Why do we worry about Money?

We could say that there are a lot of reasons. I would like to focus on one for today. I think the reason we worry about money is because God provides for us in a way contrary to how we want God to provide for us. When was the last time you pulled the string on why you worry about money?
Certainly you know the scriptures that discuss worry and others that discuss God’s promises. If we believed the Bible for what it said would we worry about money? I think we would seek first the Kingdom and expect God to do the rest. I also believe we would be willing to allow God to provide to the level He wants and in the avenue He wants. The problem that missionaries face when they raise support is the very act of humbling themselves to receive the gifts. Why is it ok for them to humble themselves so much when requesting support but not for us when we approach God? Is it because we believe we earn it through our job? Probably.
The deeper heart issue here is the way that God provides and trusting that God will provide. It’s much easier to say God provides when your bank account has a couple of extra digits than the average man. Since we have not witnessed it with our eyes and in our own lives we doubt it. But we are also not surrendered to allow God to provide it the way He desires to provide it.
I believe that giving sacrificially brings us into that realm of feeling the pressure of seeing God provide. When we give sacrificially with joy I believe God is glorified and He promises to provide. It gets sticky when we start looking at the Josephs and Jobs of the Bible. What if God called you to that?
My hope is that when or if He does that we will remember the simple truth that God is working all things together for good and we do not live on bread (or money) alone but by every word that is God’s. My hope is that we will be willing to surrender our own will to His will even in the context of our finances, particularly when they are tight.

Learning from Advertisements

We should be able to learn a lot from advertisements. The first thing any advertisement or sales process is going to do is challenge your identity or something you believe. This is often accomplished without words but even in radio advertisements it is there: “Are you hungry all the time but want to lose weight?” Or in other words, “Are you fat?” Quick! What’s your answer? You only have a split second to tell yourself whether that is true. How about, “How would you like to drive a brand new xyz with no payments until 20XX?” Translation, “Do you like what your car says about who you are?”
In each case what we believe about ourselves is terribly important. The only way to resist the lies is to believe the truth (or another lie but we are not going to get into that here).
So what do you believe about money? I can tell by advertising that security is a big deal to us. I can also tell that making and having a lot of money is a big deal to us. I wouldn’t have to ask anyone personally, I just have to read the paper. What is important to you about how you handle your money?
The things we worry about are the very things that we are not putting into God’s hands and leaving them there. Jesus tells us in Luke that we should not worry about clothes or money but believe that God will provide for us. It is important that we believe these truths or else we believe lies that lead us to bondage through worry or believe that something else is going to satisfy. The world cannot give us peace or life the way God can. If you see an advertisement and it hits a nerve think to yourself, “is this true.” I encourage you to be like the Bereans and know for sure.

Giving in Response to Grace

Christians often have a perspective of giving that is at odds with scripture. This blog is called Macedonian Grace because God gave grace to the Macedonians to excel in giving. Few people would readily admit they were called to the grace or spiritual gift of giving and many probably see giving as an uncomfortable chore of believing right up there with fasting. This is born out in the examples of what we give. The next two posts should be read together but for the sake of size I will post them separately. They both point to how we view giving and if we see it in a context of grace. May you excel in the grace of giving. So be it.

The International Aid Example

In the Old Testament, God took no pleasure with the Israelites for offering blemished lambs as their offerings and today we offer the leftover items in our house when the opportunity presents itself to give. I recently visited Global Aid Network, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, and while being pleased with their operation, was also surprised by what I saw there. In the very front of the warehouse are bins for clothes and shoes individuals gave to be sent to people who are in need worldwide. I looked in the bin and saw shoes that were worn through the sole and into the thin lining inside the shoe. I looked into another bin and saw a shirt that had multiple grease marks and a tear around the armpit. Originally I was shocked that GAIN would deliver these clothes and before I could even bring up the question the guide told me that over half of what is donated has to be thrown out because it is not worthy to send.
Why would we give these things? When I began to pull the string I became even more upset. We buy nice things for ourselves and give what we have worn out. Imagine meeting the person who received your old shoes. Could you look confidently and feel proud of yourself when they try to put on your leftovers? Now turn the table and you will see why it means so much that God gave us His precious son and maybe more so why he would get so upset when the sacrifices the Israelites performed that were a foreshadowing of The Sacrifice to come were of their second best.

Grace and Giving

Now consider the greater context of giving again with Jesus’ own voluntary death as a precursor. Why do we give? Because we are commanded to give as Jesus gave and so by giving become like Him. Giving in light of Jesus’ gift is the natural response; in fact worship, of what God has done for us.
Those who see giving as one of many in a list of to-dos for believers are missing the point. Just like those who think that by giving they are earning favor with God, they are operating out of a paradigm contrary to the gospel. This is the gospel: that in spite of our alienation and struggle against God, He, in His great love, sent His son to rescue us from being alien from Him and adopted us as His children so that those who are His children and even those who are not will know of how wonderful He is. This is the gift of God and the status we receive is permanent. Unchanging even in the light of all the things we can muster to do for God, like giving or fasting or any other discipline.
I believe that when we understand the gospel and recognize that we are giving back to God just what he has already given to us, we can joyfully and freely give expecting God to do wonderful things in concert with His character.