Five Great Reasons to Give
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
(Luke 6:30-38)
30 “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
I am going to move past the second hymn and into the message.
If you are a visitor with us, you might be tempted during this time to think, “Well all those guys do is talk about money.” I have heard that from a few visitors during stewardship time, and to some degree I can understand it, but I am going to talk about stewardship, yes, in terms of money; and we will be talking about money over the next couple of weeks. But stewardship is a much bigger idea, it is a biblical idea. In fact, the first thing I want to say about stewardship is I believe that stewardship is the key to understanding your life and why you are here. Now you may read that and go, “Boy, he must be desperate.” If all stewardship is is about money and all I am doing is asking for it, I really would be desperate. Stewardship is a much bigger deal. Stewardship in the Bible is the idea that God made everything. God is the Creator. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. All are made, that includes us. We are creatures and therefore God is the owner. Stewardship is the idea that you take what belongs to someone else and manage it. In the end we will all stand before God and give account to how we managed the things we have been given. Every one of us! The only reason that is true is because God is the owner.
So with that idea, that underlying foundation, we need to approach stewardship. I believe that STEWARDSHIP has a whole lot to say about the meaning of life, and that is a big deal for people in our day. I was reading something this week about how someone went to Harvard University (the authors are Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz), and traveled to Harvard University to ask this great question of great minds. The one professor responded, “I am not sure there is a very clear meaning to life at this point.” The students’ responses followed a similar line. One said, “I don’t have a clue about the meaning of life, but I wish I did.” Another said, “The meaning of life helps you decide what that means for you personally, but I don’t know what it is.” A young couple walked by and responded to this question. The man said, “The meaning of life, (maybe with a little joke in his heart), the meaning of life is two point five kids, a white picket fence, and a big American car.” But the women replied, “The meaning of life is the opposite of whatever he said.”
And so it goes… philosophers and politicians and wise men of all ages, especially today it seems— they haven’t got a clue about the meaning of life. But you know what? In the Bible it is pretty clear; it is easy, actually. The Bible is all about God, and it is not about you. It is not about you and it is all about God. Stewardship gives you a category to think in, in those terms. What do you do with your life? Now it is true that each one of us individually has to discover for ourselves what God wants us to be and do. We all have a calling. But, in general, we are all stewards and that gives you meaning. You know your place. You know if we could all get that we would be a lot happier because, you know, until you understand you are a steward, you are never going to be happy. I know that sounds like an absolute statement but it is really true. Unless we discover that it isn’t about us, and it is about God, we haven’t taken the first step. That is what the Bible says, it says, “We are not our own; we have been bought with a price” especially through Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) So Stewardship is this category to think in that God has made and owns everything, every rock, every animal, every person, every thing. Not only does he own it, he sustains it, his whole creation. That is the place to begin.
The second thing is that STEWARDSHIP is one of the most powerful ways to say “Thanks.” John already mentioned that idea. I like to say that giving is thanksgiving. We give of ourselves in appreciation for what God has done. You know, I have a wish, and it is never going to come true; but I have a wish and it informs how I pastor people. Whenever I have gone to a church I always encourage people, if they can, and really just try to help people to make the idea: go on a mission trip. I wish that everyone could spend a month in Africa. I wish that everyone could spend a few days or a couple of weeks in the slums of one of the major cities of South America. I wish that you could even spend a few days in Afghanistan. You might go, “Oh my gosh!” It is only a wish; but why would I wish such a thing? Because seeing things as they are is a lot more powerful than seeing a picture of how they are.
You and I, if you want to put it on humanistic terms, have won the lottery of life. We live in America. The rest of the world is hurting. Now I am not one to say that being wealthy, and you may not understand, you are wealthy. You have running water therefore you are much wealthier than Solomon was. Solomon didn’t have running water. He may have had a few robes, but you have more clothes than Solomon did. I can guarantee you. I can look in my closet. I regularly go through my closet and just pick things…I am going to give this away and this away and this away. I have about twenty outfits, or more, and you do too. There is nothing wrong with that, but you have a lot. I regularly, regularly, fall into this whiny, ungrateful attitude, like, “Gosh things could be better for me. I wish they were. Isn’t it terrible?” Then I remember what I have seen because I did spend a month in Africa and I have been to Lima, Peru on three but different mission trips working among the poorest of the poor. And I have been to Afghanistan. Many of you people have been to other places even worse than that. I know that we are all not going to go but it can help us be grateful. You see, we are stewards of what we have been given and you have been given a lot. Don’t feel guilty about it, but do something with it. Be grateful. Give as a part of your thanksgiving. The Bible says, Paul talks to the Corinthians and says, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:11) Giving is thanksgiving. Giving of your time and your talents and your stuff and your money is an act of worship. I am gong to talk more about that in a couple of weeks.
STEWARDSHIP is also a sign that we are becoming mature in Christ. I have said this before. I just love children. You know what I miss most about being an adult that is chronologically blessed? I miss when my kids were smaller. I miss being able to say “Hey, let’s read a book,” and they would all crawl on the bed and we would read, or sometimes we would play king of the bed and we would throw each other off, or something. I just miss that. Of course my girls had a hard time until they were older throwing me off the bed, but that was the fun part of that. Now, I am enjoying the idea of having a grandchild and it is wonderful. Kids are just great. But there is something else about kids that we all know. We all know that children are sweet and lovable and yet they are all wrapped up in themselves. It is all about them. We are at their beck and call and they take full advantage of it. If they are hungry or they need to be changed they let us know, usually not too patient about it either. Over time they actually learn how to manipulate us adults until we carry out their every wish. In fact, I say one of the hardest parts of parenting as our kids grow up is learning how to say no. Some of us, though, are like our kids. We don’t grow up fully because that is what maturity is. Even in the Bible, it’s learning that it isn’t about us. Jesus turned things on there head when he said the greatest person in God’s sight is one who serves, not the person who is served. The greatest person is the least not the greatest; the one that has the most. The kingdom of God is just the opposite of how we live and think, often. Very different. Maturity is learning how to give of ourselves, learning how to serve.
You know, I find that all of us struggle with this. I do, because my natural inclination as a human being is to have it be all about Chris. Then I have to wake up everyday and remind myself, maybe on a minute basis, it is not about Chris; because I am thinking about, how do I get fulfilled today? We see that in church all the time. Over many, many years I have had people say, “I just don’t get anything out of your sermons, Pastor. That’s why I don’t come on Sunday morning.” “Fine.” You know I talked to somebody the other day who had been listening to several different kinds of sermons and he said it was surprising how many people had different styles. Well, I have a certain style and it doesn’t reach everybody; that is just the way it is. So that is why there is a church on every corner. But if you want to stay here, and I would love for you to stay, I am the one God has sent to you whether you like it or not. And it is not about you, so come and listen the best you can. I am not trying to be harsh. It is just the way it is. Worship styles are the same way. In twenty-five years, I have had people come up to me and say, “We need to get rid of those traditional worship people. They are just boring.” On the other hand, the traditional worship people come up to me and say, “What about this contemporary stuff? They just repeat the same things over and over again. We need to get rid of them.” And Oh! Woe is Chris… No, it is just what it is. If we are going to be a community, guess what? We have to live for everybody else, and we will do the best we can to have both.
Same is true with giving. It is hard to give of your money or your time. I remember talking to a couple many, many years ago, so don’t try to figure out who they are, but this type of person is everywhere. They were a very attractive couple. They had just retired. They had all kinds of gifts. He was in business, she was doing something else and I wanted them to do a project for the church. “Oh, I am sorry Pastor we can’t do that right now. We will be traveling all summer.” “What about the fall?” “Well, we will be going to this place all fall.” “What about in the winter?” “Well, it’s too cold.” …Oh, it’s not in Minnesota… but I remember thinking, they are a poster child for some people that don’t understand stewardship, because the last thing they said to me was “Pastor, we did our bit while we were in church, now we are going to live for ourselves and do our own thing.” Stewardship does not end! It does not end! The more you have been given in money and experience, guess what? Now there is nothing wrong with going to see your grandchildren or your children or going on a trip. Nothing wrong at all, but if you have been given all this stuff you are expected to do as much as you can.
I read a story about a woman who was talking to a friend of hers and the friend of hers was a very wealthy person and she was complaining, “Did you hear what that pastor said about giving ten percent?” And the woman writes “I knew what my friend was thinking. She just couldn’t imagine giving that much money away. And I knew that they had just gone on a very expensive cruise so I suggested to her that she simply give ten percent of what they spent on the cruise. And she walked out on me and I didn’t talk to her for a week.” Nothing wrong with a cruise… But where are our priorities? Where is our stewardship?
We are to become mature in Christ and that means that we are to grow up into him and that is simply realizing more and more and more it is not about us. Look what Paul says to the Ephesians: “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into… the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:15-16) You don’t just do your work for a season. We all do work. Yes, we have moments of life when we can’t do as much as we did, but we are all called to be stewards of our time and our talent and our money because we are not the owners of it.
Our STEWARDSHIP expresses our belief in who God is and in what our expectations of God wants us to do in the future. I have told you before that one of my favorite series of books is the Narnia Chronicles. I have shared with you about how in Prince Caspian Lucy meets Aslan again, who is the Christ figure. She says “Aslan, you’ve grown. You have gotten bigger.” And he says, “No my child, you have gotten older, and as you get older I will be bigger to you.” But I think unfortunately many people don’t grow in their faith and God remains small to them. You know we have heard a lot about God’s love for people in our video and Amen! God loves you. God is in your life. God really, really loves you more than you will ever know, loves me too. But do you ever wonder why God seems so distant to you? The Bible says “Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously.” (2 Corinthians 9:6) This is not just about consequences, that if you do something wrong you are going to get zapped. It has to do with blessing, as well. Does God seem far away? Maybe you should examine your stewardship of your time. I said earlier that you won’t be happy until you are a good steward. If you don’t have a sense of gratitude, you won’t ever be happy. God wants you to be happy, but there are certain paths to it. It is a principle of life that if we sow sparingly, we will reap sparingly. It doesn’t mean God doesn’t love you. God loves you. God also wants you to be happy and wants you to be good stewards.
Last but not least, and actually this is part one of my series, a two-part series. I will continue this in a couple weeks about great reasons to be a steward or great reasons to give. But last today is that the purpose of our STEWARDSHIP is to invest in eternity. Jesus tells a parable and at the end of that parable he says. “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (Luke 16:9) He is talking about a dishonest steward and it is an interesting parable; but the bottom line is that when we stand before God, God will ask you what you did with your stuff. You know there is a great divide in the modern Church. The divide is this: There are people in the Church who say the purpose of the Church is to do social justice and that is what we are all about. We are here to do justice, however you define it. That’s why we are here. And on the other side there are people who say “No, the purpose is to save souls out of the fire. The world is the Titanic and we are trying to get people off the boat before it goes down.” You know, I think it is both/and. We are here to do good for people but we do it in the name of Jesus because we are all going, if you haven’t looked in the mirror lately, we all are getting a little bit older by the day, and we all will check-out as we said before. Not to be negative, actually I am looking forward for the day—not today, of course. But I am looking forward to the day. But there are people out there who don’t know Jesus and they are going to be lost. There are people out there who are starving. The man who spoke last week, spoke so passionately about how Jesus says “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me to proclaim the good news to those who are weak, to those who are prisoners, to those who are hurting, to those who are blind, to those who are downtrodden.” (Luke 4:18-19) Yes! Yes! Yes! But to everyone…both/and; because we are making an investment in this world yes, but also into eternity, into eternity.
Something to think about to close, a quote from Winston Churchill, who said: “We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give.” We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Think about that.