Lately, it seems quite a few people I know have had their worlds just fall apart. Some by their own doing, some by no choice of their own. Last week, during our mission trip to the Bahamas, I met a man named Brotha Vincent at the All Saints Aids Camp. His story was very interesting and I think bears repeating. As a young man, Vincent was referred to as 'Skilla' because of his athletic prowess. Now, I know he didn't excel at everything he claimed he did as that would be humanly impossible, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he undoubtedly excelled at some sports, including basketball. Along with his skills came popularity and fame on the islands. Along with popularity and fame came beautiful women who wanted to be with him. He said he had a steady girlfriend who he had 2 kids with, but he still went on dates with many other women. After a while, he was approached by a friend who asked him if he wanted to make some real money. He was interested so he started selling drugs. Contrary to his friend's advice, he started smoking what he was selling and got hooked. Naturally, this lead to some criminal behavior as he had to feed his growing addiction. After a short time, he was put in jail. In a matter of a few years. this young man had gone from fame and popularity due to athletic skill to a period of time in jail. When he was admitted to jail, the doctor screened him for diseases and informed Vincent that he was HIV positive. While in jail, he had a vision or revelation of some sorts and gave his life to Christ. He didn't get to share the rest of his testimony with us since we had to go back to the Adventure Learning Center to spend the last afternoon with the kids, but I would've loved to hear it.
A couple of days ago, I went to see "The Dark Knight Rises" with my roommate. Among all the good action shots we learn that Bruce Wayne loses his entire fortune. This was just a movie of course, but how many times does this happen in real life? How many lottery winners go bankrupt after only a couple of years or so? We returned from the Bahamas late Saturday night and I got up early on Sunday morning for no apparent reason. I went to church of course because I love my church and had missed it dearly. There, again, I heard a few stories of people's world's falling apart. It's really not my place to share their stories here as I haven't asked permission from them. When Ryan started his sermon by talking about Job and his struggles, many of those faces came to my mind. A few of them had tragedy in their lives that they couldn't have prepared for, while one other person had a completely different struggle but all the same they were all hurting desperately. I remember feeling so helpless in all those situations, there was literally nothing I could do. All I knew how to do was pray for them, so I did. I prayed God would bring some of them comfort, and that He would save one of their lives. Sometimes we forget that Jesus Christ is a Savior, not us. My friend also reminded me later that night that worry comes from a lack of faith in God's ability to handle situations. Now, I'm sure mothers and fathers everywhere would disagree with that statement to some degree, but there is quite a bit of truth in it, right? Everyone worries to some degree I think, but to what end? Maybe a better place to find ourselves would be a place of concern, doing what we can but more importantly relying on God to do His will, whether we agree with that or not. We only fool ourselves when we believe that we're in complete control of our lives and the lives of those who are dependent on us.
There are a few podcasts I listen to about financial matters and I've read quite a few books on the subject as well. For some reason, I find it quite interesting whereas other people are bored completely when they try and read a book on personal finance. Some of these Christian authors and speakers talk about having security by having an emergency fund and so on. That is one of the main points where I have come to disagree with them. An emergency fund of 3-6 months is the general rule of thumb, although some have now said a fund of 10 months might be considered wiser due to the current state of the economy. Now, obviously, I do see the wisdom in that teaching and am trying to get to 6 months myself. However, that doesn't provide true security. How many bankruptcies are caused by medical expenses every year? You are never guaranteed good health in Scripture, it simply is not there. In a moment, everything can change. Look at the book of Job again for instance. He did nothing wrong, and yet everything was stripped from him and he got boils on his skin. For a modern day scenario, people who have cancer. They did nothing to deserve that, and how long will their insurance last? Many health problems you can prevent of course, like many of the diseases that are caused by obesity for instance. Some health problems though, you truly have no control or foresight for.
A few years ago, I considered going to Kenya for a year to help out a missions organization that I had gone there with before. I chose a year because I could take a year off of work and still have a job when I returned. When I talked to a friend about it, he challenged me to go for 3 years. To this I responded that I had good job security and could only take a year off and still be guaranteed a job when I returned. He quickly shot back, "Justin, your only true security is in Christ." Ouch. That has always stuck with me as I certainly needed to hear it at the time and need to be reminded of that fact often. For many people, it takes reaching rock bottom before they realize that truth. Maybe it's a good indicator of who is our true master, God or Mammon? Do we trust in Christ or Mammon as our source of security?
Proverbs 30:7-9 states
“Two things I ask of you, Lord;
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
A few years ago, I either found this verse highlighted in one of the books I was reading at the time or it was when I was going through the book of Proverbs with my roommate at the time, I don't remember which. Either way, it completely wrecked me at the time. Shortly after reading this verse and rereading it to really help plant it in my heart, I went to the local Christian bookstore. A book by one of my favorite authors who offers very sound financial advice was titled, "More Than Enough." I haven't read this book, but after reading some of his other books I can guess what he has to say in it. He believes in building wealth and giving a lot of it away. This sounds good and you can even back it up with Scripture if you choose to do so. There are plenty of verses that rail against that theology too that we must acknowledge if we're to take a more complete view of Scripture. It sounds good though, doesn't it? You should become wealthy so you can help others out of your abundance. Yep, sounds good, except for that passage in the New Testament where Christ talks about the widow's mite. Religious leaders were giving huge sums of money, out of their abundance or wealth you might say, but the poor widow gave all she had. Who was considered more righteous?
Having wealth is not a sin, of course, but when we say that we also need to consider all the verses that warn against having riches in this life. If you examine the New Testament especially, there are considerable warnings against having wealth and not blessing others with it. From the rich young ruler to the widow's mite to the exhortations of Paul to Timothy to tell those who are rich to be rich in good deeds to the passage about getting through the eye of the needle, there are many warnings that we should heed when we consider what our financial goals are. How are we using what God has blessed us with already to bless others? If we're not blessing others, what makes us think He's going to provide a better income? He who can be trusted with little can be trusted with much, right? To whom much is given, much is required.
What's the solution, then? I'm reminded of Randy Alcorn and some of the stuff I've read by him that I really enjoy. In one of his books, maybe it was the treasure principle or something else, he suggests deciding what you can live on and anything you make above that you give away. You have to provide for your own family, otherwise you're worse than an unbeliever. We're also called to love our neighbors as ourselves. That's why my goal for myself as well as my church is to get to a spot where I'm giving 50% of my income away. That sounds radical I know, but if it's true that you can tell where a person's priorities are by looking at their checkbook, and you're supposed to love your neighbor as yourself, than shouldn't half your money be devoted to your neighbors? That doesn't come naturally of course, and is something I think needs to be built up to, but I do think it's achievable. We must be careful, though, and make sure our money is being used wisely and truly empowering others rather than disempowering others. I read an article in a magazine taken from a book titled "Toxic Charity" by Bob Lupton. In it, he warns against charity that does more harm than good. Sometimes charity is needed, like after a natural disaster. But eventually, and ideally as quickly as possible, you have to get to the stage of development. Otherwise you're simply producing unnecessary and unhealthy levels of dependence. Many of my Christian friends criticize the government for welfare spending, saying it produces dependency. Many times, they are right. However, American Christians give an embarrassingly low amount to charity themselves. Oh, and to the obvious argument from the right that if we had lower taxes we would give more away, he who loves money never has money enough. Also, how many people give a higher percentage away when they get a raise? When they do give money to charity, more often than not, it's used to create dependence rather than empower people. Several years ago, when my pastor asked me what people needed most and how we as a church plant could meet those needs, I said jobs. It was right when we started the recession and seemed plainly obvious to me. That's still the case 3 years later. So, we, as a church, both our local church and the big Church, need to figure out how to empower our people to be job creators. I just downloaded a sample of a book called "The Missional Entrepreneur" that seems very good so far and I'll probably end up buying the book. I have much more to write, but I need to stop here. If the books I've read on how the internet is changing our brains are accurate, most of you haven't read this far anyways. :)
A couple of days ago, I went to see "The Dark Knight Rises" with my roommate. Among all the good action shots we learn that Bruce Wayne loses his entire fortune. This was just a movie of course, but how many times does this happen in real life? How many lottery winners go bankrupt after only a couple of years or so? We returned from the Bahamas late Saturday night and I got up early on Sunday morning for no apparent reason. I went to church of course because I love my church and had missed it dearly. There, again, I heard a few stories of people's world's falling apart. It's really not my place to share their stories here as I haven't asked permission from them. When Ryan started his sermon by talking about Job and his struggles, many of those faces came to my mind. A few of them had tragedy in their lives that they couldn't have prepared for, while one other person had a completely different struggle but all the same they were all hurting desperately. I remember feeling so helpless in all those situations, there was literally nothing I could do. All I knew how to do was pray for them, so I did. I prayed God would bring some of them comfort, and that He would save one of their lives. Sometimes we forget that Jesus Christ is a Savior, not us. My friend also reminded me later that night that worry comes from a lack of faith in God's ability to handle situations. Now, I'm sure mothers and fathers everywhere would disagree with that statement to some degree, but there is quite a bit of truth in it, right? Everyone worries to some degree I think, but to what end? Maybe a better place to find ourselves would be a place of concern, doing what we can but more importantly relying on God to do His will, whether we agree with that or not. We only fool ourselves when we believe that we're in complete control of our lives and the lives of those who are dependent on us.
There are a few podcasts I listen to about financial matters and I've read quite a few books on the subject as well. For some reason, I find it quite interesting whereas other people are bored completely when they try and read a book on personal finance. Some of these Christian authors and speakers talk about having security by having an emergency fund and so on. That is one of the main points where I have come to disagree with them. An emergency fund of 3-6 months is the general rule of thumb, although some have now said a fund of 10 months might be considered wiser due to the current state of the economy. Now, obviously, I do see the wisdom in that teaching and am trying to get to 6 months myself. However, that doesn't provide true security. How many bankruptcies are caused by medical expenses every year? You are never guaranteed good health in Scripture, it simply is not there. In a moment, everything can change. Look at the book of Job again for instance. He did nothing wrong, and yet everything was stripped from him and he got boils on his skin. For a modern day scenario, people who have cancer. They did nothing to deserve that, and how long will their insurance last? Many health problems you can prevent of course, like many of the diseases that are caused by obesity for instance. Some health problems though, you truly have no control or foresight for.
A few years ago, I considered going to Kenya for a year to help out a missions organization that I had gone there with before. I chose a year because I could take a year off of work and still have a job when I returned. When I talked to a friend about it, he challenged me to go for 3 years. To this I responded that I had good job security and could only take a year off and still be guaranteed a job when I returned. He quickly shot back, "Justin, your only true security is in Christ." Ouch. That has always stuck with me as I certainly needed to hear it at the time and need to be reminded of that fact often. For many people, it takes reaching rock bottom before they realize that truth. Maybe it's a good indicator of who is our true master, God or Mammon? Do we trust in Christ or Mammon as our source of security?
Proverbs 30:7-9 states
“Two things I ask of you, Lord;
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
A few years ago, I either found this verse highlighted in one of the books I was reading at the time or it was when I was going through the book of Proverbs with my roommate at the time, I don't remember which. Either way, it completely wrecked me at the time. Shortly after reading this verse and rereading it to really help plant it in my heart, I went to the local Christian bookstore. A book by one of my favorite authors who offers very sound financial advice was titled, "More Than Enough." I haven't read this book, but after reading some of his other books I can guess what he has to say in it. He believes in building wealth and giving a lot of it away. This sounds good and you can even back it up with Scripture if you choose to do so. There are plenty of verses that rail against that theology too that we must acknowledge if we're to take a more complete view of Scripture. It sounds good though, doesn't it? You should become wealthy so you can help others out of your abundance. Yep, sounds good, except for that passage in the New Testament where Christ talks about the widow's mite. Religious leaders were giving huge sums of money, out of their abundance or wealth you might say, but the poor widow gave all she had. Who was considered more righteous?
Having wealth is not a sin, of course, but when we say that we also need to consider all the verses that warn against having riches in this life. If you examine the New Testament especially, there are considerable warnings against having wealth and not blessing others with it. From the rich young ruler to the widow's mite to the exhortations of Paul to Timothy to tell those who are rich to be rich in good deeds to the passage about getting through the eye of the needle, there are many warnings that we should heed when we consider what our financial goals are. How are we using what God has blessed us with already to bless others? If we're not blessing others, what makes us think He's going to provide a better income? He who can be trusted with little can be trusted with much, right? To whom much is given, much is required.
What's the solution, then? I'm reminded of Randy Alcorn and some of the stuff I've read by him that I really enjoy. In one of his books, maybe it was the treasure principle or something else, he suggests deciding what you can live on and anything you make above that you give away. You have to provide for your own family, otherwise you're worse than an unbeliever. We're also called to love our neighbors as ourselves. That's why my goal for myself as well as my church is to get to a spot where I'm giving 50% of my income away. That sounds radical I know, but if it's true that you can tell where a person's priorities are by looking at their checkbook, and you're supposed to love your neighbor as yourself, than shouldn't half your money be devoted to your neighbors? That doesn't come naturally of course, and is something I think needs to be built up to, but I do think it's achievable. We must be careful, though, and make sure our money is being used wisely and truly empowering others rather than disempowering others. I read an article in a magazine taken from a book titled "Toxic Charity" by Bob Lupton. In it, he warns against charity that does more harm than good. Sometimes charity is needed, like after a natural disaster. But eventually, and ideally as quickly as possible, you have to get to the stage of development. Otherwise you're simply producing unnecessary and unhealthy levels of dependence. Many of my Christian friends criticize the government for welfare spending, saying it produces dependency. Many times, they are right. However, American Christians give an embarrassingly low amount to charity themselves. Oh, and to the obvious argument from the right that if we had lower taxes we would give more away, he who loves money never has money enough. Also, how many people give a higher percentage away when they get a raise? When they do give money to charity, more often than not, it's used to create dependence rather than empower people. Several years ago, when my pastor asked me what people needed most and how we as a church plant could meet those needs, I said jobs. It was right when we started the recession and seemed plainly obvious to me. That's still the case 3 years later. So, we, as a church, both our local church and the big Church, need to figure out how to empower our people to be job creators. I just downloaded a sample of a book called "The Missional Entrepreneur" that seems very good so far and I'll probably end up buying the book. I have much more to write, but I need to stop here. If the books I've read on how the internet is changing our brains are accurate, most of you haven't read this far anyways. :)
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