lie wasn’t merely to the church or its leaders—it was to the Holy Spirit!

It’s clear that money is a tool we sometimes use in ways that might seem good, but are really designed to make us appear different or better than we really are. I think this is a temptation to envy that we all experience. We all want to be seen as generous, kind, and caring individuals. The question is, do we invest the resources God has given us (money or otherwise) in being generous, kind, and caring, or do we invest them so that we may be seen as more generous, kind, and caring? See the difference here? It really matters.

Elim is a family of generous people. A couple of times I’ve been blown away when someone made a truly generous—and anonymous!—gift. For years I’ve wondered, “Could it have been so and so? Or perhaps so and so?” The humility in anonymity raised the tide that raised all boats, so to speak.

But money isn’t the only asset we sometimes use to puff ourselves up. Recently I was discussing with someone online who had raised a question about the meaning of Matthew 23:8-10, “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ.” One conclusion after reflection was that there was nothing wrong with titles like rabbi, father, or teacher (or pastor, for that matter). When Jesus says “you are not to be called [insert title here],” I think what He’s really saying is that you are not to seek such titles of distinction in order to exalt yourself. This falls clearly in line with His instruction throughout the Gospels not to seek the places of honor, but to humble yourself as a servant. Even when two of His disciples asked to sit at His right hand and at His left in His coming kingdom, He made it clear that such a privilege came at the cost of service and suffering (Mark 10:35-45).

As Ryan mentioned, Jesus decried the Pharisees for doing things in order to be seen by others as somehow “more holy”: “They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long” (Matthew 23:5).

We don’t do phylacteries or fringes, but what is the equivalent for us? Is it our generosity? Ministry position or title? Praying profound public prayers or writing brilliant Last Words?

What does God expect from us? Humility. Honesty. Service. Seeking to build others up before building ourselves and our own reputations. Bringing glory to God rather than to ourselves. Lord, this is our desire, but such things are all much harder for us and go against our “natural” grain, so please help us as we struggle to become more like You in love, humility and service!

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Astonishing Generosity

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Jeff Foerster

Think about your life and the words astonishing generosity. Does this describe you? If someone who knew you well spoke of you in this way, how would you feel?

I will say that, for me, pairing those words fits like a square peg in a round hole. When I give, it’s a bit like separating Velcro straps—it can be done, but it’s only gonna take place with a little purposeful force carefully applied. I’ve got all sorts of mixed motivations when I give and I’m aware of quite a few of them. It’s kind of a mess.

How about you? Ever easily receive, or even look forward to, the thanks or other appreciation shown to your act of giving? What does your internal dialogue tell you as you prepare to give? I certainly don’t know your answers and even some of my own remain shrouded.

While recounting one’s acts of generosity is a bit like talking about one’s grand accomplishments in humility, it may be helpful to do some quiet reflection. If I have any understanding of this Christian-walk thing, I think it means, in part, living in such a way that the needs of others are a priority to me.

I believe giving takes practice, an effort of will, and a shift of heart. It means really trusting that the resources I have access to (primarily stuff and time) don’t belong to me, but rather have been placed in my care, and I’ve been invited into stewardship over them. Even more than that, generosity is birthed in a growing heart of compassion for others.

My focus and prayer this week are that God would show me the reality of my own heart and give me opportunity to practice generosity. Join me in this journey?

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Celebrating Financial Faithfulness!

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Dear members and friends:

The Stewardship Team is committed to keeping you informed on a quarterly basis (or more often, if necessary) regarding Elim’s financial position. We are committed to transparency in times of scarcity and times of abundance. There is much to celebrate this year! Here is your update covering the first quarter (January through March) of 2018.

  • What is our year-to-date (YTD) budget (as of March 31)? – $83,823
  • What is our YTD giving to budget (as of March 31)? – $99,275
  • What are our YTD expenses (as of March 31)? – $76,970

What do these numbers mean?

  • We are $15,452 ahead of budget in terms of giving to budget! This is great news!
  • Our giving is $22,305 ahead of our expenses.
  • We are fully funding our Future Expansion Fund on a monthly basis.

What are our plans for the surplus in giving?

Since our mortgage was paid off in December 2013, we have been talking about the need to build another annex to house our growing children’s and youth ministries. We have been setting aside budgeted monies as well as surplus funds for the past five years to fund this need. As a result, we have approximately $70,000 set aside. The elders’ wish is to accelerate this plan and to contribute a large portion of our surplus to this need. We project that we will need approximately $250,000 to make these improvements. It is the Elder Board’s desire to meet this need in the next 12–18 months.

If you are able and willing to contribute to this critical need over and above your normal tithe, please do! All you have to do is designate your gift to the Future Expansion Fund.

Final Thoughts

The primary reason we give is because as followers of Jesus, we worship our Father, who is gracious and generous to all of us. One of the privileges He has given us is to be co-creators with Him in His Kingdom in this community. May this continue to motivate us to worship!

Do you have questions? Contact one of the Stewardship Team members: Dan Amos, Phil Pavey, Gregg Zimmerman, Willie Houze, or Martin Schlomer.

 

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Jesus Doesn’t Want Your Tithe

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by Jeff Foerster

Jesus doesn’t want your tithe … He wants your heart. “Great!” you say, “I think money is unspiritual anyhow, so obviously God, who is spirit, has no use for it. And I am relieved that I get to keep more of my hard-earned pay.”

God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the Cadillacs in a thousand driveways. Everything in existence is His, not by right of possession only (it does exist inside His universe), but also by right of creation. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being (John 1:3). If Jesus wants something, he certainly could create it—like the fish and bread given to thousands. Obviously God has no need for my stash o’ cash.

Well, not so fast. God wants your heart, but that means more than sending “positive thoughts” His way; it means action. The tithe is not what God is seeking, but it is a vehicle that ushers in a submissive heart before Him.

We engage with money when filling our tank with gasoline, buying a hot latte, paying electric bills, buying foodstuffs, determining tips for waitstaff, supporting government through taxes, working for ourselves or for others, budgeting and stewarding resources, investing for future gains, and so much more. You see, money is an inextricable part of our human experience. We use it, with the danger of it using us. A contemporary philosopher has been quoted as saying, “I got my mind on my money, and my money on my mind.” Our thoughts linger on dreams of multimillion-dollar windfalls from lucky numbers on the next lotto go-round. What comes from this? Thoughts of new cars, vacation homes, luxury travel, a greater dependence upon God? Okay, the last one seems out of place, doesn’t it?

Because of money’s prominent role in our lives, it has power. Seductive power. “Follow me and I will give you whatever you desire! A little more, a little better, a little newer—you deserve nice things! Life will be more satisfying when you’re able to savor all the good gifts I can bring you. Did you think of me today, how we could spend just a little bit more time … together?” The siren song of money has led many to their destruction. Yet, money is simply a tool, wielded by the hand but directed by the heart.

God in His infinite wisdom and magnificent grace has set before us a pathway with sure footing. He knows us; He knows our weaknesses. He knows that money makes either an obedient servant or a tyrannical master. His generous commandment to you to give 10 percent of your income back to Him, off the top, before any expenses, declares your allegiance. It places money in subservience and clears the way for deepening relationship with the Almighty.

Do you honor Him from whom ALL blessings flow? Do you trust Him … with ALL things?

 

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Does God Give Second Chances?

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By Larry Short, Community Ministry Director

Several weeks ago Pastor Martin shared from Luke 1 the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who desired a child but were childless into old age. God ultimately met their deepest desires and went way beyond them when Zechariah learned, while serving in the Temple, that his elderly wife would become the mother of the Prophet John the Baptist.

This made me think of Abraham and Sarah. You know the story, from the pages of Genesis: God promises Abraham a son from whom the nation of Israel would derive. But Abraham and his wife grow old, with no son in sight and the possibility seeming dimmer with each passing day. They want to wait and trust God, but it seems impossible.

So, they take matters into their own hands. At Sarah’s urging, Abraham takes her handmaiden, Hagar, who conceives Ishmael.

But Abraham and Sarah’s folly, patience and disobedience do not defeat God’s plan. Ultimately, Isaac is born.

Even when we mess up, God is still in control. His will be done.

Is a Second Chance Simply a Free Pass to “Try Again?”

So, did God give Abraham a “second chance?” The answer to that question depends entirely on what you mean by “second chance.”

If you mean that God gave Abraham a mulligan, a free pass, a chance to “try again” to get it right, then the answer is “no.” God is not a God of second chances.

But if you mean that God worked His will in Abraham’s life despite his failures, that God’s mercy and grace was new every morning (including that wonderful morning when Sarah discovered she was pregnant with Isaac); if you mean that God always gives us a second chance to believe and obey and trust Him and see Him work His will in our lives, then the answer is: “Yes! God is a God of second chances!”

Also, it’s important to note that even though God didn’t give up on Abraham and Sarah, there were still serious consequences to be paid for their disbelief and disobedience. (Due to the enmity between Isaac and Ishmael, the world is still paying those consequences, even to this day.)

Second Chances and “New Year’s Resolutions”

It’s about that time of year when many of us make “New Year’s Resolutions.” We say to ourselves: “I want to be better. I will try harder to be the kind of person God wants me to be. To be healthier, to be happier, to be whatever it is I am hoping to be.” The problem with this kind of thinking about the New Year is that it is me-centered; it assumes that my transformation will occur if I simply “try hard enough,” if I make good goals and lift myself up by my bootstraps to achieve them.

Such thinking leaves no room for God’s grace, mercy, and power. Remember, it’s not our strength and willpower that are new every morning; it is His mercies that are new every morning! He who has begun a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it. That verse doesn’t say a lot about the contribution that your own effort might make. No, it’s not up to you, is it? He will complete it.

Do We Give “Second Chances?”

But what about us? When someone hurts us, or disappoints us, or fails to live up to our expectations, do we give grace? Are our mercies to that person “new every morning?”

After washing His disciples’ feet (to their shock and dismay), Jesus says to them (in John 13): “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” We often think of these verses strictly in terms of acts of (potentially unpleasant) service, but I think the implications go far deeper. Whatever service, love, grace, and mercy Jesus showed us, we would do well to also to show one another. (Unless we consider ourselves “above our Master!”)

Speaking of Second Chances …

… and of God’s grace and mercy! You all know that last Sunday (December 24) was Elim’s “Giving Sunday” event. We committed to “give away” all undesignated funding that came in through the offering that day (providing our income to spending actuals remained “in the black” as they currently appear to be) to three worthy causes, all above and beyond our approved 2017 church budget.

Some of us were a bit concerned when we looked around the sanctuary, the morning before Christmas, and attendance seemed a bit sparse. Would Giving Sunday be a bust?

So you can imagine our excitement when we were told that the total offering last Sunday was $28,161 … nearly five times Elim’s average weekly offering, and one of our largest ever! God is so good, and we are so thankful for faithful givers who responded to His leading.

Some have asked whether there would be another opportunity (a second chance!) to contribute to the Giving Sunday project (benefiting the Future Expansion Fund, the Benevolence Fund, and the Tabitha Center ministries in the Congo). The answer is yes! If you missed out on Giving Sunday due to vacation schedules and would still like to contribute, simply designate any gift made before the end of 2017 to “Giving Sunday” and it will be included in the total.

And, as you begin the new year and consider what goals you might set or resolutions you might make, be sure to seek God and thank Him — that “His mercies are new every morning,” that He will complete the good work He has begun in you, and that His grace is enough!

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