Spend It All!
“What on earth is Pastor Nate encouraging us to do this week?”
Well, I’m talking about money! It may seem like strange advice—”spend it all” — really? Every year we do a sermon in January to get us thinking about the way we use money, because money is arguably the most significant secular tool in our world today. I think it’s important that we note that it is secular. That means, it isn’t “eternal” (remember, secular means of this age - “secular” and “eternal” are opposites) and money will cease to be useful one day. So there is no point in trying to live as if we’re taking it with us. Money is a tool that impacts eternity, but it isn’t part of eternity. The question we must ask ourselves whenever we spend money is not “should I spend it” because eventually all money will be spent (that’s all it’s good for!), but “am I spending this on the right thing?”
Let’s ponder that together this week.
“Hail the Almighty Dollar” - Collage - Artist Unknown
The image above is one of those pieces of art that swirls around the internet and I couldn’t trace down who actually put this digital collage together. The artist is making a sharp point about the reverence, dedication, and devotion far too many of us give to the dollar - which too easily replaces our devotion to what really matters: Christ the King.
Sacrificing a little pleasure in order to give that dollar to a charity or someone in need won’t change the world all at once, but I promise what it will do is allow God to discipline you for using the tool of money for His Kingdom and not just for our own temporary pleasure.
Anchor Texts:
Luke 16:1-9 ESVUK - The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
Matthew 6:19-21 ESVUK - Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
Questions to Ponder:
Using money is a spiritual discipline - usually referred to as generosity. Is generosity enough, though? As Christians, what else ought to characterize the way we use money, besides how we give it away?
Both the passage in Matthew and Luke above end in the same way, but only Luke includes the parable - why might this be? Think about the audience (Matthew wrote to a mainly Jewish audience and Luke was a Greek writing to Greeks and Jews), what might that have to do with the parable based on what we learned in the sermon about “friends"?
What kinds of ways can we use money to “make friends” in this age in a way that creates opportunities for eternal results?
How much do you spend on blessing others in a week? How much money do you give away in a week? Is there a way you can sacrifice something this week in order to turn that money into a blessing for someone else? I.e. Have you ever bought your coffee at Tim’s and paid for the person behind you as well?
The Theme in Song:
I found this great song put together by a group of young men who arranged some very old words by St. Ignatius of Loyola back in the 15th century. You can read the words below the video where I copied them.
“Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous, Teach me to serve you as I should, To give and not to count the cost, To fight and not to heed the wounds, To toil and not to seek for rest, To labor and ask not for reward, Save that of knowing That I do Your most holy will.”
Generosity- A Video Explainer:
Below is a great video by the Bible Project that helps explain generosity and wealth as God intends it to be used and as we end up using it in the world. The challenge for each of us is to begin to work these habits into the way we spend every dollar so that our whole lives reflect the values of God’s Kingdom and not the selfishness of the world.
The Theme for Kids:
This week I found a storybook in video form that tells the tale of Clarence the Fox and the lesson he learns about generosity. It’s a great story complete with a catchy song for you and your kids to learn!