PENTECOST 25 PROPER 28 2007
November 18, 2007
(Malachi 3:13-4:2a & 5-6; Ps. 98:5-10; 2nd Thessalonians
3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19)
The Rev. Ken Kroohs
MONEY MATTERS
St. Christopher’s,
MAY THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH ... AND THE
MEDITATIONS OF ALL OUR HEARTS ... BE ALWAYS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU --- OUR STRENGTH
AND OUR REDEEMER AMEN
I decided to go first so not to distract from the power of what
Sid and Jonnie (Jeff and Stephanie) will say.
I don’t think I will surprise you when I say that this Sunday,
Stewardship Sunday – is by far the one most dreaded by clergy! In fact, I cannot even think what would be
number two.
Most of us consider money, and especially our money to be such a personal issue that we really don’t want to
discuss it. And we certainly don’t want
anyone telling us to give it away. And
for some reason that is particularly true in the church as opposed to the
college alumni association, or civic group, or
Over several years I attended some events at which a friend
spoke. He argued with us over
stewardship Sunday and in effect said it was more important than discussion of
prayer, worship, or service ..... You better believe I argued with him about
his priorities even after he said it was not about funding the church.
But his point is well taken.
His point was to notice about how much thought and consideration we put
into our material possessions — those we have and those we want. Our homes, our home furnishings, the
restaurants we visit, our vacations, our cars — not to mention our bank
accounts. Honestly think about how much
of our thoughts go into the material things, and then compare that with how
much goes into prayer, worship and Godly service. ...... Which does our life
show is more important?
My friend suggested that NOT talking about money in the context
of our spiritual lives is like going to the PT or gym and only exercising our
right arm. Most of our body will not
improve.
Then my friend — not sure why he is still my friend! — asked me
if I tithed. I told him we did and he
asked if the people in the church knew that.
I got a bit upset and said I was due a bit of privacy!!
I still remember his sad look when he told the story about
several families traveling in a wilderness.
They hired a guide – but then the guide disappeared. The families were paying for a guide but not
getting guidance. ..... He summarized: “invisible leadership is not leadership”
... To which I can only add that church leadership is not limited to the
clergy.
So, yes, we tithe and then some.
And if you want that in exact dollars ask me. Of course my salary is printed out on the
budget sheet and a veteran teacher’s salary is about the same so there really
is not much reason to ask - but feel free.
But what’s the importance of the tithe? Does it matter?
One of my daughters recently began a college program where
admission was on a point system. You got
so many points for having an associate degree, and so many for taking certain
courses, etc. etc. If you got 70 points
you were eligible for admission.
THAT IS NOT HOW GOD WORKS!!
The tithe is not something you do to gain a few more points with God.
Try this ... and this is a participation exercise. Raise your hand if you have ever taken music
lessons and wanted to improve ..... keep those hands up, now other people,
raise your hands if you have ever played golf or tennis and wanted to improve
.... keep those hands up. Of anyone
left, raise your hands if you ever took a math course.
Keeping your hands up, and acknowledging that inherent ability –
talent matters — what are the two things necessary to improve in music, or
sports, or math? ...... practice and knowledge.
OK, lower your hands.
Remember how your music teacher told you to go home and practice for 45
minutes each day? And your golf coach
told you to go hit a bucket of balls at the driving range? And the math teacher told you to do the 20
problems?
Every one of those standards was arbitrary! If you practice 43 minutes or did 18 problems
or left a couple golf balls in the bucket – it honestly, probably would not
matter.
Your teacher’s or coach’s point was to improve your overall efforts,
you had to be willing to work at each part — and work hard. If you were willing to practice 60 minutes
rather than 45 you would be even better.
God is our teacher or coach.
The tithe is a similar standard intended to help us grow and improve in
our overall spiritual life.
And just like the practice time has to be significant to matter,
so does the financial commitment. If we
practice for only a couple minutes between TV shows we will not improve. If we give God only what we can easily
afford, we will not grow spiritually.
No, growth requires some work and effort ... in our prayer lives, in our
worship lives, in our Godly service — and in our financial decision making.
Don’t tell my friend — but he may be right about this being one
of the most important Sundays in our year.
AMEN
We have
previous sermons on our website. To read
an earlier recent sermon just enter: www.st-christopher.org/sermon.html.
CLICK HERE TO RESPOND: I would enjoy reading your comments about this sermon. Please feel free to discuss content or presentation. (If you wish to use another email system send your comments to: ken@st-christopher.com)