37. The Myth About Money

LONNIE: Glad you could join us once again for Exploring the Word.

JEANNIE: We hope you’ll enjoy digging into the riches of Scripture with us.

LONNIE: Today we’re going to take on a topic that a lot of us, I think, feel a little queasy about: money, what it does to us, what we can do with it.

JEANNIE: And the topic was suggested by a letter sent in from Dan in Louisiana. He wrote: “Please inform me what is in the book of God concerning (tithing)? Is it really a requirement, as it was in the “biblical ages”?

LONNIE: Interesting. Is tithing a biblical requirement?

JEANNIE: I think it would be good to look at what the Bible says about money in general as we answer this question.

LONNIE: I agree.

The first thing we’re going to discover is that Scripture actually explodes some common myths about money. It helps clear up some misconceptions that lead people into a brick wall. Let’s look at something Jesus said in Luke 12:15. Here Jesus is diagnosing a very basic human problem:

“Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 NIV

What's Jesus saying here? Your life, your worth, is not made up of what you possess. So beware of greed. Why? It's a dead end. You can never get enough. You can never possess enough things to feel secure. You have to look elsewhere to become a secure human being.

Money becomes addictive when we use it to try to get security. Paul wrote to Timothy about the danger of the rich placing their hope in their wealth, warning him that the love of money is the root of all evil. Jesus urged His followers to lay up treasures in heaven. "For where your treasure is there will your heart be also."

Do you see what Jesus was getting at? It's a question of security. Trying to store up treasure on earth will never fill up our hearts. Jesus knew that the only way to fill up our hearts is to invest ourselves in heavenly values.

We don’t want to have a life where everything is defined by its price tag. So to avoid taking that road we have to face a big myth. Here’s a big myth about money that the Bible exposes: the myth of FINANCIAL SECURITY.
You hear that phrase a lot right? All kinds of people talk about financial security. Countless companies exist for the sole purpose of helping people find financial security.

Well guess what? There’s no such thing! It’s a myth. The phrase "financial security" is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. You can never have quite enough in the bank, quite enough securely invested. After all, where will interest rates go next month, next year? How will the economy hold up? When you get right down to it, there's no such thing as financial security. If it's financial, it's not security.

Yes, we try to invest our money as best we can. Yes, we try to save for our kids' college education or for retirement. But all that will never create real security. It won't create a sense of peace and safety.

So far we’ve talked about the wrong way to use money. It’s a big mistake to use money to try to create security. What about the right way to use money? What’s a healthy way to relate to money, a good way to use money? Now we’re going to get to Dan’s question, his question about tithing. Is it a requirement for us today? Let’s look at how it developed in the Bible.

The practice of tithing is first mentioned back in the book of Genesis. Chapter
14 describes an interesting encounter between Abram, the father of the Hebrew people, and a king named Melchizedek who was called a "priest of God Most High." Abram had just recovered a great deal of goods from his enemies. This priest gave Abram a special blessing and, as Genesis 14:20 states:

“Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”

Here we see the patriarch Abram gratefully consecrating a tenth of what he'd gained, a tithe, to God through this priest.

Abram's grandson Jacob decided to continue this tradition – at a critical time in his life. He had just met the God of his grandfather in a very powerful way.

Lying alone in the hills far from home, Jacob had a vision of angels ascending a ladder up to heaven. He felt reassured that God was still very much interested in Him. And so this young man chose to accept the God of Heaven as his Lord. And, as part of his commitment, he said this, recorded in Genesis 28:22:

“Of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Later this practice of tithing became a sign of commitment for all those who called on the God of Heaven. If God was truly to be Lord in your life, then the best way of showing that, and experiencing that, was to dedicate to Him the first tenth of all you received. The book of Deuteronomy gives this reminder, chapter 14:22:

“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.”
In the agricultural world of the Hebrews, the tithe meant giving first fruits from each harvest. A tenth of everything was "holy to the Lord"; it was to be set aside for Him. They did not consider this an offering, but something that already belonged to God.

The last book of the Old Testament suggests that tithing should continue as a means of affirming God's Lordship over us – and also of receiving His blessings. Malachi, in fact, quotes God as making a rather extravagant promise.

“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’” Malachi 3:10

Here God urges His people to bring the whole tithe, an honest tenth, into the temple – so he can bless them. Now why is that? Is the tithe some kind of bribe that we pay so that we can receive certain things from above? Does God need our contributions somehow in order to keep His store of blessings from running low?

I don't think so. I believe God wants very much to bless all of us, in every way. But, He cannot bless selfishness; He will not reinforce stingy habits. Our Lord above all wants us to experience the joy of generosity. And so He has promised to reward generosity. That's what He wants to encourage.

Now, tithing is not mentioned in the New Testament as a command. So some have argued that it belongs to the Old Covenant exclusively. But tithing does fit into the many admonitions in the New Testament about giving generously. And after all, God remains faithful in His response to generosity – from age to age. So I believe He still calls out, "Please, test me, try me, bring an honest tithe and see if I can take care of your needs – and even bless you abundantly."

When a young man named William Colgate was headed for New York City to seek his fortune he met a godly canal-boat captain who defined success in these terms: "Be a good man, give your heart to Christ, pay the Lord all that belongs to Him, make an honest soap: give a full pound..."

Colgate remembered that advice. He gave to God one-tenth of the first dollar he earned and ever afterward he considered ten cents of every dollar as sacred to the Lord. As the Colgate business increased, so did the man's generosity. Eventually he would regularly give over half of his income to religious work.

Did you know there are many famous men in business – Hershey, Wrigley, Woolworth, Kraft, Heinz – who have one thing in common, the practice of tithing?

Friends, an awful lot of people spend their lives trying to make that one dream investment that will yield fantastic returns, that one investment that will open up Easy Street from here on out. But it’s my conviction, based on the Bible, that TITHING is the real dream investment. And that’s the best answer I can give to Dan’s question: Is tithing a requirement today? The Old Testament prescribes it as a practice for God’s people. The New Testament emphasizes the blessing of generosity. So my conclusion is this: Tithing is the way to open up heaven’s storehouse.

JEANNIE: Lonnie, we both have experienced the blessing that comes from tithing over the years. I think we can safely say that God has never let us down; we’ve always felt taken care of.

LONNIE: Certainly not wealthy, but taken care of. And after tithing becomes a regular practice in your life, it just doesn’t seem natural to manage your finances any other way. And Jeannie, you learned about tithing pretty early on didn’t you?

JEANNIE: My mother taught me to begin tithing when I was a little girl. My sister and I didn’t get paid for doing our family chores on our dairy farm, but from time to time I’d receive a bit of money for Christmas or a birthday. And Mother showed me that everything we have is a gift from Jesus. So, in my little mind, giving back to Jesus only 10 cents of my dollar bill, and Jesus letting me keep 90 cents, was great. It was a real bargain!

LONNIE: But I also remember you telling me it wasn’t always that simple. You had some struggles in college.

JEANNIE: Yea, when I started working to help pay my college tuition bills I couldn’t make ends meet. And I lost sight of that simple faith that I had as a child. I just couldn’t give up that 10 percent! I had to pay my bills! But, I soon noticed that keeping that 10 cents on every dollar I earned didn’t help my financial situation at all. In fact, I realized I hadn’t even missed that 10 percent when I was paying tithe. And besides, I felt like I was robbing God in a way. And that wasn’t a good feeling. So, I remember that I began paying my tithe again and guess what, my bills always got paid!

LONNIE: Jeannie, back when we were first married and I was going to seminary, times were pretty lean. We hadn’t received our first official church paycheck yet. But we made sure that we paid tithe at the beginning of every month.

JEANNIE: And we witnessed little miracles over and over. Our budget was real tight of course. After school bills and our apartment rent and everything we often only had pennies left at the end of the month. But so many times, when we’d just run out of bread or milk or something, we’d get a letter or note in the mail with a few dollars from some family member, people who had no idea how much we needed that bit of cash right then. And Lonnie and I would look at each other, amazed, knowing that this was an act of providence.

So, looking back over the years, we can say that it’s been a privilege to pay tithe, to give to God the first of everything. After all, just like I learned as a little girl – He has given us all things!

LONNIE: It’s true, Jeannie and I feel very blessed.

But I’d like to make sure we understand one thing about tithe. It needs to fit into the big picture of giving that we find in the New Testament. It needs to fit into grace. It’s a part of the generosity that is inspired by God giving Himself away.

We get a glimpse of this New Testament ethic of giving in 2 Corinthians 8. That was our homework assignment, remember? I hope you absorbed this beautiful picture of generosity. Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote about certain Macedonian believers:

“Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity... they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own...” 2 Corinthians 8:2,3 NIV

Here's what Paul was referring to. There was a famine in Judea at the time and believers in Jerusalem were suffering. When Macedonian believers heard about this they insisted, as Paul says, on having the "privilege of sharing." They wanted to share generously – even though they were having a hard time themselves, even though they could barely make ends meet. Their rich generosity welled up, Paul tells us, out of "extreme poverty."

What did New Testament believers do when they were needy? They gave to meet other people's needs.

Jesus suggested this as a principle of life when He gave these words in His Sermon on the Mount:

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over . . . For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

Jesus assures us that there is great blessing in giving, giving even in times of need. And so I’d like to suggest that your best financial strategy starts with GIVING. There are a lot of people out there advertising a winner financial strategy. And, in fact, there are sound principles all of us need to put into practice.

Keeping a budget is a great idea. You might be surprised to find out where your money goes every month. What are your priorities? Are they reflected in the way you spend?

Experts also emphasize the importance of saving as opposed to buying on credit. Nothing destroys your budget like credit card debt. A little patience, saving a bit every month, can go a long way toward making ends meet.

Saving is a very good financial strategy. But I believe giving is number one. And that’s because giving enriches our souls. A spirit of giving adds so much to the quality of our lives. Giving brings us real security.

Isn’t it time for all of us to let go of the money myths and get back to the basics? It’s time to put God first in our lives. Investing in a heavenly kingdom is how we invest in an unshakeable future.

Friends, we are all called to share in God's generosity. The One who is abundantly gracious longs for us to be gracious. The One who pours out His blessings on us, desires that we pour out our blessings too.

Let's make sure we have only one Master. Let's not let money or acquisitions or possessions rule over us in any way. Each of us can make the investment of a lifetime by placing our resources in God's hand.

Let's decide to invest in the things that matter most, now as we pray.

Father mine, thank You for Your abundant generosity. Thank You for giving us all of Heaven in the person of Your Son who laid down His life for us. We want to share in the joy of Your generosity. Make us faithful stewards of the blessings we've been entrusted with. Help us always to proclaim Your Lordship over all we have. We do this trusting in Your grace, now and until Your coming in glory. In Jesus Name, amen.

JEANNIE: It’s time to tell you about our homework assignment for next week. Lonnie and I would like you to read a fascinating story found in 2 Chronicles, chapter 20. It talks about a time when a certain king of Israel defeated an invading army – with a choir!

LONNIE: And this remarkable event shows us one great way we can overcome the bad habits in our lives, how we can overcome addiction.

JEANNIE: So remember, 2 Chronicles, chapter 20 for next week. You’ll enjoy the story.

LONNIE: Until we meet again, God bless you. Never stop Exploring the Word. And remember, God really does love you.