This is a continuation of my previous post, so if you haven’t read that, go ahead and read that first. I last left off with this thought:
Giving money away is the best way to spend it.
It is the biggest investment you can make in yourself.
Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This begs the question: What is my greatest treasure? Or you might ask yourself “What can I not stand to lose?” “What do I value the most?” or “What do I derive the most pleasure from?” I think they’re pretty much the same thing. In response, probably the first thing we’d say is “friends and family,” but in the back of our minds, I think many of us would also say “money and possessions,” especially in the current economic situation. Today there were rumors abound that our company might go and lay off 10% of its 66,000-member workforce, and that was a big wake-up call as to where my treasures lie. If I’m truly honest with myself, getting laid off would be the worst thing ever, a nightmare scenario. Where, then, is my greatest treasure?
The Bible says that Christ Himself is our greatest treasure. Paul writes to the Philippians, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (3:8). He says he would give it all up, consider everything he’s gained — money, possessions, influence — as “rubbish” for the sake of “gaining Christ.” What Paul is basically saying here is that he would give up his temporary goods for eternal reward. He’s also saying that these temporal earthly things are worth nothing — no, less than nothing, since nobody wants garbage — compared to that eternal reward. Holding onto what is earthly and temporary is a poor investment.
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. -Jim Elliot, missionary
One of my favorite things to do when reading Scripture is looking for parallelisms between Old and New Testament themes. One such theme is the exchange of the temporary for that which is eternal. In fact, that’s the very definition of faith, isn’t it? And if nothing else, the Bible is a book about faith. The guys who are described in Hebrews 11, the “heroes of faith,” are people who did just that. Noah built the ark; Abraham left his home and trusted God to lead him to unknown places; Moses left his royal position in Egypt to lead God’s people out of there; there are tons and tons of examples all over the place. The author of Hebrews then goes on to write that all of these people who trusted God were saved by their faith.
Ephesians 2:8 says that we are “saved by faith through grace.” Since I’m writing mainly about money, here’s an example of someone who was saved by faith: Zacchaeus (story found in Luke 19). After his encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus tells Him, “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (19:8). It doesn’t seem like Zacchaeus pulled out a pen and calculated how much that would be so that he’d have enough left over for himself; it seems more like he just blurted it out of excitement and didn’t care that this would leave him flat broke. And Jesus doesn’t just say, “Sweet!” Instead, He says “Today salvation has come to this house” (19:9). Just so you know, that’s a lot better than “Sweet!” In contrast to this, there’s the story of the wealthy ruler (Luke 18) who couldn’t part with his riches and wealth and consequently would have no part in the Kingdom of God. Now, I’m not saying that we have to sell all our possessions and donate them to the poor in order to be saved, even though that’s pretty much what happened with these examples. The point of these two stories is that the first man, Zacchaeus, was able to make the exchange of temporary treasures on earth for eternal treasures in Heaven, and the second man, the rich ruler, was not. When we make the decision to follow Jesus, that is essentially what we’re doing: trading up in faith, not even with just our money but with our entire lives. But even though we’re not all called to sell off all we own, we are told to give, and this is why. I mentioned Leviticus 27:30-32 in my last post. It’s the verse about tithing, commanding the believer to give 10% of their harvest/livestock/earnings to God. This, too, is an issue of faith for the believer. Basically, we’re supposed to say, “Ok God, here’s 10% of my stuff, even though I’m probably going to need it and it would be a good idea to save it anyway. I trust that you’re going to do something good with this and take care of me.” It’s an exercise in faith.
So this is why money is mentioned so much by Jesus and in the rest of the Bible. It’s not because the church wants your money; it’s because money plays such a pivotal role in exercising our faith. Money is the epitome of all the temporary goods, joys, and pleasures offered by this world, and we need to be able to give that up and trust in the eternal reward offered by God through His Son.
Randy Alcorn puts it very well in his book Money, Possessions, and Eternity:
The act of giving is a vivid reminder that our life is all about God, not about us. It says, “I am not the point, God is the point. He does not exist for me. I exist for him.” God’s money has a higher purpose than my affluence. Giving is a joyful surrender to a great er Person and a greater agenda. Giving affirms Christ’s lordship. It dethrones and exalts him. It breaks the chains of Mammon that would enslave me and transfers my center of gravity to heaven.
As long as I still have something, I believe I own it. But when I give it away, I relinquish the control, power, and prestige that come with wealth. At the moment of release, the light turns on. The magic spell is broken. My mind clears, and I recognize God as owner, myself as servant, and other people as intended beneficiaries of what God has entrusted to me.
Giving doesn’t strip me of my vested interest; rather, it shifts my vested interest from earth to heaven — from self to God.
Learning this and putting it into practice in my life was the difference-maker in my attitude about my stolen bike (mentioned in previous post).
Ok, this post is getting too long again. I’m going to cut it off here and continue it tomorrow. Stay tuned for Part III! It’ll be about two objections people might have to what I just said. And Jon, in my next post I will answer that question you asked in your comment.
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