Not What You Make, But What You Do With It

Pastor Burcham’s Sermon

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Americans on a whole are generous people. We really are. If you think about it, Americans on a whole are generous people. Whenever there is a need, worldwide, who is the first one to step up and to give of themselves and to give of their financial resources? It’s Americans. You think of 9/11, you think of Katrina, you think of the tsunami that happened, millions of dollars were given to people who you would never see and who you would never know.

A recent survey said that a whopping 89% of Americans give away part of their income. Nearly 90% of us give away part of our income. The good news is that Americans as a whole are generous people. Now on the flip side of that, the percentage that we give away has been on a steady decline since the 1940’s. If you consider that in the 1930’s, right in the depths of the depression, Americans on a whole gave about 3.5% of their income away, here now today, barely 2% of our income do we give away and it’s plummeting from there.

So the question is are Americans, all of a sudden, no longer going to be generous? Have we decided that now, all of a sudden, we’re going to be stingy and we’re going to keep it all to ourselves? I don’t think so. I still think that as God’s people and as Americans, we still want to be generous but we have the wrong attitude towards our money. And because of that attitude we have towards our money and our possessions, it has sort of changed the whole outlook of how we manage, how we are good stewards of what God has given to us.

And that’s why for the past several weeks, I’ve been trying to change that attitude toward our money. We really have to break the bond between our self worth and our net worth. I really believe that as a society, we’ve bought into the idea that somehow our money and our possessions can fill our emotional needs but they cannot. Our self worth does not equal our net worth. Our worth is determined by God who says we’re priceless, by God who says you are His child and you’re worth the very life of His Son.

We’ve discovered that it’s not about what we make but it’s about how we make it, too, because how we go about earning a living, how we go about collecting our possessions, that also has something to say about our attitude towards our money and our possessions. And so we want to do that in a God‑pleasing way.

And now today, we sort of wrap it all together when we say it’s not about what we make but it’s about what we do with it. What is it that God wants us to do with the resources that He’s given to us? Because remember, everything we have is from God. He created everything. He’s the one who owns it and He gives us the ability to earn an income so it’s all really His. How is it that He wants us to manage it? But it’s really not about what we make. It’s not about how much.

But even when it comes to giving away part of our money, we still are caught in the mindset that it really is about what we make. I can’t tell you how many people have said to me, “You know, if I made more money, I’d certainly give more of it away.” “You know, Pastor, if I won the lottery, this church would be doing okay because I’d give a big chunk of it to the church.” No, you wouldn’t. Percentage wise, you wouldn’t. Do you see what I’m saying? The dollar amount might be more but unless you change the attitude, it won’t be any different.

Jesus is standing outside the synagogue and He’s watching people put money in the coffers. He says the rich people come by, “Here’s a $20, here’s a $50, here’s $100, here’s $1,000, here’s $5,000.” This lady comes up and she puts in two pennies. He says, “Ah, see her? She put in more than all the rest.” Because Jesus isn’t concerned about the amount. He’s concerned about the heart. He doesn’t care whether it’s two pennies or if it’s $2 million. He says, “That woman emptied out the checking account. She cleared out the savings and she put it all in.” You see, it’s not about what you make. It’s about what you do with it.

This morning, we want to look at three biblical principles of how God directs us to manage the resources that He’s given to us. And God is concerned on how we manage all that He’s given to us. I don’t know about you but when I grew up, whenever the church talked about money matters, they focused only on one thing and that was, “What are you going to give back to the church?” And that was their only focus, as if that’s all that God cared about is what you’re going to give back to the church, how are we going to keep the lights on and how are we going to do the ministry that’s here? But the fact of the matter is biblical stewardship, biblical management of our resources, God is concerned about everything because God is the owner of everything. And, therefore, God gives us direction on how we’re to manage all of the things that He’s given to us, all of our money and all of our possessions.

And so this morning, we want to look at how does God want us to manage those resources? Now to help us illustrate that and so that we drive down the point that it’s not about the amount, it’s about what you do with it, I have a stack of 100 $1.00 bills. That represents 100% of your income. Now it doesn’t really matter whether I had a $1, a $20, a $50, a $1,000, a $10,000, whatever denomination you may come up with, 100% is 100%. And so God is concerned about how are we going to manage that. And so, kind of to see what that 100% looks like, because it’s rather dramatic, and goodness, it’s high up here. So that’s your income. It’s quite a lot, don’t you think? It’s pretty impressive. Again, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a $1, it’s a $100 bill, a $1,000 bill, $10,000 bill, this is what you have.

Now God says of all that He’s given to you, there are certain principles He wants you to follow in managing it because He entrusts it to you. There are three. The first one I want to share with you is this: God says pay off your debts. I really have to believe one of the greatest threats to America today is our indebtedness. When you consider the fact that in 2008, Americans owed $2.5 trillion dollars in consumer debt, I’m not talking about mortgage, I’m just talking about consumer debt, $2.5 trillion dollars, so where does that go on the scale? I guess it depends on how far in debt you are. Let’s just pick here. God says pay off your debts.

Unless we change our attitude about our money and our possessions, it’s never going to happen. As long as we have this link between our self worth and our net worth, as long as we’re looking at our money and our possessions to fill our emotional needs, we’re never going to pay off the debts because this is how it goes. We start feeling bad about something that’s happened in life, something tragic happens, you get a piece of bad news, something goes wrong, what do you do? It’s time for a little mall therapy. You know what mall therapy is, don’t you? You head out to Jordan Creek and you buy something because it makes you feel good and it works. That’s the kicker, it works. You feel good. You have a new outfit or you bought something for the kids, you bought something for the grandkids, you see the smile on your face and you feel good about it. But it’s short-lived because, all of a sudden, then that becomes old and then there is something else that happens and the cycle just repeats itself again. Unless we break the link between our money and our possessions, fulfilling our emotional needs, we’re never going to get over that one. You have to break that link, have a new attitude towards the resources God has given to you and say, “I need to manage this well.” God says to manage it well, pay off your debts. I don’t even need to pick up the bible for this one, Romans 13:8 says, “Pay all your debts.” Simple. But is it?

Is it really that simple? You see, I’m looking out at all your faces and you’ve all painted the same expression on your face and that is, “It must be the guy next to me who’s in debt because it certainly can’t be me.” Statistically speaking, that’s impossible. It’s impossible. Some of you are struggling with this and you don’t want to admit it. You don’t want to admit it because you still have the link between self worth and net worth and “If you say that my net worth isn’t very good, then I must not be very good.” It’s not about you. God says that you’re worth more than the life of His Son. That’s your worth. But maybe the situation you’re in, God says, “Let’s do something about it.” If this is an issue for you, then maybe you need to swallow your pride and do something about it.

There are two great Proverbs that are linked together and I think they’re powerful. It’s Proverbs 16, 18 and 19. 18 says this, “Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall,” but then it’s linked with, “It is better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the crowd.” It’s better to live humbly with the poor than to share in the $8,000 average debt of Americans in credit cards. It’s better to live humbly among the poor than to stay up at night worrying about how you’re going to pay the bills at the end of the month. It’s better to humble yourself and to get some help.

There are three links on our web site, Christian-based credit counselors. Maybe you need to contact them. Maybe you need to talk to somebody else. I don’t care who it is. This is a huge issue for Americans. How in the world can we be generous when we have more bills than we have paycheck? God says pay off your debts. Have a starting point, maybe it’s this week, that you start working on it.

The second principle that God gives to us, He says, “We need to save for the future.” I suppose where the savings are kind of depends upon where the debts are, but we all sort of put it up here and we’ll save for the future. Now that’s a little bit hard to do because you consider that 43% of Americans live beyond their means. For every $1.00 they bring in, on an average, they spend $1.25. Well, add that up over a year, five years, ten years, fifteen years and, all of a sudden, well, golly, this whole indebtedness thing starts to make a little bit more sense, doesn’t it? Because you can’t keep spending more than what you bring you.

One half to two-thirds of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 34% save less than $100 a month. How in the world can you survive just one disaster happening? All you need is just one repair bill. You just need the furnace to go out. You just need the car to conk out. You need a roof on the house. Whatever it is, just one thing to happen, if you haven’t saved for the future, and that may be more for the current generation than your generation but it’s an issue. But God’s pretty clear about it. He says in Proverbs 21, “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” God’s all about good planning. God’s all about savings. He’s given us this resource and He says we should manage it well. And managing it well doesn’t mean that we’re just one paycheck short of a disaster. It says that we’re going to plan for the future. It isn’t going to be that our portfolio is more important and our savings account is what we’re going to put our trust and our security in. It’s not that at all. But it means that we’re going to be smart with the money that God has given to us and God says, “We need to save.” We need to save for the future, plan on the things that we don’t know about, the unexpected things that are happening so we’re not just one repair bill away from a disaster.

It’s a simple concept. Again, it’s not all that easy to follow if you’re not doing it. And maybe that means you need to start small. So whatever that amount is, you start putting off to the side with a commitment to yourself and a challenge to increase that. Talk to some people, do some research and say, “What is a reasonable amount that I should set aside, that I should save for the future for the things that I don’t know are going to happen?” You’re still putting your trust in God. You’re putting your trust in God because God gave you a brain so you could manage well the resources He’s given to you. God says, “Save for the future.”

The third and final one actually should have been the first one. God says we’re to give a portion back to Him. It should be the first one because God says that the first thing we should do with our money is we should offer a portion of it back to Him. Now again, if you look to the Book of Proverbs, Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the best part of everything that your land produces.” The first fruits. The first thing that should happen with any income we have is we should honor God with our giving. Why didn’t I start there? I didn’t start there, frankly, because if you’re struggling with debts and you’re struggling with savings, the last thing you need is for me to stand up here and say, “Hey, guess what? We need even more.” If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, if you have more bills than you have paycheck, the last thing you need is another handout saying, “Hey, you’re supposed to give some more.” Until you get those two settled, I don’t know how you can do the other. I don’t know how it can happen. And I think that’s the crux of what’s happening with the decline in Americans giving. I don’t think it’s a matter of us not wanting to. I think it’s a matter of not able to because we don’t have the other biblical principles in line.

But the fact of the matter is God does say, whatever that amount is, we honor Him when we offer a portion back to Him. We’re saying to God that we trust you more than our savings account. We trust you more than math. We trust you that we’re going to honor you and we’re going to give a portion back to you. Now God gives some pretty explicit instructions on how we’re supposed to do that. First of all, we can take a look at the book of Deuteronomy. In the Old Testament, God said this, “You must set aside a tithe of your crops, one-tenth of all your crops of harvest each year.” But then He goes on to explain why. He says, “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to fear the Lord your God.” Why is it that God calls upon us to give a tithe? To show that we trust Him. To show that we trust Him more than anything else.

But as we give back to God, there are some great instructions that we read a few moments ago from 2 Corinthians. He said this, “Remember this. A farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop but one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure, for God loves the person who gives cheerfully.”

The first thing is this: We give back to God in response to what God has done for us. We cannot honor God any other way. If it’s reluctantly, if it’s under pressure, that’s not honoring God. We honor God when we respond back to Him for what He’s done for us and what He’s given to us. And I’m not talking about physical blessings here. I’m not talking about all the monetary blessings you have. I’m not talking about the home that you live and the car you drive, the clothes you have. I’m talking about something that you cannot place a value on, something which is priceless.

I’ll put it as simply as I can. I’m going to make the assumption that everyone here wants to be in heaven one day. Is that a safe assumption? Whenever our years are done here, we’re hoping we’re in heaven, especially compared to the other place. We’re hoping that our family and our friends are going to be in heaven with us also instead of the other place. I have two pieces of news for you. The first news is this: Heaven is for perfect people. It’s what it’s reserved for. Flat out. God is a holy God. God is a perfect God. God will not be in the presence of anything which is unholy. He will not be in the presence with anything which is imperfect. Heaven is for perfect people.

How here’s news that’s not too shocking to you. I’m not perfect. This may be news to you. You’re not perfect either. But heaven is for perfect people and no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, no matter how much you want to bargain with Him, you cannot get yourself into heaven because you’re not perfect and heaven is for perfect people.

Now the shocker of all of this is God saw that and He recognized that so He did something about it. So a perfect God left heaven and came into a sinful world, something which He abhors is sin. And yet, a perfect God comes and He lives among a sinful people. And then he lives a perfect life. He demonstrates to us what it is to be a human being. He demonstrates to us what it means to be what God originally intended and created. And then, the only one who should never die, hangs upon a cross and He takes all of your imperfection and all of your sin and then He takes it on Himself.

Scripture says, “He who knew no sin became sin.” He embodied sin so when He died on the cross, He would give to us His righteousness. So when God looks at you, He sees perfection. Through faith in Jesus, when God looks at you, He sees perfect people. You’re not perfect but, through the blood of Jesus, He says you are perfect. And heaven, it’s open for you because heaven’s for perfect people which means you’re welcome.

How do you put a price tag on that? How do you put a value on that? All you can do is respond. All you can do is respond to God that says, “I want to honor God with all of my life, with everything about my being, I want to honor Him and I want to show my love and my commitment to Him.” We honor God with all aspects of our life, even financially, because let’s face it, money plays a huge role in our life, huge role in our life. So when we honor God with our money, we honor God by worshipping Him and saying, “God, I trust you and I give a portion of it back to you.”

You honor God when you give it willfully and cheerfully. I don’t know how many times I’ve said this but I’ll say it again, if when the offering plate comes by, if in your heart you’re saying, “I guess I have to,” then don’t. If you’re filling out your checkbook at home for the offering envelope and you say, “Well, I suppose the church needs this so we better kick it in,” then don’t. I’m serious about that. Don’t. That is not honoring God. That’s not the point. It’s not about how much. It’s about our heart and our attitude that says we want to respond back to God and we want to do it with a willing heart, that this is part of our worship for Him, part of our response to Him.

God gives us instructions on how to do that. He said every person must decide in their heart how much they’re going to give back to God, what percentage it is. It doesn’t matter whether these are $1 bills or $1,000 bills, it’s all percentages. What percentage are we going to give back to God? Now the Old Testament, it’s filled with the tithe and 10%. So God, in the New Testament, leaves it wide open to us but, as far as I’m concerned, if we’re going to give back to God, then it seems to make sense to me that we give it off the top and we follow the biblical principles of the tithe.

And I want to demonstrate that for us because if we take a look at what that really means, if I were to take ten of these, God says, “90% is yours.” “10% give that back to me.”

I don’t know about you, it pales in comparison. You have to make the choice. You have to decide. What is it that you need to keep? You can practice it however many times you want. Do you need to keep 98%? 99%? 95%? 92%? You have to decide. But you have to decide what can you do joyfully and willingly. God says when we give back to Him that He blesses us. Now here’s the rub, I run into it every year. You don’t know the blessings until you do it. I can try to describe it to you. I can try to explain to you but you don’t know the blessings until you actually do it, until you make the commitment and you willfully, joyfully give back to God and you see how He blesses your life.

I can tell you how it happened for me and it’s been quite a few years now because I wasn’t honoring God with my money at one point. I know I wasn’t. For years, I wasn’t. And we had a heart discussion in our home and we said, “We’re going to,” and we kind of made a big leap that year and have never looked back. And for us, it’s off the top. My paycheck gets deposited electronically and the first electronic withdrawal from the checking account goes right here to Gloria Dei. It goes back to God. That’s how we honor God with what He’s given to us. And the blessings have been immense and I’m not talking about physical blessings, although we’ve never wanted for anything. I’m just talking about the joy of worshipping God and acknowledging who He is in my life and wanting to give back to Him and responding to what He’s given to us.

And the challenge is you need to do the same. If you’re a member of Gloria Dei, this week, you’re going to get a letter from me and, in that letter, there’s going to be a challenge where you sit down and pray about this and think about this and say, “How is it that I’m going to respond back to God and support the ministry He’s given us here at Gloria Dei?” Only you can make that choice. It has to be done willfully and joyfully, not out of pressure, not out of compulsion. I will ask that you make a commitment because that’s when it becomes real when you place it on a commitment card. And then next week, during the worship service, you have an opportunity to walk up and place your commitment on the altar because this is a commitment between you and your God.

If you’re a guest with us here this morning and you’d like to read over that material and that commitment God challenges us with, it’s going to be posted on our website. Go ahead and go there and look because this isn’t about Gloria Dei. This is about God’s people managing the resources He’s given to us and responding to that challenge.

So this week, I want you to really think about that and pray about that and to break this bond about it’s not about what you make. It’s not your self worth equals your net worth. You’re worth more than anything to God. It’s not about what you make but it’s about what you do with it. Amen.

Copyright 2009 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church