November 4, 2007

Servant-Management in 2008

by Rev. Dr. Jim Carlson

Matthew 6:19-21

Brittney Spears charitable giving – Monthly income of $737,000, gives $500 monthly to charity. $4700 a month eating out.

Question in Matthew – what principles inform the choices we make in life? What are we living for?

Three major points Jesus wants to make about being his disciple.

One: his disciples must be guided by a keen sense of right and wrong. They don’t just follow rules – they do what is right and best in each situation.

Two, they don’t put on religious airs so others will admire them. Their godliness is private and genuine.

Their focus is not on the treasures of this world but on the treasures of heaven.

For disciples of Jesus, choices in life made on the basis of our sense of purpose. Money we spend, career choice, family responsibilities.

Treasure in heaven – sense that this life is fleeting. Purpose in life is not to impress others.

Obsession with making money to pay for food and clothes and basic needs can become the purpose in life rather than a means for experiencing the things that really count in life.

Once we understand that, the question of giving looks very different.

Biblical teaching on stewardship starts from the idea that God has given us certain blessings which we must manage, whether we want to or not. Time, health, money, talents.

Those resources are not really ours, they belong to God and are to be used to promote God’s kingdom on earth.

Forbes magazine tells about Hugh and Nancy McFarland Jr. who have been giving away 70% of their income for eighteen years since Hugh was 39. Is it just that they’re so rich that they don’t really need the money?

No, not really. They just make excellent use of what they have.

We are servants of other people and mangers of the blessings we’ve been given. Throughout the NT the message is the same: make the best use of what you have.

Let’s apply that to our giving for next year. Most Christians give between one and two percent of their income to the church.

If we really believe what we’re saying about wanting God’s kingdom to come on earth, we have to say that with more than our mouths during a prayer on Sunday morning. We have to support it using the resources God has given us.

Consider moving up a step in your percentage giving. Not because church needs to pay bills, not to relieve your conscience over something bad you’ve done to someone.

Consider moving up the staircase of giving because you recognize that in a world of tremendous need and poverty, you have been blessed beyond what many people could ever hope for.

You may say, “I don’t really have that much. I’m barely making it.” I don’t want anyone to feel they have to miss meals or car payments or medical treatments in order to increase their giving.

But I do want you to consider sacrificing things you can do without so that you can give more.

The reason why I would even ask that is because that kind of sacrifice is at the very core of who God is. God sacrificed God’s son, Jesus for our sins. Jesus willingly gave up his equality with God to come down to earth and be executed as a criminal.

Christians have been imitating that kind of sacrifice ever since. We have benefited from the sacrifices of previous generations of Baptists in this congregation.

If that is what we’re about, and if that’s the kind of God we believe in, then we also have to think about giving in a sacrificial way.

Yeah, I could probably lease a much nicer car with the money I put in the offering plate. But honestly I’m happy as a clam driving a sixteen year old car.

We could probably take a nicer vacation – maybe another trip to Disney world with the money we put in the plate. But then I’m sacrificing the kingdom for my own comforts rather than the other way around.

I could probably pay down some of my debts and student loans with the money I put in the plate. But if I have the discipline of giving sacrificially to God’s kingdom, maybe that attitude will help me keep from running up debt in the future. And I won’t have to spend the kingdoms resources on my own comfort.

Think this morning about your choices in life. Think about what this church has meant to you. Think of the people who gave to make this place possible. Think of the sacrifices they made.

They sacrificed for the kingdom because the cross of Christ overshadowed everything the world told them was theirs to enjoy. They realized it wasn’t theirs to enjoy. It was theirs to manage in God’s name.

What kind of a manger will you be next year? What will you do with the things God has entrusted to you? Your time, your talent, your money, your health? Take a few minutes to consider this question as we prepare to present our pledges before God this morning.