Malachi 1:6b-8, 3:8-12

At a church meeting, a very wealthy man rose to tell the rest of those present about his Christian faith. “I’m a millionaire,” he said, “and I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my life.

“Why, I remember the turning point in my faith. I had just earned my first dollar and I went to a church meeting that night. The speaker was a missionary who told about his work. I knew that I only had a dollar bill and had to either give it all to God’s work or nothing at all.

“So at that moment, I decided to give my whole dollar to God. I believe that God blessed that decision, and that is why I am a rich man today.”

He finished speaking and there was an awed silence at his testimony as he moved toward his seat. As he sat down a little old lady sitting in the same pew leaned over and said to him, in a very loud whisper: “I dare you to do it again.”

Money. Money. Money. Since next Sunday is Consecration Sunday, when we bring our pledges forward to be dedicated, this morning I am going to preach about money. That shouldn’t be a  surprise.

But what MAY surprise you is that I am not going to BASH money. No railing about money being the root of all evil (which is an incorrect quote, by the way); it’s “the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Money, though, can be wonderful. I think everyone ought to have as much of it as they can make good use of.

Money is a marvelous tool. Money allows us to live, to eat, to drink, have clothing, shelter, transportation, maintain our health, help our families and friends.

Money is an instrument of social expression - we give money to those individuals and entities that are in our good graces; we withhold money as a sign of our disapproval. In our society, the list of things money can buy is endless.

As the Wall Street Journal says, money is “a universal passport to everywhere except heaven, and a universal provider of everything except happiness.”

If it can’t get us to heaven or buy happiness – then why talk about it?  Well, there are two possible answers to that question.

        The first is that churches require, want, and need more of it because: Bills must be paid. Projects funded. Outreach done. Salaries met. Buildings maintained and so forth.

The work of God does need the gifts that God has given us for that work.  Quite frankly the work of God needs our wallets.  And it always has. 

        And we need them just as much this coming year.  There is so much left to do – in this church, in our community, and in the world.  We want to make a difference and we need your help.

        And although that is all very true, it’s not why I want to talk about money this morning.  I want to talk about money for the same reason Jesus did.  Because he loves us!

        Everything Jesus talked about can and should be viewed through the lens or filter of his love.  If we love him, keep his commandments.  This is how they will know we are his disciples – by how we love one another.  Love God and love each other (including ourselves) with all we’ve got …

        And because he loved us – he told us lots and lots about money – the blessings and the dangers. One very good example is today’s Gospel reading from Luke where we heard the story which is normally titled “the parable of the rich fool”, the story of the man who saved and saved and saved for his future - only to die before that future could come.

        The beginning of the parable is quite instructive to today’s topic.  A man asks Jesus to tell his brother to divide the family inheritance with him.

        Jesus responds to him with the words “who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you.” 

And then he says to the crowd, to us, these words:   “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”

        Indeed this is the key to the talk about money in the Bible… The role it plays in our lives… And the role that it should not play in our lives, no matter how much we might want it to, or how much the world tells us it should.

“Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.” Because Jesus loves us, he warns us.

And that warning directly ties into why we should give.  If I want to worship God and not my possessions, if I don’t want to be greedy – then what? Part of the answer is reflected in our giving.

        And when it comes to giving, the first point we need to understand is: Giving should be an act of worship. It should be an expression of gratitude to a faithful God for all his goodness to me.

Giving is not just a response to a need in the church, it is a response of gratitude. It is giving as though we were placing it in God’s hands.

That then begs the age old question, how much should we give? Well, let’s go to scripture. First of all let’s examine the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, God claims ownership of 10% of everything the Israelites owned.

They had worked for their food and money, but it was God who blessed them with crops and herds, and the ability to work. Out of gratefulness to him they were to return a tenth of everything to him. Our text from Malachi makes that clear.

You may say, “Yes, that is all very well and good, but that is the Old Testament. What about the New Testament? Tithing is not even mentioned in the New Testament.” And you’re right. The New Testament standard for giving is not the tithe. The New Testament has a totally different pattern for stewardship than the Old Testament.

To understand the New Testament concept of giving we have to look at the story from the Gospel of Luke – the story of the Rich Young Ruler. This young man came to Jesus in search of heaven, and asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life.

Jesus’ response was to explain that he must first follow the basic laws of God — the ten commandments. The young man replied that he had kept all of the commandments from his youth.

And then Jesus completely astounded him by saying, “Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The Bible sadly reports, “When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

What was Jesus saying to this young man? He was giving the New Testament principle of stewardship, and that principle is this:

Whereas the Old Testament taught us that 10% of everything we own belongs to God, the New Testament, and in particular Jesus, is teaching us that all we have belongs to God. 100%! Old Testament standards are looking pretty good right now, aren’t they?

Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). The point is not whether you will literally give away all you have, but whether or not you recognize God’s complete and unconditional ownership of all you possess. We are talking about an entirely new attitude toward life. This is true worship.

Isn’t it interesting that the more we have the more we want, and the less grateful we are? And the more we have, the more likely we are to keep it to ourselves.

Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:17).

Where is your treasure? Is it invested in yourself, in possessions or pleasures? Is it hidden away in banks and securities, or is it invested in the kingdom of God where it will be used for his work?

When we give to God, it reminds us from where the things we have come. Where you spend your money is an accurate gauge of what you value in life and where the things of real importance are to you.

Have you invested in the material or spiritual? How we give demonstrates whether we are trusting God, or whether our security lies elsewhere.

It is all about priorities. What would it cost you to increase your pledge – your faith and trust in God – this year? So often we look at the rising cost of living, increased expenses, kids going to college, our increased needs (or maybe wants) and say we just can’t give or increase our giving.

But I’ll bet if we put God first and put him as our priority and paid him FIRST before all the other bills on your desk., there would be enough left over for the necessities of life. 

Often we would find we could fit everything else we wanted into our budget.  Of course, sometimes it might mean we need to give up a couple of trips to Starbucks, or maybe give up one dinner out a week, or maybe rent a movie instead of going out to the theater.  Maybe, it might even be a real sacrifice. 

But isn’t it worth it?  Isn’t God worth it?  DeLynn wrote at the bottom of the 1^st draft of this sermon that we should extend ourselves just beyond the point that makes us uncomfortable. You see, in the end, that resulting trust is what strengthens our love relationship with God.

And I agree.  So this morning, putting my money where my mouth is, I want to let you know that I plan to tithe this year.  10%. That will be a stretch, but a stretch worth making. 

I am not telling you this to puff myself up – but to let you know that I am willing to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk.  And it is not as painful as you might imagine.

It doesn’t matter to me if offering your first fruits to God means giving 5% or 10% or even 20% of all that we earn.  That is between you and God.

        Whether or not we freely offer the cream of our crops, the best of what we have, to God is a test of our faith.   Rest assured it has nothing to do with our salvation one way or another – that is already assured. 

It does not bring to us the love of God – God already loves us more than we can ever imagine – and it is unconditional. 

But it does show us where our hearts are... what we really believe or what we really desire. And it strengthens our faith by giving to God and knowing that he will never abandon us.

In my preparation for this sermon, I came across an intriguing story told by a pastor in Bellingham, Washington some years ago. Donel McClellan writes,

In downtown Seattle a few years back (though it could have been any city in this land) a man was out walking one day, just before Christmas. He came upon one of those Salvation Army kettles.

As he approached the volunteer ringing the bell, he felt an unaccustomed spirit of generosity wash over him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out all his change. He dropped every last coin into the kettle with a smile.

The man turned to leave, but then he stopped. He reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet and emptied every last bill into the kettle as well.

Grinning like an idiot, he walked away with a bounce to his step. But about two blocks later, the bounce wore out. Suddenly it hit him! “What have I done?” he asked himself.

The man turned around, walked back to the old woman and asked for his money back. He got it, and left again, walking very quickly this time, head down, looking neither to the right nor the left.

“For two blocks,” writes McClellan, that man walked in the Kingdom of God. For two blocks he was free of the burden of his possessions. For two blocks he put other people above himself. For two blocks he was self-giving and generous.

For two blocks he was blessed...but, like most of us, he could not stand the uncertainty that goes with that much blessing. He wanted to continue to think that he is in control. He walked back, out of the realm of God and back into the well-worn grooves of his weary world.

You have heard that old fund-raising admonition, “Give till it hurts.” No. This one is better: “Give till it feels GOOD!”

Hear once again our Lord.  Ponder the message that he is speaking to you this day when he says: Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life doesn’t consist in the abundance of possessions.

And consider where you would be in relationship to the Lord - and to all the world - should this very night your soul be required of you.

        And do from that mediation - what it is God is calling you to do, and do it in faith and trust and in joy, knowing that whatever it is -  it is of God - and God is good.

AMEN!