March 14, 2023
Dear friends,
“Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need” (Malachi 3:10).
Take a minute to remember our starting place. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1), which means that all my stuff is actually God’s stuff. It’s all a gift from God, or on loan from God, if you will. Even the joy that comes from properly using God’s stuff – giving and doing good and loving your neighbor – even that joy is a gift from God.
It’s like if someone gave you a pie and said, “I want you to put this pie to good use.”
Now, you could sit down and eat the entire pie yourself.
But (and I’m not speaking from personal experience here) that wouldn’t be good for you. It would make you ill.
And it’s probably not what your benefactor intended when he handed over the pie. In fact, if you look around the room while you’re holding the pie, and you see a bunch of people just wrapping up dinner, appetites primed for dessert, it’s a good bet that you were not meant to eat the entire pie yourself.
But how should you divide it up? Any kid will tell you – count the number of people and divide the pie evenly. The slices should be proportional.
This is a helpful way to think about the money you have. God gave it to you and said, “I want you to put it to good use.” Especially in the case where that money is wages for your work, God gives this reminder: “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).
How does God want you to divide it up?
This is an interesting question. Have you considered it before?
Could we make a list of the things God wants us to use our money for? Let me know if you come up with different answers than I do, but here’s a start:
There’s all the stuff that fits in the category of daily bread (food, clothing, shelter, medicine, etc.). The money that God gives us is part of his answer to our petition in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:11). His provision of daily bread is also what allows us to show hospitality (1 Peter 4:9).
Then there’s a category you could call feasting. Feasting always goes along with giving thanks. So, we receive abundance from God and celebrate the abundance by enjoying it with thanksgiving. Think of the father throwing a party because his prodigal son has returned (Luke 15:23-24). But also remember Jesus’ instructions about whom you should invite to your feasts (Luke 14:12-14).
There’s the ministry of God’s Word. St. Paul tells us that, just as the Israelites supported the priests and Levites in the temple, they ought to support their pastors and the work of the Church (1 Corinthians 9:14).
Not last in any way and certainly not least, there’s charity. This is alms-giving, giving to support the poor and needy (Leviticus 23:22). James reminds us that loving our neighbor isn’t just about wishing him well, but actually doing good for him with our resources (James 2:15-16).
So, how do you put that pie to good use?
There are at least two questions you have to answer to think this through: priority and proportion. What comes first, second, third, and so on? And how big are the slices?
As you can tell based on the title, I meant to say something about the number 10% in this message, but this message is already too long. So I’ll do that next time.
In the meantime, think about your pie. How do you divide it up? What are your priorities? And what are your proportions? Then think about why it is the way it is. What drives your decision-making?
This is a really fruitful exercise, and Jesus tells us why: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). An author named Randy Alcorn once put it this way: “Show me your checkbook, your VISA statement, and your receipts, and I’ll show you were your heart is.”1
It’s always a good exercise, full of repentant joy, to pay closer attention to where our hearts are. God grant that Christ would always be our treasure and that our hearts would be set on him!
God bless and keep you,
Pr. Buchs
- Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle, p. 42 (https://archive.org/details/treasureprincipl00alco/page/42/mode/2up)
COMING EVENTS:
Choir Practice – Wednesday, March 15 @ 6pm
Christian Doctrine – Wednesday, March 22 @ 6pm
Choir Practice – Wednesday, March 29 @ 6pm