February 4,
2007
It’s All About
Relationships: “Finances”
Proverbs
3:1-15; Luke 16:13; Hebrews 13:5
SCRIPTURE
1 My son, do
not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life
many years
and bring you prosperity.
3 Let love and faithfulness never
leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good
name
in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your
heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. (He will direct your paths)
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
9 Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to
overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new
wine.
11 My son, do not despise the LORD's
discipline
and do not resent his rebuke,
12 because the LORD disciplines those
he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.
13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than
silver
and yields better returns than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
Months
ago when I mapped-out these series of messages under the heading of “It’s All
About Relationships”, with the goal of looking at issues that will improve our
relationships with God and with one another, I did not initially highlight
“finances” as a major topic, though I did plan to consider finances as one
aspect of next week’s message about the importance of having “Common Goals” in
healthy relationships.
But,
after beginning this sermon series I sensed God’s leading; to take a Sunday and
to speak specifically on finances and relationships for two major reasons:
A. As I’ve mentioned in prior messages, our Lord Jesus talked a lot about money. Near half of all His parables (16 of 38) were concerned with how to handle money and possessions and in..... the Gospels, .... one out of ten
verses (288 in all) deal directly with the subject of money. When
compared to what many would consider “more spiritual
topics”:
The Bible offers
500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2,000 verses
on money and possessions. Howard L. Dayton, Jr.
Since
Jesus came to offer us an abundant life defined by a renewed relationship with
God and one another, and since He highlight the subject of money and
possessions in His teachings, we have good reason to highlight finances when
talking about healthy relationships.
B. Secondly, it is good to talk about finances
when talking about relationships, because half of today’s marriages end in
divorce, and the #1 reason given for divorce is money.
In
fact, 72 percent of respondents in one survey listed finances
as the number one reason
for their divorce. (www.crown.org/pastorscorner/Article.asp?ID=19)
So
whether finances are the issue that causes once-committed people to consider
divorce, or whether growing financial concerns bring to a head other relational
weakness, to seek biblical direction; to discover a Word from God concerning
our finances, can only strengthen our relationships.
This morning’s message is quite simple;
Rather than allowing our finances to affect healthy relationships, God wants healthy
relationships to define our finances.
Let us consider three passages which illustrate this message:
1.
Luke 16:13
The 16th chapter of Luke has much
to say about money and finances. And perhaps no single verse sums up those
teachings, nor is better know, than Luke 16:13; a message from Jesus concerning
a crucial choice we must all make. Jesus declares:
13"No servant can serve two masters.
Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
Devotion
to money & possessions, is not solely an “American” thing or a “Capitalist”
thing, it is a human thing, it is a choice; it is the worship of an earthly god
rather than the One True God.
And
Jesus says that it is a choice all people have to make. It was a choice the
“Rich Young Ruler” had to make in Jesus’ day, and one each of us has to make
within whatever cultural norms and pressures we find ourselves. Either money will define the place of God in
your life, or God will define the place of money in your life. It all depends
upon whom you will call “Master”, whom you will chose to serve in this world.
Let me ask a direct question. As Jesus
asked of the Rich Young Ruler, if you had to given up all your wealth in order
to gain eternal life in the presence of God, would you do that? Is God worth
everything to you, or is your relationship with God restricted... is it somehow
controlled by your money? In many people’s life the answer is obvious. They are
willing to give up anything that is godly & righteous to purse wealth. But
what about us?
I
hear the “lordship of money” revealed whenever a non-churchgoer says.... all
those churches want is your money! (Well ... I like to respond...actually no, God
want your whole life which includes your treasures!) People who use money as an
excuse for not coming to church are worshipping a different Lord than I am.
Another
question: How long does a marriage relationship last when a husband or wife
makes their work more important than their spouse? During my college years I
was dating a girl named Sue who lived off campus with her mother. I was also
school photographer who spent a lot of my extra time developing film and
printing pictures in the campus center darkroom. One day Sue confronted me with
a choice; either I give her more of my time, or I just stay in the darkroom.
You
know... I really like photography. ;-)
Jesus tells us in Luke 16:13 that we have a
choice to make; God or Money. Who is your Master? Your choice will greatly
affect your relationship with God, just as my choice affected my relationship
with Sue, and my choices today affect my relationship with my wife Carole.
A second passage which highlights money and
relationships is the one we read before our children left for Sunday school;
2. Proverbs
3
The
choice we have between God or money is not exactly an either/or choice, for
when we chose God, we are also choosing the One who will supply us with all we
need for life.
What
we are reminded of in Proverbs 3 is that we gain something greater than silver
and gold when we devote ourselves and our finances to God; we gain a wisdom
which in turn provides abundantly for our needs.
At
the end of our reading we heard:
13 Blessed is the
man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,
14 for she is more
profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
15 She is more
precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
This personified wisdom (“she”) is the very
wisdom of God, and remember that “wisdom” is more than knowledge; it is
knowledge applied in the proper situation at the proper time. Earlier I
mentioned that 72 percent of divorced people in one survey listed finances as
their number one reason for divorce. The group which made up that particular
survey were people who had been involved in Christian ministry. Talk about
people you’d expect to have knowledge of God’s word! But remember, wisdom is
more than knowledge, it is applying that knowledge when it is needed. To allow
finances to define a relationship, to determine that a relationship is over
because of financial difficulty, is to give sovereignty to something other than
God.
When our wisdom is from God, it
means that we not only know His Word, but we choose to use His revelations to
accomplish His great work of reconciliation; the very advancement of the
Kingdom of God in the hearts and minds of people. When Jesus came to initiate
and advance God’s Kingdom, scripture tells us that
Matthew 11:5
The blind receive sight, the lame walk,
those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are
raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
True,
real human needs are met when God’s wisdom touches human life. When we are able to see that which is
greater than gold and silver, we are able to receive God’s blessings even as we
relieve ourselves of “earthly treasures” which can suffocate life and waste the
resources God has given to us. And by the power of God’s Spirit which lives in
all who believe in Jesus, we as the children of God have the power to share the
blessings of God’s Kingdom with others.
When
I read Proverbs 3 I cannot help but remember Peter & John’s entrance into
Acts 3:6
...."Silver or gold I do not have, but
what I have I give you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of
And the beggar, crippled since birth, “jumped to his feet
and began to walk. ..... he went with them into the temple courts, walking and
jumping, and praising God.” (Acts 3:8)
PRICELESS!
I appreciate a quote I recently ran across:
“It’s good to have money and things money can buy, but
it’s good to check once in a while and make sure you haven’t lost the things
money can’t buy.” George Horace
Lorimer (Editor-in-Chief, Saturday Evening Post 1899-1937)
There
are things greater than gold or silver, and those things are from God.
Proverbs
3 reminds us that when we allow our obedience to God to direct our finances,
God will provide even more abundantly than we can provide for ourselves even
with all the moneys of this world.
We
are not denying ourselves blessings when we choose God over money, we are
choosing to worship and serve the very source of all blessings.
9 Honor the LORD
with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns
will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new
wine.
The third passage which informs our
questions about relationships and finances is
3. Hebrews
13:5
5Keep your lives
free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has
said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
Also, Paul writes to Timothy:
1 Timothy
6:10
.... the love of money is a root of all kinds of
evil. Some
people, eager for money, have
wandered from the faith and
pierced themselves with many griefs
Money is not evil in and of itself, it is our
love of money for which God warns us against; a love that reveals a lie we have
come to believe; that people can actually have a relationship with money; that
like a parent’s relationship with a child, money will provide for all their
needs. Now if you believe that money will always be there to give you what you
need:
-
Talk with seniors whose families lost lifesavings in the
Stock Market crash of 1929.
-
Talk with friends who lost fortunes when the “dot com bubble”
burst in 2000-01.
-
Talk with former shareholders of Enron (2001) or WorldCom
(2002) or other bankrupt companies .
-
Talk with any of us who began our careers trusting that
Social Security would be there when we retired.
When
we trust that money will take care of us, we have believed in a false
relationship, we have “loved” money rather than loved the One who promises us
that He will never leave us nor forsake us. When we “love money” we have
forsaken a real relationship with the living God for a pretend relationship
with something which is inanimate, spiritless, lifeless.
Now,
this does not mean that money is not useful. In fact it is very good at growing
relationships; hopefully good ones, but also convenient ones. Consider Jesus’
parable from Luke 16:(1-9) of the “Shrewd Manager” who uses money to make
friends with his Master’s debtors, knowing that his poor stewardship of the Master’s
resources will soon leave him in need of friends to insure a more comfortable future.
But
like all the resources given us by God, money is best used when controlled by
relationships defined by love; healthy, redeemed relationships pleasing to God.
- Rather than
allowing a husband & wife’s finances to affect their relationship to the
point of divorce, their love for one another can immediately define their
finances. For just as “two became one” in marriage, according to scripture, so
too do finances become a joint venture where each spends money in ways that
demonstrates love for the other, and not selfish consumerism.
And
beyond the unique relationship of husband and wife, I believe the Bible calls
us to use our finances in light of our relationship as our brothers and sisters
in Christ, and in our love for “neighbors”.. all in this world who stand in
need.
Our
example for finances in the church is found in:
Acts 4:32-37
32All the believers were one in heart and
mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared
everything they had. 33With great power the apostles
continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was
upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them.
For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the
money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet,
and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas
(which means Son of Encouragement), 37sold a field he
owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.
The love which existed among those early
Christians had a direct affect on how their view and used their financial
resources.
Our
example for our finances in relationship with a world in need, comes from Jesus’
parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) whose compassion for the ambushed
Jewish man played out through financing his health care. We also receive an
example through Zacchaeus’ story in Luke 19:1-10 when, after meeting Jesus, he
gave half his possession to the poor, and repaid fourfold those he had cheated
as a tax collector. All of which led Jesus to declare that “Today salvation has come to this house...”
(Luke 16:9).
When we participate in God’s salvation by loving
God, loving our spouses, loving our family of faith, and loving neighbors rather
than having a love for money, our financial decisions will be controlled by our
loving relationships with God and one another.
There
are a lot of practical applications we can derive from these passages about
relationships and finances. For example,
-
When we love God more than money, we become
grateful people. For rather than buying into our cultural emphasis on what we
don’t have (and therefore need to buy), we become increasingly aware of, and
content with, all the blessings God has supplied in abundance.
-
When we love our spouses, and value that
relationship over money, our marriages will only grow stronger as they face the
financial troubles of today to find a solution together.
But perhaps the greatest conclusion
we can draw comes when we see that
-
Money has great potential to either do good or
to destroy. If we prioritize our relationship with God over our finances; or if
we prioritize our relationships as brothers and sisters in Christ over
finances, or if we prioritize our lives to live as God’s Children in this world
over any desire for money, great things will happen....God’s blessings will
shower down upon us and our church and our world.
-
But on the flip side of things,
we can also expect a decline, even a destruction of relationships, whenever as
individuals, as spouses or friends, as church families, or as nations we
prioritize money over our love for God, for others and for people in need.
Broken friendships, divorce, escalating unmet social needs,
political isolationism & war will destroy this world faster than any global
warming! Indeed, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
Let us hear the Word of God today, and make sure
that healthy and loving relationships define your finances. Do not allow the
love of money to destroy the renewed relationships God has
made possible for us in Jesus Christ. AMEN
Scripture
taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (r).
Copyright
(c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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