Christian Finance: The Owner

An interesting thing happens when I have to spend money where I would rather not. I become indignant. Why must I spend MY money on that? I earned it. I am in control of it. I feel like it is being stolen from me unjustly by this purchase. But where did I get this notion of ‘my money’? When you stumble across a twenty dollar bill, is it then yours? How long before the deed is transferred, so to speak, to officially proclaim that you now own that twenty dollar bill and have full reign over it?

We become very obsessed with which money is mine. You don’t have to look very far to see marriages crumble because of a dispute between who has the right to each dollar bills. In fact, in my own life, my money and Rachel’s money became ‘our’ money. I don’t earn so and so per year; we do. She doesn’t get a certain chunk of change every time she subs, we do. Money is a possessive thing—perhaps the most possessive thing—and we are all very attuned to how much we possess.

The Misleading Tithe

There is the standard in the Christian church today to give 10% of your pre-tax dollars to the church—though you could hardly call it a standard since studies show evangelical Christians only really tithe at about 3-4%. But this idea can be misleading in how our money relates to us. Many find the tithe to be God’s tax on happiness: you must pay your dues or God will be angry with you. Others, those of the more legalist type, will take pride in their 10% and see the rest as theirs to spend in whatever way they choose. But the tithe is about as misunderstood as a middle schooler at a Homecoming dance. In fact, if you think you’re hot stuff for tithing 10% (since most don’t), you might want to understand that the Jews tithed their “first” 10%, otherwise known as the first fruits. That means that they gave their best cattle, their best spices, their best everything, which would really equivocate to about 20-30% of their worth. But that’s beside the point; tithing was never meant to be a utensil of religiosity. You can see that when Jesus points out the poor widow penny tithe versus the Pharisees’ coin toss. We do well to understand that God doesn’t only want 10%, He wants all of it. Let’s get one thing straight… your car, your college education, your cell phone, your job, your 401k—you didn’t acquire any of it on your own. It was all a gift.

The Investor

Imagine I went to a financial advisor—we’ll call him financial advisor Frank—and said, “I want to invest $10,000 dollars. Here is my money; make it grow”. I do, after all, have a job and a wife; this is something I have to think about now. Now imagine that the next week, I saw friendly little Frank with a brand new Rolex watch, one that runs about, let’s say, $10,000 MSRP. I ask Frank, “That’s a nice watch! Where did you get it?” Frank, with that coy little smile of his, responds “Oh you know those 10 Gs you gave me? BOOM! Right on my wrist.” Now, do you think I would be a happy investor with financial advisor Frank? Heck no! I would fire him, tell all my friends to never use him, and press charges (though the Jesus in me would forgive him and let it go, but that’s beside the point).

Now take that little investor parable and reconcile it with Jesus’ parable about the three servants, who each received a nice little investment. The two servants who took the money and ambitiously (dangerously) invested it got a hearty high five and got to party with the master. But the last servant thought the master to be a stiff man and feared his wrath (much like many people think God is against them and disappointed in them, thus misrepresenting who He really is). The third servant just sat on the money and did nothing with it. He thought “Hey, if I just try to be a good person and not harm anyone, I’ll be rewarded.” But the master scolded the third servant and sent him away. He could have at least invested it into a bank, the safest of bets that accrue interest.

The Point

So what am I trying to say with all these two pence parables? All the money (and stuff) you have is God’s; He just gives it to you to invest. Now, you’ll use some for “overhead” like eating and living and good stuff like that. Like a good Father, He wants you to be well cared for (and you will be well cared for if you love and obey Him!). But much of His investment in you is to be fruitful and multiply. Use your money, your time, your talents, and your love to invest into others and multiply God’s love and light all around you. You were meant to be a continuous river of blessing: God’s love and provision flows through you into the lives of others. You were not created to be a stagnant, stinky, bury-your-money-in-the-back-yard person. You can be sure of this: it’s not your money that God wants, but your joy and well-being. He knows that if money just sits in your life and is spent over and over on yourself, you will be miserable. Likewise, tithing is like a vaccine to soul-sickening greed: just a little bit of it prevents the full born illness. It’s no secret that the poorest of poor are found to be happier than the richest of rich.

The Father of Gifts

When I pray, it’s as if I am asking God for twenty dollars to buy him a gift. I have nothing and I can give God nothing He’s not already given me. It’s another image of child-like faith. The Father says: “Son, I love you. What would you like me to give you?” and we respond “Father, I love you. Give me some resources or some opportunities to bless you.” God is an amazing Father and He gives us so many gifts to enjoy. Indeed, the best gift is the gift of loving Him back. Jesus is the owner of everything and there is nothing that He cannot provide. If I truly believe that He is a butt-ton smarter than I am, I can believe there is a reason I don’t have a billion dollars; it would corrupt me. Money is one of the only temptations we are just fine with embracing.

The Neutrality

Money is neither good nor evil; it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. Money is neutral. Bill Gates has the same opportunity to be holy as the poor criminals you see in the local news. However, money magnifies the heart. Most people can’t handle the temptation of the love of money. Is it any surprise that most who win the lottery buy themselves a one way ticket to miserable discontentment? Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. How you invest your money shows what you really care about. So let’s magnify our Father, our Savior, and the Holy Spirit that ties it all together. You are in charge of what God has given you. You have every opportunity to invest it relentlessly for His glory. It’s not how much you give, but how much you keep. He has promised that He will always provide, so it’s like an unlimited bank account. Spend as much of yourself as you can!

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Christian Finance: The Importance

Over the past 6 months, Jesus has taught me all about money. I wouldn’t dare say I am a financial guru. In fact, I am quite the novice; I am still learning how to budget! But money is one of those topics where you could talk for days and days and days about it, and yet, we choose to rarely talk about it at all. When someone tells you how much they make, it’s like they dropped an F bomb. When people can see what money I spend, they can see all the dumb decisions I’ve made, all the things I care about, all my guilty pleasures, and how selfish I am. But money is way too important not to talk about.

The wisdom I’ve learned about money has been brewing inside of me and I just want to organize it into one coherent thought. You—O lucky reader—get to join in on this smorgasbord of financial ponderings. I won’t be able to fit this all into one blog post (Hooray for those with short attention spans!). But nevertheless, what is about to follow is a series of posts on what I’ve learned about money. So like Scrooge Mcduck diving into a pile of gold coins, let’s jump right in.

Christian Finance

Money talks. Money is power. Money is the pursuit of labor. Everyone always wants more and no one seems to have enough. Our grandparents went through the depression and saved every penny. Our parents went through the tech boom and spent (almost) every penny. Now, in the midst of a market as stable as a Weeble Wobble, where do we lie in our financial ideology?

The Studies

A recent survey asked the following question: How much money would you need to make a year to feel like you have enough money? Participants how made about $25,000 a year said if they could just make around $50,000, they think they would be happy. Participants who made around $50,000 a year said if they could just get to $100,000 dollars, they could live happily. Participants around $100,000 dollars said that if they could just get to about $200,000 a year, they would have enough. Do you see the trend?

Another study asked millionaires just how much money they would need to consider themselves ‘rich’. They respondents said that if they had 5 million dollars, they would consider themselves rich.

In another study, researchers concluded that in America, once you reach a level of about $60,000 dollars a year, money has little to no impact on happiness. So any money above that threshold, is does nothing to make you happier

In yet another study, researchers found the money really only contributes to happiness when you spend it on experiences and other people. It’s the Ol’ giving is better than receiving.

Conclusion: Once you reach a certain level, money can’t aid happiness, and even before then, you will never feel like you have enough. Likewise, money really only brings happiness when you spend it on others.

The Wealth

Do you consider yourself wealthy? When we think of those who are rich, we almost never think of ourselves. We think other people with more money are rich. Likewise, someone thinks you are rich.

·         If you make more than $2500 dollars a year, you are wealthier than 85% of the world

·         If you make over $50,000 a year, you are wealthier than 99% of the world (some estimates as low as ($36,000)

·         The average income is under $1000 dollars a year

Do you feel wealthy yet? Ever the poorest of the poor in this country got stacks on stacks on stacks compared to my little buddy Joseph Akpeng in Ghana. We are wealthy.

The Importance

Did you know that if you count the number of verses Jesus talks about money, it totals over twice as those about faith and prayer combined? In fact, about one third of His recorded teachings deal with money. By quantity, THIS IS A BIG DEAL.

You don’t have to have money for it to be your idol. So often, we judge the really wealthy people as evil because they could be doing so much more with it. But who are you to say you wouldn’t do the exact same thing in their position? Has not God blessed the snot out of you? Money is one of the only temptations that everybody is fine with.

Everyone thinks someone else is rich. Well guess what? Someone thinks you’re rich. If you’re reading this, you’re rich. You’ve heard it said: where your treasure is, so also is your heart. Jesus asks us “Is that money your god or am I?” Are you afraid when your piggy bank is on a diet? Do you find yourself asking for opportunities to get more stuff? Maybe we should remember that Jesus exclaimed: “How hard it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God!”

Have you ever noticed that the homeless person making mud pies in Haiti is happier than the millionaire in the gated community? I’ve seen it firsthand. As a wise theologian once said: MO money, MO problems. Perhaps we’ve ascribed too much practical importance to money and not enough spiritual importance. Money is one of the most important aspects of our lives. How we handle our money determines who we become and who we serve.

I’ll stop here. Look out for my next installment of Christian Finance: The Owner

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