"Choose Your Treasure"

"Choose Your Treasure”

Joshua 24:13-18, Matthew 6:19-21

          This is one of those good news/bad news sermons. Which do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news? [Who wants to hear the good news first? Raise your hand. Who wants to hear the bad news first? Raise your hand.] Too bad for all you responsible, delayed-gratification people out there! You’re getting the good news first anyway.

          Here’s the good news. God loves you and me and every human being unconditionally, immeasurably, inescapably. God is the loving Father running to welcome the prodigal son home and then throwing a raucous party for this scoundrel. And we’re the scoundrels. God’s the Holy One who gives up God’s own Son, God’s very self for us–a love beyond measuring. And God is the woman searching for a lost coin, sweeping the floor, turning the house upside down, never giving up until she’s found it. And we’re that lost coin. Whatever you think, say, believe, or do, God still loves you. It’s as simple and certain as that--good news.

          But here’s the bad news. We Christians don’t always act as though we believe God’s love were true. If we really believed God’s love were true, we would respond to God with more thankfulness and love than we actually do with our time, abilities, and money.

          Here’s what researchers say. “In 1916, Protestants were giving 2.9% of their incomes to their churches. In 1933, the depth of the Great Depression, it was 3.2% . . .  By 2007, when Americans were over 582% richer, after taxes and inflation, than in the Great Depression, Protestants were giving 2.5% of their incomes to their churches.” (www.emptytomb.org) Where has the missing money gone? It’s gone for larger homes, fancier clothing, more expensive vacations, and entertainment such as dining out, going to movies, cable television and so on.

          Now I’m not suggesting we all move into shacks, wear rags, never take a trip, forego dining out or enjoying entertainment. But Christ and Holy Scripture constantly remind us that wealth, things, stuff are challenges for our faith. As one writer points out, “Roughly 2,350 verses in [the] Bible” address “money and possessions.” “15% of everything Jesus said” was about “money and possessions.” Jesus talked about money and possessions “twice as much as prayer and faith combined.” (Bob Sheldon) Why? Jesus knew our spiritual life is affected by our relationship with money and possessions. Money and possessions are the most tempting idols we face. Yet money and possessions also represent tremendous potential for us to show our gratitude to God and to grow spiritually. But each of us must choose.

          As Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Our hearts, our spiritual commitments follow our investments. If we invest heavily in things and entertainment, that’s where our heart will be. If we invest heavily in God and God’s church, that’s where our heart will be. The question is: Where are we really investing our time, abilities, and money? What percentage of our time, abilities, and money goes to God’s church?

          Blue collar comedian Jeff Foxworthy has a line he loves to use during his stand-up routines. He says, “You might be a redneck if . . .” As an honorary redneck, I feel obliged to share a few Foxworthy lines with you.  “If you ever cut your grass and found a car, you might be a redneck.” “If you think the stock market has a fence around it, you might be a redneck.” “If you’ve ever been in a custody fight over a hunting dog, you might be a redneck.” “If people hear your car a long time before they see it, you might be a redneck.” And “If your mother has ‘ammo’ on her Christmas list, you might be a redneck.” (www.countryhumor.com/redneck/mightbe.htm)

          Now try a few with stewardship. If you show up for community service clubs more often than worship, God might be calling you to deeper stewardship. If your Bible has dust on it, God might be calling you to deeper stewardship. If you have no clue where your Bible is, God might be calling you to deeper stewardship. If your kids think Sunday’s the day you drop them off for Sunday School while you go do something else, God might be calling you to deeper stewardship. If you spend more money in a year dining out than giving to the church, God might be calling you to deeper stewardship. And if your weekly tip for your waiters and waitresses is more than your weekly pledge to the church, God might be calling you to deeper stewardship.

          Of course, God is calling all of us to deeper stewardship. And generous stewardship is a challenge; it’s also a choice. After Israel had taken possession of the Promised Land and before Joshua’s death, God spoke through Joshua and had a conversation with Israel, sort of a stewardship sermon. God said to the people, “I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built  . . . you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant.” In other words, don’t kid yourselves. You’re not “self-made people.” You’re God-made and God-reliant people. Everything Israel had and everything we have is a gift from God, actually a loan from God as we pass through this world to the next. And God expects us to do something wonderful with the time, abilities, and money God lends to us while we’re on earth.

          So Joshua laid a choice for the people. He said put away those old gods, those idols. “Choose this day whom you will serve . . .  but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

          See how Joshua did that? Just set the choice out there and practiced what counselors like to call “self-differentiation.” Here’s your choice. And here’s what I’m going to do.

          And notice how the people responded. No belly-aching. No whining. (Those would come later.) But here they actually did some faithful remembering. As someone has said, “faith is always an act of memory.” The people remembered and said, “No way we’d forsake God to serve other gods. After all, God brought us out of slavery in Egypt, and did all sorts of fantastic things for us, protected us, opened up new opportunities for us. You better believe we’re also going to serve the Lord, because he’s our God.”

          When it comes to generous stewardship, the same choice is set before you and me. We have the chance to do some faithful remembering. Remember how God brought each of us into the world, gave us life, forgave our sins, provided incredible gifts most of the world couldn’t dream of. Remember that? What does it make us want to do in response?

          When the presbytery met here last spring, some of us met the Rev. Joan Gray, former moderator of our denomination. Joan encourages Presbyterians to practice what she calls “the antique spiritual discipline of tithing.”  That is, give ten percent of your income to God’s church. Gray says she and her husband have celebrated and been blessed by this practice for more than thirty years of marriage through thick and thin. My wife, Beth and I, along with several other church members are also committed to tithing. Over the years we’ve been richly blessed by this spiritual practice and we commend it to you.

          God challenges all of us to deeper stewardship. Members of the session, the governing body of this church, on average have pledged almost a 6% increase this year as a challenge to the congregation. So after worship, go home and calculate what percentage of your income you’re giving to the church, the Body of Christ. See if you might increase that percentage this year out of gratitude to God, to share in the church’s ministry, and for your own spiritual growth. Let your response to God be great enough that it pinches you a little, makes you more spiritually aware, and ultimately brings you joy. Of course, if you’re unemployed or in a financial crisis, please do not give more. Allow the rest of the church, this part of the Body of Christ, to take care of the financial stewardship until you get back on your feet.

          Also, take a look at how you’re spending your time and abilities. Are you involved in at least one ministry here? If not, would you call us and let us help you get connected somewhere?

          You may have noticed I’ve said nothing about the church’s budget so far. Well, the budget is a secondary issue. If somebody came along and paid the entire budget for us, each of us would still have the opportunity and responsibility to be generous stewards of what we have. And if we as a congregation are generous stewards of our time, abilities, and money, the budget will take care of itself.

          But let’s talk about the budget for just a few seconds. Before the building campaign in 2005, the church had a large endowment, and we could draw $100,000 to $150,000 a year from the interest on that endowment to fill  any budget shortfalls. Now we have a small endowment, about $384,000, some of it earmarked, and there’s not much interest. Fortunately, our deficits are only about $25,000 to $50,000 a year. But obviously we can’t keep running deficits that high. We’re very close to having all the money we need. We simply need everybody who possibly can to step up and give faithfully and generously. Then we can continue and expand our wonderful ministries: children, youth, college students, young adults, middle-aged folks, older adults, mission, environmental and social justice, music and art, and reaching out to the poor, the mentally ill, the hungry and homeless and those who think they have no hope. Stick around for Emily’s PowerPoint presentation at the congregational meeting and see and hear just what God is doing through us.

          Christ reminds us we have a choice–treasure on earth or treasure in heaven. May we choose wisely, faithfully, and joyfully for the glory of God. Amen.