Matthew 13:44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." ~Jim Elliot
To what future are we investing the money that God has given stewardship over? Are we hording up material things in this life, weighing ourselves down with excess; or are we liberating ourselves from the worries of care and maintenance of things that do not last "where moth and rust destroys" by investing in our eternal rewards? Why play the fool and invest in things that do not last?
Proverbs 23:5 "Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle."
In Randy Alcorn's book, The Treasure Principle, Randy Alcorn illuminates the signifigance of the joy of giving that is a constant topic throughout scripture.
Treasure Principle #1: God owns everything. I'm His money manager. (Psalm 24:1, Haggai 2:8, Deuteronomy 8:18, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Treasure Principle #2: My heart always goes where I put God's money. (Revelation 21:1-6, Matthew 6:21, Luke 16:9, Philippians 4:17, Luke 14:12-14)
Treasure Principle #3: Heaven not earth, is my home. (luke 12:15, Hebrews 11:13, Philippians 3:20)
Randy Alcorn relates our time on earth to a short stay in a hotel room. We're just visiting and we can't take anything back with us. So why should we invest much in the hotel room? Who decks out their temporary stay at a hotel room with expensive furniture, artwork, and exotic sculptures?
Our time on earth is but a dot, but our time in heaven is a continuos line. Are we investing more in the "dot" than the "line"?
There is a modern day plague of materialism that a PBS television program covered with the titled Affluenza. The program claims:
- The average American shops 6 hours a week while spending 40 minutes playing with children.
- By age twenty, we've seen one million commercials.
- Recently, more Americans declared bankruptcythan graduated from college.
- In 90 percent of divorce cases, arguments about money played a prominent role.
Now listen to some of the wealthiest people of their day:
- The care of $2 million is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it. ~W.H. Vanderbilt
- I am the most miserable man on earth. ~John Jacob Astor
- I have made millions, but they have brought me no happiness. ~Rockefeller
- Millionaires seldom smile. ~Andrew Carnegie
"The less I spent on myself and the more I gave to others, the fuller of happiness and blessing did my soul become." ~Hudson Taylor (missionary)
"I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess." ~Martin Luther
"Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as possible, lest it should find its way into my heart." ~John Wesley
Edison's favorite piece of poetry was stanza nine from Thomas Gray's Elegy To A Country-Churchyard:
"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike the inevitable hour:
The paths of glory lead but to the grave."
So where does one start? A tithe is a good starting block to the race of giving. To those who start with less, God is being robbed. If we commit to give 5% we are still robbing God of half. If Christ is our joy then our wallets will prove that out. It's one of the fundamental evidences of a person's faith.
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very good post. let me ask a question regarding the tithe. in the new testament, to my knowledge, there is no mention of a percentage but rather many references to condition of the heart of the giver. do you think that is prudent to challenge the reader to give with a %? we may find that the giver in time, as the heart is changed, may give more than he ever thought he would and that amount may far exceed 10%. thoughts?
ReplyDeleteb
Excellent question, Bryan. I was hoping to rewrite this post into more of a book review before anybody commented but, oh well.
ReplyDeleteThe only new testament sighting for authorization of the tithe comes from Christ in a back-handed fashion, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices . . . . But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former" (Matt. 23:23, NIV).
Saying they should not neglect the former rather than dismissing the former indicates Christ's regard for the tithe. However, this is all before the Resurrection.
We don't want to lock into a percentage where none is given in the epistles, creating legalism. It should be noted though that every New Testament example of giving goes far beyond the tithe and I have a difficult time believing that God wants us to cut back on the exercise of our faith because we are under the New Covenant.
We live in an extremely financially rich culture where "grace giving" amounts to 2-3% of the average American church-goers income while even the poorest of the desert wandering ancient Israelites were expected to give 10%.
I believe 2 Corinthians 9:7 is cited as proof text for many who hold back. "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." But verse 6 tells us that whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly. I could never endorse someones decision to follow the example of the church of Laodicea, even for a season, for risk of reaping their fate; espceially when verse 8 tells us that God's grace abounds in us so that we "in all things at all times, ...may abound in every good work."
If God asked me to give 10% more than I do (and perhaps He is), I could make adjustments. I still wouldn't be remotely close to wondering where my next meal might come from. Perhaps I haven't made those adjustments yet because I have more confidence in these temporary conveniences than investing more in His kingdom.