Material Lies

I’m grateful to put the exclamation point at the end of this series: MateriaLIES … Lies we believe about our stuff & money!

And what I’m going to do … I’m going to talk about perspective.

What perspective we should be living from when it comes to our money … our stuff.

Because I think seeing our money … our stuff… from the proper perspective is the only way to answer our questions about money correctly.  … And we all have questions about our money ….  You know … questions like “Where does it all go?”

“Why don’t I have more of it?” … or … “Why do I feel pressure when it comes to finances?”

….how about … “Why do I make more than I ever have, but feel more unsettled than I ever have?”

I’m sure there are people here that make twice as much income as you did a decade ago,

but a decade ago thought, “If just made a little more everything would be OK!” … But things aren’t OK, are they?

See, finances are the number one thing people, worry about.

We worry & fret & stress & wonder & argue & when we get desperate enough ... When we're at our wit's end ....

Maybe we'll even pray about our finances! … In fact, I’ve heard rumors that some people have even prayed to win the lottery!

Ok, here’s a quick thought on praying about finances … What’s the prayer you think God hears most about people & money? … “MORE!” … “Uhh … God ... Hello … It’s me again, my bank account is on “E” again.”

“Can you come through for me on this, God?” …

We pray & pray & pray for more of this thing that God’s word & Jesus & the apostles tell us over & over again is a temptation.

But, do you remember when Jesus taught us to pray, one of the things he taught us to pray? .... Lead us not into temptation!

Why would God put into our feeble little sinful hands more of something he repeatedly called a temptation,

if He knew we were only going to hurt ourselves or others with it! … Or especially dishonor Him with it!

Think about it. Halloween just passed. Summer, my 10 year old had a bag full of every kind of candy you can imagine.

Now, what if the day after Halloween the candy was gone! … And she just starts pleading with me,

“Dad, please … I need more candy!! … I know you can get some for me! I know you can! I just neeeeed it!!”

What should I, as a responsible loving Father, do? … Give her more of the very thing she’s being irresponsible with? …No!

See, the #1 thing we want changed is our external condition … how much stuff, how much money, what kind of stuff.

But what God’s concerned with is our internal condition.

I did a wedding recently for a couple a dear friends of mine. … I used it as an excuse to get a new suit.

(I didn’t have a suit that matched the wedding & you know how Pinterest is ….  Everything has to be coordinated.)

I got a deal on it, for sure … But when I stood in front of the tall 3 sided mirror the lady that was helping said,

“Huh? Button the jacket.” And when I did she noticed it wasn’t folding right & it was actually crooked … the jacket was uneven.

So, the lady & the man start marking things up to move the button & adjust the length on one side & sticking pins in & tape measures going & chalk marks, on & on.

I eventually stopped them & said, “Should I get a different jacket?

They said, “No, the jacket is straight, it’s your shoulders & back that are out of alignment,”

 So, they were going to make all kinds of adjustments to make the outside look OK, when the cause of the problem was me!

I had to straighten what was going on inside of me, not focus on the external conditions!

I think the same can happen with our finances, our money, our stuff….

We want a circumstantial change, a reality change, but I think even more so we need an internal change, a perspective change!

But here's the thing, changing our perspective does not change our reality; it allows us to understand it, to see it more clearly.

It changes the questions we ask!

Instead of, “What's the purpose of my life?”

Changing perspective can flip the question around so we ask, “What's my life in God's purpose?”

Very important perspective change!!

I know this is strange, but I love when finances become involved in the conversation even in church. … And here’s “Why?”

Because … & I realize this is a big statement …

But I don’t think you can be the Disciple of Christ that God wants you to be & not involve God in your finances!!

“Disciple” …. It’s not a word we use much anymore …

But what word shares the same root word with “disciple”?  … Discipline! … The same Greek word for “learner”… “follower”.

Henri Nouwen said a discipline is “the effort to create some space in which God can act.”

And our finances is an area where we tend to be the most … “undisciplined”!

We can’t be the Disciples of Christ that God wants us to be & not involve God in our finances!!

So … Invite Him into your finances. ...And here's a hint ...

He won't be surprised by what He sees! … He already knows what's going on! …

He already knows the stress you feel … & He's telling you & He's telling me, …  “Let Me in!”.

I understand most people cringe at that idea .. Or at least the idea of the church being involved in finances.

Because frankly we’ve gotten it so wrong!!   … Not Goodlife, specifically … but the church, in general!

But we all have some “stuff” & we all have some “time”.

And if we’re going to take God seriously in our life, we have to ask the serious question,

“Is there something I, … as a Christian …, am supposed to do with it?”

And that takes us to this “churchy” word … this “Christianese” word we use … Stewardship.

You would never use the word “stewardship” in casual conversation.

You’re not going to be out on a fishing trip with your buddies and throw out the question, “So, Bob how’s your stewardship?” …  And if you do, it’s a good way to not be invited on a second fishing trip!

It’s really an “in house” word we Christians use when it comes to finances & frankly, we’ve messed it up!

And it’s a problem of perspective … See…  Stewardship from God’s perspective is a huge, big deal!

But the church has taken a very how narrow perspective on stewardship!

As evidence of this, … exhibit A …  I got an email last week from a resource that I'm on a distribution list for ...

I was happy to get it because the subject was “Stewardship Training”! … Perfect, I thought! … Just in time! 

Listen to this list of resources to be used to help your church in the arena of Stewardship … See if there’s a theme …

Sample articles ...  “Defining Biblical Giving” … Growing Generous Givers … Myths About Giving …Grace of Giving … How to Build Your All Volunteer Army … A more Generous Church (10 ways to inspire generosity) … Stewardship in a Small Church (another 10 ways to inspire generosity) … Brainstorming Youth Group Fundraisers …

All about giving to the church! This isn’t the way Jesus saw Stewardship & this is not the way God the Father saw Stewardship!

PLEASE, PLEASE!! … Don't get me wrong!

That's all great & good & necessary & absolutely vital! .... Just don't call it stewardship when it's generosity!

Generosity is called ….Generosity!

In fact, go back & listen to last week’s message from Jason. It was, perhaps, the best message I’ve heard on giving & generosity.

Go back & listen again even if you already listened … It was that good!

So … LIE #1: Stewardship is about what we give to the church

So, to clear things up, hopefully, we're going to go to a picture here first & get to the root of the matter of stewardship!!

In fact, the word stewardship has been so badly mishandled by the church I'm going to talk about a word that means stewardship that, unless you’re a nerd or surround yourself with one, you've probably never heard of!

So, in the first part of this (picture on the screen) we’ve got what’s become the church’s view of stewardship …

this tiny slice of the pie that is your life.  … (kind of like what was reflected in that church resource newsletter I got …)

And within that slice, the church will talk about stewarding your calling from God …

And, of course, with this narrow view of stewardship, your calling is going to be the religious activities ….

You’re outgoing … “you’re called to work with the youth” … Oh, you always have a smile… “you’re called to be a greeter for the church” … Oh, let’s do a skillset test to see where you can serve the church  ….

Stewardship, from this narrow mindset only means giving & volunteering at church.

Oh & don’t forget we have a “Stewardship Sunday” coming up … that’s where we talk about giving

And when we talk about “stewardship” this way we end up separating Spiritual issues, Church issues, from the rest of our life.

We end up creating boundaries & walls & segmenting our life where God never intended it!

Then we turn Monday through Friday, or more, into the bulk of our life where we go to work, make our money,

climb the ladder, and do & buy & get whatever we want, whenever we want, however we can get it.

Or, BTW, stay home with the kids or take care of a parent or

Maybe your working years are behind you & you just do whatever you want! … But the point is …

Every day we just tell our money what to do for us …”Go get me coffee! … Take me on vacation! … Go get me dinner!…”

“Go sit in that investment & I’ll revisit you in a couple decades!” … Whatever it is, we just tell our dollars what to do for us.

But with this divided perspective … the spiritual & the material become practically combative … or at least competitive! 

But in scripture & in historic Christianity, we find a concept of stewardship that encompasses our whole lives!

And the funky word for this concept of whole life stewardship is …. I love this word …. Oikonomia!!

Oikonomia means “management of the household”.   …. It’s where we get our word “economy” from.

The broader perspective of Oikonomia embraces not simply the provision of God,

but also that it's impossible to manage the provision of God without the presence of God!!

Again … invite Him into your finances …. He will show up …

It’s like what Psalm 86 says … “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your Truth; give me an undivided heart”!

See, with the Oikonomia, all-of-life, mindset we can see our work as our calling from God, or wherever we are creating value for others.

 And that value for others becomes a service to others. We can use our gifts and talents that God has blessed us with to share with the world not just on Sunday morning, but every day as well.

And when that service for others & creating value for others is recognized, we can see personal accomplishments,

but that personal accomplishment fuels a thankfulness that leads to generosity.

In this whole-life stewardship … we become motivated not simply to fill our lives … but to pour out our lives!

And we begin to see the material and the spiritual integrated … not segmented!

The church engages the world … not antagonizes or separates itself from the world!

Now you may be thinking, “Come on, Dan, whenever you wrap up here …

I just want to go get a burrito & watch the game! Are you telling me I have to be spiritual about everything?”

Well …. First of all, Chipotle is my favorite restaurant. … Of course eating a burrito is a spiritual experience!

I’ve heard it said “you can’t hate someone you’ve shared a meal with”. Now, with Thanksgiving coming up, I’m sure some of you will put that theory to the test, but the point is … know that God is present in the ordinary, not just the extraordinary!

And most of our lives, frankly, are spent in rather ordinary moments, and God doesn’t want us to miss His presence in the everyday … not just Sunday!

So don’t separate, segment, create division between the material & the spiritual …..

Remember Matt 5?  … “You are the salt of the earth” (“physical”) …  “You are the light of the world” (“spiritual”) …

“let your light shine before others” (spiritual) … “so that they may see your good works” (physical) …

“and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

  

See 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”

Or … Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” …. Whatever you do!! … Whatever!

Broken down even further …. Stewardship is everything we do after we say “I believe”! 

It becomes obvious that God takes a sweeping … broad view of Stewardship!

So …. Here we get into the LIE #2 today about money. The LIE is: MY MONEY IS MY MONEY! 

OK, we’ve learned these last few weeks that Jesus talked about money … a lot.

But do you know what context He spoke often about it in? And what subject He spoke about over & over & over again? …

The Kingdom! … The Kingdom …  The Kingdom … He even taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come .. Your will be done.”

In a Kingdom … everything belongs to the King!

As Christians … we’ll say this about our very life. …We’ll accept 1 Cor  where it says … “You are not your own”.

Or even our very faith, itself…. We’ll accept Ephesians where it says … “faith…. is a gift of God”

But my money … my stuff? … Really?

1 Chron. 29: 11 & 12 helps clarify this perspective … Check this out … It’s powerful …

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.”

Or how about Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein”

Or most starkly Job 41:11 ^“Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.”

Or if you like New Testament, OK … 1 Corinthians 4:7  ^“What do you have that you did not receive?

If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”

So …The TRUTH is: GOD OWNS IT ALL!!  

So, more than the rights of ownership … We have the responsibilities of stewardship!

And even more than an enriched community …. We are an entrusted community!

What even helps me understand this is my ten year old Summer …. She actually loves to clean her room.

(My teenagers are whole other story. I have photographic evidence, but I’m afraid the state would become involved!)

But Summer … She makes her bed & stacks her book shelf. … She even has this little nightstand that she organizes her little trinkets & nightlight & stuff she wants access to whenever she wants.

She’s got her name on the wall & on her door ... & she couldn’t be prouder & happier of her room.  … She loves her room!

But guess what happens when family comes into town! …. Summer … you’re out! … You’re sleeping upstairs!

Why? …. Because it’s not her room! … It’s my room! And if I say she’s out, she’s out!

So …. A couple of things happen when we understand God’s ownership … God’s sovereignty …. God’s Kingship over all things

First of all, it’s humbles us!

Understanding the sovereignty of God is to understand if you have something,

It’s by His Grace, God has allowed you to have it. … If He wanted to take it … He would take it.

And, if you don't think He could take it, you have too small an impression of God!

Some of us, this is the most important thing we need to understand in our life.... God is waaaay bigger than we think He is!

Don’t shrink God …. Don’t shrink the sovereign Creator of the universe because you want control over a few bucks! 

Another major result of accepting God’s ownership over all things is not just becoming humble,

but it’s an indicator of our spiritual health …

If we truly believe God is serious about “Oikonomia” … stewardship of our whole life …

Then a big indicator of our spiritual health is …. And this might sting a bit! … Our bank statement!

See, our bank statement reflects our priorities … our goals … our relationships … even our use of time!

Look, it’s easy to play “show & tell” with the world about what we want everyone to think our priorities are.

But let’s be honest ... we can fake a lot of that …

And as Christians, frankly, we can fake a lot of our religious behavior, too!

We can fake prayer … we can fake bible study … we can fake worship …. We can even fake church …

But we can’t fake our bank statement! … It is what it is!!

You can practically write someone’s life story if you have their bank statements! … The True Unauthorized Biography of_!

But here’s the big deal …. We’re not called to live a biography. …. We’re called to live a Testimony!

See a biography points to self. … A testimony points to Someone Else …. Namely, Jesus Christ!

It’s not always easy to point to Jesus though, is it? …  We like to point to ourselves & then we like to point to other people. …

And then we compare the two.

It reminds me of an old SNL skit. … It was a skit mocking a presidential debate back in the ‘90’s. A young lady approach a candidate to ask her question and she said, “I look all around & I see all these people with all this stuff! … Well …  I wanna know …. Where’s my stuff?!” The moderator interrupted her to tell her that question didn’t make any sense. The Bill Clinton, character, though, interrupted her & said, “She makes a terrific point. If this election is about anything …. It’s about stuff!” 

It’s funny because it’s true! (Or at least I thought it was! … Been hanging on to that in my head for 20 years!)

We look around … and then compare ourselves to what we see.

Thing catch our eye … Capture our attention ...  And We become … AWARE! … (It’s the same old Garden of Eden story!)

And that’s where a vicious cycle begins … We become aware … And then we begin to compare …

There’s bigger … there’s better … there’s shinier … there’s newer …

Comparing leads to questions, but the wrong kind … “Why don’t we ever go there on vacation?” … “Why doesn’t mine sparkle like hers?” … “Why does everyone get new car smell & I get … fast food smell!”…

“Why are my ceilings so short? … And my TV so thick!”

And that comparing ourselves to others leads to despair …. Despair or worse …

And we end up living in this cycle …. AWARE/COMPARE/DESPAIR ….

I saw a science program about the brain recently … Brain Games …

There was a research project with monkeys …

The researcher would have the monkey hit a button & then would be given a slice of cucumber …

And the monkey was loving it! ... Hit the button, get the cucumber … The monkey would do this all day & love life!

Then a new monkey was brought in next to the existing monkey ….

The new monkey had the same button to push … but when the new monkey pushed the button he got a grape!

The first monkey saw this .. he went back and started pushing he button … and was given his old cucumber.

Again .. and again … but, what was fascinating was the monkey went nuts! … After seeing the new monkey get a grape …

The first monkey started taking his cucumber slices, which he absolutely loved 5 minutes ago …

starting throwing the cucumber slices back into the face of the researchers!

When he started comparing himself to his neighbor, he only got frustrated!

So, even the monkey entered the AWARE/COMPARE/DESPAIR cycle …  

It reminds me of the verse in Phil 3:19 “their god is their stomach … with minds set on earthly things.”

Look, God created us to crave … to wonder ... to awe … to see beauty in creation … to worship

But there’s a word for it when we are in “awe” & “crave” the wrong things ….idolatry …. And it always leads to despair!

AWARE/COMPARE/DESPAIR … AWARE/COMPARE/DESPAIR

And this cycle … It doesn’t stop! We can’t will ourselves to stop craving! … We know it doesn’t work in other areas of our life.

So how do we break the AWARE/COMPARE/DESPAIR cycle?

In our own strength … we won’t. …  It’s only when we put off the old self & put on Christ.

We become renewed ... We get a new heart …. We get new eyes ….

And when we receive those ... we respond with the key to breaking the AWARE/COMPARE/DESPAIR cycle

The key is  …. GRATITUDE!! … a thankfulness for what God has done for us!

I would venture to say that every regretful decision we’ve made with our finances …. (Anyone have one those ever? … Maybe even this morning?) ….

I’d venture to say that every regretful decision we’ve made with our finances started because of a lack of gratitude with our current circumstances!

G.K. Chesterton, a friend & mentor to CS Lewis, wrote much about Gratitude … Listen to his words …

 “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”

 “The chief idea of my life … is the idea of taking things with gratitude, and not taking things for granted.

“The worst moment for an atheist is when he feels a profound sense of gratitude and has no one to thank.” - G.K. Chesterton

Paul says it more concisely in  1 Thes 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”

There it is, right there! … The thing we Christians say we want to do … The will of God …. “Give thanks … in ALL circumstances”!

Now know this, we may not be grateful for our circumstances! … We are grateful in our circumstances!!

How can we be grateful in ALL circumstances? … Paul tells us at the end of the same paragraph ….

Because the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you”

When we recognize the Grace of God … the worth, the value of Grace …

Then gratitude … thankfulness … stops being about our stuff!

Gratitude stops being about what we have & starts being about Who’s we are! 

And then the AWARE/COMPARE/DESPAIR cycle … is broken ….

So, how are you doing with this, then? Answer this question honestly …. What is your most immediate inclination?

To compare your neighbor to yourself …. Or to love your neighbor as yourself?

I mean … It’s only what Jesus called the most important Commandment … Right?

No Big Deal … or as my teenage daughters would say #NBD

Look … When the Holy Spirit has renewed our mind … and given us that heart transplant …

We should get an eye transplant along with it!

We need to change what we're becoming aware of and our response to it!!!

See … in today’s ultra-connected world, we become aware of thousands of images & messages every day.

What are we … as the Body of Christ … truly noticing & how are we … as the Body of Christ …. responding?

And does it have to do with just our hearts, our words, or does it have to do with our stuff... our resources … our money?

This leads to LIE #3: I can love my neighbor in my heart.

Let me give you a hypothetical …. another Halloween hypo … So, Summer my 10 year old manages to somehow have a bunch of candy left over to this day. She decides to go to the park where a couple of her friends are there on the playground.

Her friends, however, have no candy … while Summer, meanwhile, has a pillow case full of it over her shoulder!

I’m her parent & I’m watching this unfold …. What do I hope that my child would do in this situation? ….. Share, right?

So, I’m watching … And then I see Summer sit on the swing, fold her hands, & say,

“Dear Jesus, thank You that I have candy. Please perform a miracle & make it so that my two friends would have candy, too!”

Is my response … “Awww! … Look at my little girl praying to Jesus!”? … NO! … I want her to share!!

Jesus tells us about this, as well, when He describes who the Good Neighbor is in the Parable of the Good Samaritan …

We all know he’s the “good guy” in the story, but sometimes we forget just how good this guy is …

See Luke 10:33-37 “But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he  (the victim of thieves) was, and when he saw him (He noticed him … became AWARE of him…), he had compassion.  He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii (this was 2 days salary) and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’

A few key phrases here …

“When he saw him” … HE became AWARE of him …. “He had compassion” …. He CARED for him …

“He took out & gave” … He SHARED with him.

When we embrace Jesus’ words for what our interactions with the world and with people should be …. The cycle changes.

The AWARE/COMPARE/DESPAIR cycle is broken … and the AWARE/CARE/SHARE cycle begins.

This is what Jesus is telling us to go & do likewise …

What are we becoming AWARE of? … What we don’t have or what others don’t have …

What are we CARING about?... THINGS that break or what breaks the heart of Jesus …

What of our entrusted resources are we SHARING with our neighbor … wherever they may be?

Where are we pouring our lives out as an offering?

And ask yourself, if it’s not sacrificial, is it superficial?

Because the Lie is:  We can love our neighbor in our heart. … The TRUTH is: Love is a sacrifice

The Samaritan was on a journey … like all of us … but he was willing to have his journey … his agenda … interrupted....

We live in a culture where it seems the most commonly uttered phrase is … “I’m soooo busy!”

I promise you Jesus didn’t live & die so we can compete with each other to see who has the busiest schedules!

But He also didn’t live & die so we could have a life of regret …

And living in the AWARE/COMPARE/DESPAIR cycle … ALWAYS leads to a regretful life.

But you know what happens when you enter the AWARE/CARE/SHARE cycle? … You SEE God in the world …

Don’t take my word for it … Takes Jesus’ word for it … Go home, read Matthew 25 …

And then enter the AWARE/CARE/SHARE cycle …

What would that look like? … I think it would look a lot like these words from … 1 Thes 2 …

 Tell me if these sound familiar … “We’re entrusted with the gospel.” …

(Do you realize the power of that statement?! … The Gospel, itself, is a stewardship! … Part of Oikonomia!)

 … “We are not trying to please people, but God, who tests our hearts … we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the Good News of God but our lives as well.”

That’s the founding verse of Good Life Church.

That is a picture of the AWARE/CARE/SHARE cycle …

Stewardship means you are God’s, a part of His plan, entrusted as the manager of all He has given you. 

From the perspective of Steward we begin to ask instead of,

“How much of MY money do I give to God?”… We begin to ask, "How much of GOD's money do I live on myself?"

And let me tell you something, the greatest divide between people in the world is not the “haves & the have not’s”....

Not the “rich and the poor”....

It's those walking in light and those walking in darkness. …  Those in Christ and those not.

God has given you yourself, so that you may be a gift to Him and to others.

We are stewards of the greatest news ever told … the life, death & resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

I pray that we would steward well our lives …  and that Good News!