In my last MuSiNgS (the money one), I mentioned enjoying the bounty in your barns. Now I want you to know that I’m serious—I didn’t just say that to give a perk to sacrificial giving!
What do I mean by enjoying your bounty? And yes, I do believe you can consider it your bounty because your Father the King created and owns the cattle on a thousand hills. However, the concept “possession is nine-tenths of the law” doesn’t apply here; “yours” is a very loose concept.
I believe that God gives us good things (Matt. 7:11), but we should be willing to give up our rights to those things, out of love for him, and hold loosely to them. After all, the things of this earth are only transitory, whereas our love for him will remain forever. Holding loosely to things that are fleeting breeds generosity—you will be so much more willing to give away something that you know is only in your possession for a time than something you feel you have long-term rights to.
So we’re back to the question: what does it mean to enjoy your bounty? I hope we don’t have to go into a theological debate about whether or not it’s ethical to enjoy things! There are those that think Christianity is boring because we don’t dance, we don’t drink, we don’t party, we don’t do anything “of the world”. There are so-called Christians who believe all that, too. If you’re of that camp, I invite you to show me where in the Bible it says a “Christian” can’t do any of those things and I’ll stand corrected.
The source of all life, joy, desire, and bliss is our Father! He created dancing! He created variety in music! He created the arts! He created wine to be enjoyed! Devotion to God does not translate into perpetual glumness! Living a life sold out for God does not mean you should take vows of poverty!
What does it mean to enjoy your bounty? Use your cell phone, iPod, laptop, plasma TV, espresso maker, or SUV. Take care of it. Treat it as if it were God’s, and remember that he may ask you to pass it on to one of your neighbors. Take $5 and hit up Starbucks for a caramel macchiato. Take $20 and go to the movies. Plan a trip and trust that your Father the King will help with the travel expenses. Buy a CD or a book—and keep your eyes open for friends that might want to borrow them (don’t worry if you don’t get them back).
I think (I hope) I’ve made myself clear. Reiteration: what you have isn’t yours, so use it in a way your father would delight in seeing you enjoy it, and remember that he’s your provider and knows the desires of your heart, so if you pass the goods on to someone else, you won’t be without good things yourself!
Get it? Got it? Good! Dare you to try it!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Monday, April 10, 2006
MuSiNgS... The Service of Money
Money is a touchy subject—we all know we need it and some of us want more than we have and some of us have no idea what to do with the money we do have, and then there’s this whole Christians-should-give-God-some-of-it thing.
A woman shared with my DTS (Discipleship Training School) class that her family tithed exactly ten percent of everything God gave them, down to rice and beans. A pastor’s son told me that his father felt he didn’t need to tithe because he was in the ministry. I’ve heard some say that you must tithe to a church, and then give offerings to missions on top of that. Others stress the importance of giving God your first fruits, the first and best portion of what you receive.
They all use the Bible to support their beliefs.
I’ve tried pretty much all of the above (except counting rice and beans), and I’ve found that there is, indeed, a reward when you give of your money and possessions. Sometimes that reward is simply peace of mind that God has got my back—he pays for what he orders, after all!
In the last Old Testament book, Malachi, God challenges us to test him with our finances—the only thing he says we can test him in. Why? Not so that we can consider God our personal slot machine where we win every time (put in a quarter, win $200). No, I believe the challenge is first to shake up our thinking a bit, and then to see how relevant we believe God is in the area of our finances: “Could God up in Heaven really understand how badly I need to make my mortgage payment this month here on earth?” Lastly, I believe God would like us to participate in The Great Generosity Challenge. Playing instructions? Give out of your necessity. Give your last $20, even if you know you’re supposed to get groceries on your way home tonight. Help your neighbor instead of going to a movie. Lend your new iPod to a friend, and don’t obsess about getting it back. Write a check for $100 to that new ministry in town, even though it means you’ll have to wait twice as long as you have already waited to get those new shoes you need.
The moral of the story: Consider what should, in the eyes of the world, be most valuable to you as not yours at all, but God’s. Then, simply be a spiritual forklift operator, transferring when needed the bounty from your barns to those of another, as per the invoice received from the Holy Spirit. Don’t forget to enjoy the bounty that remains in your barn while it is there!
You will find yourself rich… in heart, soul, mind, and body.
A woman shared with my DTS (Discipleship Training School) class that her family tithed exactly ten percent of everything God gave them, down to rice and beans. A pastor’s son told me that his father felt he didn’t need to tithe because he was in the ministry. I’ve heard some say that you must tithe to a church, and then give offerings to missions on top of that. Others stress the importance of giving God your first fruits, the first and best portion of what you receive.
They all use the Bible to support their beliefs.
I’ve tried pretty much all of the above (except counting rice and beans), and I’ve found that there is, indeed, a reward when you give of your money and possessions. Sometimes that reward is simply peace of mind that God has got my back—he pays for what he orders, after all!
In the last Old Testament book, Malachi, God challenges us to test him with our finances—the only thing he says we can test him in. Why? Not so that we can consider God our personal slot machine where we win every time (put in a quarter, win $200). No, I believe the challenge is first to shake up our thinking a bit, and then to see how relevant we believe God is in the area of our finances: “Could God up in Heaven really understand how badly I need to make my mortgage payment this month here on earth?” Lastly, I believe God would like us to participate in The Great Generosity Challenge. Playing instructions? Give out of your necessity. Give your last $20, even if you know you’re supposed to get groceries on your way home tonight. Help your neighbor instead of going to a movie. Lend your new iPod to a friend, and don’t obsess about getting it back. Write a check for $100 to that new ministry in town, even though it means you’ll have to wait twice as long as you have already waited to get those new shoes you need.
The moral of the story: Consider what should, in the eyes of the world, be most valuable to you as not yours at all, but God’s. Then, simply be a spiritual forklift operator, transferring when needed the bounty from your barns to those of another, as per the invoice received from the Holy Spirit. Don’t forget to enjoy the bounty that remains in your barn while it is there!
You will find yourself rich… in heart, soul, mind, and body.
Thursday, April 6, 2006
MuSiNgS... Friend of God
Friend of God?
Supreme Being Seeks Human Interaction
Imagine. God: the Big Guy, the Man Upstairs, the Creator, the Great Spirit, the Mighty Gitchi Manitou. Seeking you out? You, a mere mortal, a transient, an ephemeral being. Here’s how I see it:
Companion. God is omnipresent. He’s always at my side. Even when my own sin and doubt clouds my vision, he remains faithful(1) and right where I left him. It’s more than that, though – I believe he yearns to spend time with me. I’m someone whose company he seeks out, someone with whom he wants to share experiences, both agreeable and disagreeable.
Soul-mate. I’m ideally suited to be God’s close friend. He created me with the ability to share thoughts with him, to appreciate him. I also possess an innate desire to relate to him with the deepest parts of me. In fact, if I’m not constantly communing with him, I’m left with a hunger, a longing for more.
Confidante. God wants to confide in me, to tell me the mysteries of his vast universe, to reveal his thoughts. “Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you.”(2) With so much under Jehovah Jireh’s guardianship, I can imagine that those thoughts never cease to flow. They’re constant, complex, and unpredictable. Being God’s confidante isn’t an occasional thing – it’s something that could and perhaps should take up the majority of my time.
I am a friend of God: He calls me friend(3).
1-- 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NIV), 2--Matthew7:7 (KJV), 3-- John 15:15
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