The Money Mess, 13 March 2016
15 03 16 Filed in: Sermons
The Money Mess
1 Timothy 6:6-10
Big Idea: Money is not the root of all evil, but it can mess up our lives if we allow it.
Introduction
Today we’re going to talk about a subject Jesus loved to discuss, a subject He talked about more than heaven and hell combined…money!
Money. Is it a problem for you? It clearly was in the drama.
In our culture we have problems earning money.
We have problems spending money.
We have problems saving money.
We have problems sharing money.
We have a money mess.
In the next thirty minutes I will not solve all of our money problems, but as Tax Day approaches and you’ve had multiple opportunities to invest in God’s work in Toledo and beyond, I’d like to briefly address some money matters with plans to go more in depth in the future.
Earning Money
I was recently privileged to interview more than a dozen Toledoans for a doctorate research project. One question I repeatedly asked was, “What would be good news in Toledo?” A common answer was, “Jobs.” It’s no secret our city has struggled in the midst of the Rust Belt as manufacturing jobs have gone overseas during the past few decades. Although our unemployment rate is only 6.6%, many are underemployed and many have given up entirely on employment and are no longer included in unemployment statistics.
Work is a good thing. Although a burden for many, it was present in the Garden of Eden and I believe will be a part of our eternal lives.
What was Adam and Eve’s work before The Fall?
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28)
That’s quite a responsibility, ruling over the fish, birds, and living creatures. But there was another task assigned.
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. (Genesis 2:19-20a)
Adam—and possibly Eve—had to name the animals. Sure, maybe that wasn’t as stressful as dealing with your boss, but think about how creative they had to be after they got through dog, cat, cow, pig, and horse. Rhinoceros. Hippopotamus. That took effort! Seriously, Adam and Eve worked before they sinned and were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. God designed us to work. We will work in heaven.
In the midst of our crazy election circus, allow me to be political for a moment: if you don’t work, you should not eat.
Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty. (Proverbs 28:19)
This verse is significant not only because it appears in the Old Testament but also because it is reiterated in the New.
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
I’m not including, of course, those who cannot work, but every able-bodied person in our nation who wants to eat needs to work. They need to earn money. They need to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well-done, whether it is in a store, the home, an office, or a classroom.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, (Colossians 3:23)
We are to work for the Lord…and to earn money to provide for ourselves and, in some instances, others.
Spending Money
This is where USAmericans often get into trouble. Simply: we spend more than we earn.
Non-housing debt is $3.38 trillion. The average household owes $7283 on their credit cards, and only 51% of Americans have enough cash in their emergency accounts to clear themselves of credit card debt.
Debt is a tremendous burden. We’re all aware of the student loan crisis and the earlier housing loan crisis. Proverbs famously states
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
Experts disagree whether or not it is ever appropriate to have debt such as a student loan or a mortgage. The point is simply debt is a burden, and credit card debt, in particular, is a tremendous burden because
The solution is simple but not always easy: budget. I admit budgeting has been challenging for me, especially when I was creating annual budgets. I prefer monthly budgeting since incomes and expenses are rarely the same twelve months of the year.
Mint.com has some excellent, free tools for creating a budget and managing your finances.
Dave Ramsey also has a great, free guide to budgeting.
Saving Money
This is one area where we have struggled as a family. Many financial experts advise a six-month emergency fund plus additional savings for retirement and large expenses such as college, cars, and weddings.
As a matter of full disclosure, our family has never had credit card debt. We had a car payment for one year. We have a mortgage on our home of less than 40% of the home’s value. We have largely avoided debt and lived within our means, but we have little savings. Our emergency fund is small. While I personally wish we had six months of income or more in the bank, there is a benefit to our condition. Again, turning to Proverbs:
Two things I ask of you, LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:7-9)
Unexpected bills have kept us from amassing a great savings account, but they have also kept us dependent upon God for our daily bread. I’m grateful for that. He has never failed us. There have been so many stories throughout our marriage of God supplying our needs—and often our wants—it’s absolutely silly that I have any money worries at all…but I do.
A friend on our trip told me about his least-favorite verse. He finds it so convicting, and so do I!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)
Do you worry about money? Speaking from experience, it usually boils down to our trust in God. Often our worries stem from lack of fail and/or poor stewardship on our part, spending more than we can afford and then feeling the pressure of mounting debt.
Finally…
Sharing Money
Paul wrote to Timothy…
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
Perhaps you’ve read this verse and taken exception. “I’m not rich,” you say. Take a look at this…
$32,400
I’m not going to ask for a show of hands, but if you earn this much money per year you are in the richest 1% of the world. It will not rank you in the top 1% in the USA, of course, but most of us are in the richest 1%.
But regardless of your income, are you generous? Or are you stingy?
Do you have an abundance mentality that recognizes the vast resources available to us or a scarcity mentality that clings to every penny?
I must tell you I planned the timing of this message on money months ago, long before I knew we would be raising money for Claro Coffee Bar or our local and international missions partners. I promise you there’s no hidden agenda here, just to be good stewards of God’s gifts.
Imagine my surprise when yesterday I did my daily One Story reading and came across this passage from the Exodus as the people were wandering for 40 years in the wilderness:
Now the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground. So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. But while they were gorging themselves on the meat—while it was still in their mouths—the anger of the Lord blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of gluttony”) because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt. (Numbers 11:31-34, NLT)
They were gluttons. They were hoarders. 50 bushels per person? That’s a ton of meat!
We have been blessed with a ton of resources. We have not only dollars but freedom, opportunity, brothers and sisters in Christ, education, the Internet, transportation, technology, health,…and let’s not forget the power of prayer and the presence of God.
So What?
We looked at part of Paul’s letter to Timothy. Timothy was in Ephesus, a huge port city filled with great trade and wealth.
Heather and I both found it to be our favorite of the dozen or so cities we visited. This huge city was once buried under dirt and archaeologists keep excavating the area, uncovering incredible relics of this city of at least 50,000 but possibly as many as 200,000 people.
Paul writes to Timothy in Ephesus
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)
Money is not the root of all evil. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Do you love money? Do you hoard money? Or are you generous?
We often talk about tithing, which literally means giving ten percent. The great thing about a percent is we can all give. We all give a percentage to Columbus and Washington whether we like it or not! The reality is one hundred percent of what we have is a gift from God, a loan from God, if you will. We are to be good stewards of it. We have been blessed to be a blessing. We are not supposed to feel guilty about our wealth, but rather be grateful and generous.
We are to live open-handed, allowing God to give and take away. It’s all His so we can clench our fists and let Him pry things out of our lives or we can freely surrender, knowing He can be trusted with our time, our talents, and our treasures.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
1 Timothy 6:6-10
Big Idea: Money is not the root of all evil, but it can mess up our lives if we allow it.
Introduction
Today we’re going to talk about a subject Jesus loved to discuss, a subject He talked about more than heaven and hell combined…money!
Money. Is it a problem for you? It clearly was in the drama.
In our culture we have problems earning money.
We have problems spending money.
We have problems saving money.
We have problems sharing money.
We have a money mess.
In the next thirty minutes I will not solve all of our money problems, but as Tax Day approaches and you’ve had multiple opportunities to invest in God’s work in Toledo and beyond, I’d like to briefly address some money matters with plans to go more in depth in the future.
Earning Money
I was recently privileged to interview more than a dozen Toledoans for a doctorate research project. One question I repeatedly asked was, “What would be good news in Toledo?” A common answer was, “Jobs.” It’s no secret our city has struggled in the midst of the Rust Belt as manufacturing jobs have gone overseas during the past few decades. Although our unemployment rate is only 6.6%, many are underemployed and many have given up entirely on employment and are no longer included in unemployment statistics.
Work is a good thing. Although a burden for many, it was present in the Garden of Eden and I believe will be a part of our eternal lives.
What was Adam and Eve’s work before The Fall?
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28)
That’s quite a responsibility, ruling over the fish, birds, and living creatures. But there was another task assigned.
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. (Genesis 2:19-20a)
Adam—and possibly Eve—had to name the animals. Sure, maybe that wasn’t as stressful as dealing with your boss, but think about how creative they had to be after they got through dog, cat, cow, pig, and horse. Rhinoceros. Hippopotamus. That took effort! Seriously, Adam and Eve worked before they sinned and were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. God designed us to work. We will work in heaven.
In the midst of our crazy election circus, allow me to be political for a moment: if you don’t work, you should not eat.
Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty. (Proverbs 28:19)
This verse is significant not only because it appears in the Old Testament but also because it is reiterated in the New.
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
I’m not including, of course, those who cannot work, but every able-bodied person in our nation who wants to eat needs to work. They need to earn money. They need to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well-done, whether it is in a store, the home, an office, or a classroom.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, (Colossians 3:23)
We are to work for the Lord…and to earn money to provide for ourselves and, in some instances, others.
Spending Money
This is where USAmericans often get into trouble. Simply: we spend more than we earn.
Non-housing debt is $3.38 trillion. The average household owes $7283 on their credit cards, and only 51% of Americans have enough cash in their emergency accounts to clear themselves of credit card debt.
Debt is a tremendous burden. We’re all aware of the student loan crisis and the earlier housing loan crisis. Proverbs famously states
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
Experts disagree whether or not it is ever appropriate to have debt such as a student loan or a mortgage. The point is simply debt is a burden, and credit card debt, in particular, is a tremendous burden because
- a) Interest rates are ridiculously high
- b) Many are tempted to only pay the minimum, which only increases your debt
- c) Often credit card debt is the result of poor money management and self-control, buying products that depreciate
- d) Rarely is there a plan to eliminate the debt
The solution is simple but not always easy: budget. I admit budgeting has been challenging for me, especially when I was creating annual budgets. I prefer monthly budgeting since incomes and expenses are rarely the same twelve months of the year.
Mint.com has some excellent, free tools for creating a budget and managing your finances.
Dave Ramsey also has a great, free guide to budgeting.
Saving Money
This is one area where we have struggled as a family. Many financial experts advise a six-month emergency fund plus additional savings for retirement and large expenses such as college, cars, and weddings.
As a matter of full disclosure, our family has never had credit card debt. We had a car payment for one year. We have a mortgage on our home of less than 40% of the home’s value. We have largely avoided debt and lived within our means, but we have little savings. Our emergency fund is small. While I personally wish we had six months of income or more in the bank, there is a benefit to our condition. Again, turning to Proverbs:
Two things I ask of you, LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:7-9)
Unexpected bills have kept us from amassing a great savings account, but they have also kept us dependent upon God for our daily bread. I’m grateful for that. He has never failed us. There have been so many stories throughout our marriage of God supplying our needs—and often our wants—it’s absolutely silly that I have any money worries at all…but I do.
A friend on our trip told me about his least-favorite verse. He finds it so convicting, and so do I!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)
Do you worry about money? Speaking from experience, it usually boils down to our trust in God. Often our worries stem from lack of fail and/or poor stewardship on our part, spending more than we can afford and then feeling the pressure of mounting debt.
Finally…
Sharing Money
Paul wrote to Timothy…
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
Perhaps you’ve read this verse and taken exception. “I’m not rich,” you say. Take a look at this…
$32,400
I’m not going to ask for a show of hands, but if you earn this much money per year you are in the richest 1% of the world. It will not rank you in the top 1% in the USA, of course, but most of us are in the richest 1%.
But regardless of your income, are you generous? Or are you stingy?
Do you have an abundance mentality that recognizes the vast resources available to us or a scarcity mentality that clings to every penny?
I must tell you I planned the timing of this message on money months ago, long before I knew we would be raising money for Claro Coffee Bar or our local and international missions partners. I promise you there’s no hidden agenda here, just to be good stewards of God’s gifts.
Imagine my surprise when yesterday I did my daily One Story reading and came across this passage from the Exodus as the people were wandering for 40 years in the wilderness:
Now the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground. So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. But while they were gorging themselves on the meat—while it was still in their mouths—the anger of the Lord blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of gluttony”) because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt. (Numbers 11:31-34, NLT)
They were gluttons. They were hoarders. 50 bushels per person? That’s a ton of meat!
We have been blessed with a ton of resources. We have not only dollars but freedom, opportunity, brothers and sisters in Christ, education, the Internet, transportation, technology, health,…and let’s not forget the power of prayer and the presence of God.
So What?
We looked at part of Paul’s letter to Timothy. Timothy was in Ephesus, a huge port city filled with great trade and wealth.
Heather and I both found it to be our favorite of the dozen or so cities we visited. This huge city was once buried under dirt and archaeologists keep excavating the area, uncovering incredible relics of this city of at least 50,000 but possibly as many as 200,000 people.
Paul writes to Timothy in Ephesus
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)
Money is not the root of all evil. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Do you love money? Do you hoard money? Or are you generous?
We often talk about tithing, which literally means giving ten percent. The great thing about a percent is we can all give. We all give a percentage to Columbus and Washington whether we like it or not! The reality is one hundred percent of what we have is a gift from God, a loan from God, if you will. We are to be good stewards of it. We have been blessed to be a blessing. We are not supposed to feel guilty about our wealth, but rather be grateful and generous.
We are to live open-handed, allowing God to give and take away. It’s all His so we can clench our fists and let Him pry things out of our lives or we can freely surrender, knowing He can be trusted with our time, our talents, and our treasures.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.