Why is God so bossy about money?

Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.

Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.

Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.

Father, we ask that you help us by your Holy Spirit

to use the very best of our mind and our heart

and our imagination and our will

to listen to your word and to listen to you.

At the same time, Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit

would humble our imaginations and our hearts and our wills

so that we will acknowledge that unless you move

and work within us, we are powerless.

So, Father, we ask that in your mercy and in your kindness,

you would do this double powerful work

of your Holy Spirit in us this morning.

Father, it's your word.

We want and need to hear you speak to us.

And all this we ask in the name of Jesus,

your Son and our Savior.

Amen.

Please be seated.

We had a hymn sing last night and I had to,

I was, I didn't had to, I had the great privilege of leading it.

Acapella without a mic, so that's why I'm hoarse.

I sang Christmas carols very loudly for 70 minutes last night,

so now I'm hoarse.

Some, you know that I, there's a particular Starbucks

where I usually work on my sermons on weekday mornings.

And so now there's several people there who will often,

not every week, but there's people who regularly ask me

what my sermon's going to be on.

And so this one fellow who's quite a skeptic,

usually he asks me what the sermon's going to be on

and then he gives me a lecture as to why I'm all wrong,

why Christians are wrong.

And this week he said, what's your topic on?

And I said, why is God so bossy about money?

And he literally took a step back and said,

I can't believe you're going to talk about that.

He said, that's absolutely dynamite.

That's, he was actually, it was the first time,

one of the few times I'd seen him a little bit speechless

that I was going to talk about why is God so bossy about money?

And as we all know, one of the great perceptions of non-Christians,

about Christians, but also I think maybe spiritual or not spiritual,

not religious people, of even religious people in general,

is that God is very bossy about money.

Not only is he bossy about money,

he's intrusive, harmful, not helpful,

and not realistic.

And I think that would be a very common view about

religious people in general,

and Christians in particular about money.

So here's my opportunity.

I'm going to just say, if you're a guest here this morning,

maybe as a seeker,

maybe you just got dragged here by somebody,

or if you've been coming to this church for a while,

and you are not a follower of Jesus,

on behalf of Jesus,

I want to say that we don't want you to give us any money at all.

And I'm very serious.

And it's not because your money's not good,

or we don't like you.

Just we really, literally,

this is an opportunity.

I know for some of you,

it's a bit of a scary topic.

You are maybe glad that I'm going to raise it.

But this is a real opportunity.

And you'll hear it's not just me,

it's actually what the Bible says,

is that it would really, really be good

if you give us no money whatsoever.

Instead, after the service,

have as many cookies and as much coffee as you can on us.

We want to be generous to you.

But you'll see in a moment why it is that I say,

please don't give us money.

Now, the fact is that many Christians and many churches,

too many,

are bossy and intrusive and unhelpful about money,

and are fixated about money,

and probably worship money.

I mean, in fact, actually,

one of the judgments that you can see

in a lot of the churches in the city of Ottawa

that are closing,

is that the congregations,

rather than giving their buildings

to, let's say, an immigrant church,

a new Canadian's church,

they sell it to developers

because they want the money.

So, in fact,

it is a problem

in churches

and for Christians

that they're, like,

fixated with money,

bossy about money,

or maybe,

anyway,

it is an issue.

But the question is,

is that a Christian problem

and a human problem?

Or is it, in fact,

what God wants us to do?

I mean,

if you think about it for a second,

just sort of take a little bit of a time out

with this whole question,

the world is pretty bossy about money.

The liberal,

the provincial governments

and the federal governments

don't think we use our money well enough

so they want to make changes

to the Canada Pension Plan.

Every Saturday,

if not more often,

there's regularly

a whole raft of columns

and articles in the newspaper

to tell us

how we should be spending our money,

foolish ways to use money,

smart ways to use money.

In fact,

there's a bit of a human problem

about being fixated with money

and being bossy

and intrusive about it.

But the question is,

is that a human problem

of which Christians share

because we aren't listening to the Bible

or thinking about Jesus

or is in fact

the Bible bossy about money?

Is the God

who is revealed in Scripture

bossy and intrusive

and foolish about money?

So it'd be a great help

if you get your Bibles out

and we're going to look at that.

If you're wondering

why on earth

we're talking about this,

it's one of the things

that we do in this church

is we preach through books

of the Bible.

And that means

we just take the topics

as they come up.

It's not that I have

a fixation with this.

It's just,

in fact,

I'll give you a warning.

We're going to be looking

at two chapters

and 39 verses,

not all today,

but this week,

next week,

and then in January

when we come back

to 2 Corinthians

that talk about money.

And it's just the way

the book moves.

It's just the way

that the flow of the book moves.

So if you get your Bibles,

look to 2 Corinthians

and it's chapter 8,

2 Corinthians chapter 8

2 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

and let's start reading it.

Verse 1 and 2.

We want you to know

brothers and sisters,

about the grace of God

that has been given

among the churches

of Macedonia.

That's an area of Greece

at the time.

This is originally a letter

which was written

about the year 56 or 57.

And it's to the areas

that now be known

as Thessalonica,

Berea,

Philippi,

and that's what

he's referring to.

So I'll read the sentence again.

We want you to know,

brothers and sisters,

about the grace of God

that has been given

among the churches

of Macedonia.

For in a severe test

of affliction,

their abundance of joy

and their extreme poverty

have overflowed

in a wealth

of generosity

on their part.

Now here's the first thing,

if you could put it up.

The really surprising thing

is we begin,

when we hear that the Bible

is going to talk about money,

we begin with this

cultural assumption

that the Bible

is going to be bossy

about money,

but the Bible begins

in a very surprising place.

It begins by,

God wants us to know

about grace.

God wants us

to know about grace.

So it's a bit of a surprise

that that's how

it's going to begin.

And some of you

might wonder,

well, what does the Bible

mean by grace?

And Andrew,

if you could put up

the second point.

This is just,

if you go throughout

the New Testament

in particular,

but the entire Bible,

the Old Testament as well,

because the Old Testament

teaches that God

is gracious

and that he is

filled with grace.

He is a God

who is characterized

by grace.

This is, I think,

a very good summary

of how the Bible

teaches what grace is,

God's grace is.

God's grace,

or grace,

is a justice

without compromise

and a love

to the uttermost,

which has real power

to enter into human lives

and change us

for our true good.

I think that's what

the Bible means

by God's grace.

It means,

it is,

God's grace

is a justice

without compromise.

This is very,

very important.

It's not favoritism.

It's not,

you know,

that we're going to favor

one social group

over another.

We're going to favor

one age group

over another.

We're going to favor

one ethnic or national

or racial group

or sexual type

over another.

It is justice

without compromise

and it's also

love to the uttermost.

And it's great,

it's justice

without compromise

and love to the uttermost,

which,

because it's from God,

has the real power

to enter into

your life

and mine

and change us

for our true good.

So,

this

is something

that God

wants us

to know about.

It's not just

something that he does

to amuse himself

like a hobby.

That's a very nature

of God

and he wants us

to know about it

and he wants us

to know about

how it actually

has become

powerfully real

and present

for people's good

in this area

of Macedonia.

Now,

and that's how

it begins,

verse one,

we want you to know,

brothers and sisters,

about the grace of God

that has been given

among the churches

of Macedonia.

Now,

some of you,

if you've come

to the church before,

you'll notice,

you'll know that,

in fact,

I got an email

just recently,

I knew I did it

but I never really

put it in these terms,

but George,

and in fact,

often I start

to walk to the side

and I go,

but George,

and then I raise

the objection

of somebody

and this is often

where I would have

a but George moment,

but I'm not

because the Bible,

in fact,

is implicitly asking

us a question.

The Bible is,

in fact,

saying,

but Canadians,

but Canada,

here's the question,

here's the question,

does money,

having lots of money,

create and encourage

generosity to others?

Does having money,

here's a question

for Canadians,

does having money,

does having lots of money,

having more money,

does that naturally

create generosity

in human beings,

in Canadians?

If we're honest,

I think we'd say

it doesn't.

And it's often

very hard for us

to say that,

and one of the reasons

it's hard for us

to say that,

and this isn't really

a topic of this sermon,

because this whole sermon,

the way it's talking

about money,

isn't talking about

idolatry,

but money is often

a very powerful idol

in our hearts,

in our imaginations,

and idols

don't like to be

talked about bluntly.

When we have an idol

in our heart

and our mind,

it will cause

our mind

and our heart

and our will

to be evasive

and less clear,

because idols

never like to be

brought into the light.

But I think

you would agree

if you look

not only in Canada

but around the world

that the mere presence

of extra money

does not usually

elicit,

just by the money

itself,

a feeling of

now I can be

more generous.

That's not normally

what arises

in people's hearts.

In fact,

if you want evidence

of this,

just go to either

the Citizen

or the Globe and Mail

or the National Post

and read

the financial sections

for the last six months

and see how many times

they say,

this is how you save money

on your taxes

and this is how you

make more money

and you're doing

all of this

so you can be

more generous.

My guess is

that you will find

no articles about that

or maybe you'll find one.

So just for a second here,

this is one of these

time out moments

and it's fine.

God has big shoulders

and God is quite fine.

In fact,

one of the things

about the Gospels

is that Jesus

loves honest questions

but at the same time

if you read the Gospels,

Jesus often asks

honest questions

and so here we have

this cultural fear,

a human fear

that God is going

to be bossy,

intrusive,

hurtful and harmful

and unwise

about money

and as we start

to get into it,

we discover that

in fact,

the Bible

is asking us

a question.

The Bible

is asking me

a question.

Okay,

just to think

about this,

does the mere presence

of more money

in our lives

make us more generous?

So here,

if you could put up

the third point,

Andrew,

what is going on

in this text

is that money

does not naturally

create generosity

to others

but God's grace

grows generosity

to others.

this is cultural dynamite.

Just even within

our own culture,

you know what,

often at a level

of common grace,

having more money

doesn't usually

create generosity

but you know

one of the things

in our culture

that creates generosity?

Love.

Love.

Love.

I mean,

many of you

can maybe even

think in your own

offices

or your places

of work

that there might

be a woman

who would really,

you could tell

when the card

comes around

to give a gift

for somebody

who's leaving

or something's

happened to them

and getting that

toonie out of

the purse

and letting go

of it for that

person

is really hard.

But that same

person

might talk

about her

daughter's

wedding

and talk

about how

she's hoping

to have a big

raise

so she can

give the money

to her daughter.

So we see

right here

this is a

cultural thing.

It's not that

there's no

generosity

in our culture

but it's not

usually created

by money.

It's created

by something

else like love.

And as we're

going to see

this is actually

sort of a truth

that the Bible

makes clear

that Marxism

doesn't tell us,

queer theory

doesn't tell us

this,

deconstructionism

doesn't tell us

this,

Ayn Rand

doesn't tell us

this,

Nietzsche

doesn't tell us

this,

it doesn't

sort of instill

it within us.

But the Bible

makes this clear.

So the Bible

shows that money

does not naturally

create generosity

to others

but God's grace

grows generosity

to others.

You know

in this text

if you read

1 and 2 again

look at it again

verses 1 and 2

we want you to know

brothers and sisters

about the grace

of God

that has been

given among

the churches

of Macedonia.

How does he know

that God's grace

has been powerful

there?

He says

verse 2

for in a severe

test of affliction

affliction means

basically they're

suffering terrible

persecution.

Their abundance

of joy

and their

extreme poverty

in other words

they're not only

experiencing

persecution

but they're

experiencing

persecution

that's made

them poor

have overflowed

in a wealth

of generosity

on their part.

Look at that.

How can poverty

overflow

in a wealth

of generosity?

But God's grace

creates that.

God's grace

coming into our lives.

The Holy Spirit

as we're going to see

in a moment

part of God's grace

as the Holy Spirit

works

it creates

a generosity.

generosity.

Now some of you

might say

but George

you asked

a challenging

question of me

but George

this sounds like

God is doing

something here

that's actually

making these

people weaker

he's furthering

their oppression

by giving them

less financial

resources.

Well let's go

on and read

verses 3 to 5.

Here's what Paul

says

what the Bible

says

for they gave

verse 3

they gave

according to

their means

of their own

accord

begging us

earnestly

for the favor

of taking part

in the relief

of the saints

and here saints

just means

in the Bible

in the New Testament

if you've given

your life to Jesus

you're a saint

that's how it

describes people

who've given

their lives to Jesus

it doesn't mean

you live well

it means you're

God's

and some of us

anyway

God needs a lot

of work

in a lot of our

lives right

I'll say that again

verse 4

begging us

earnestly

for the favor

of taking

part

in the relief

of the saints

and this not

as we expected

but they gave

themselves first

to the Lord

and then by the

will of God

to us

okay so that's

what the Bible

says

so here's

the context

in this area

that Paul's

talking about

Philippi

Thessalonica

Berea

that area

they

people have

become Christians

and in that

particular pagan

culture context

they've

experienced

ostracism

loss

of status

loss

of business

contacts

that have

greatly reduced

their income

some of the

people

we know

from Lydia

and the

Philippian

jailer

had financial

means

and for

whatever reason

now

the implication

is that

many or all

of them

have lost

their financial

means

and they're

now suffering

poverty

in the context

of persecution

and Paul

is collecting

money

as he goes

around

what we now

call as

Turkey

and what we

now know

of as

Greece

and he's

collecting

money

from these

pagans

who've

become

Christians

because

the Jewish

believers

in Jerusalem

have also

suffered

great ostracism

and persecution

and are in

dire financial

need

and so

Paul is

going along

collecting

money

in what we

now refer

to as

Turkey

and Greece

for the Jewish

believers

in fact

it's actually

a very

very powerful

thing

because

you know

when I

said about

how one

of the

things

that overcomes

the tendency

of money

is love

this is an

aspect of love

because these

men and women

are crossing

language lines

social lines

cultural lines

ethnic lines

geographic lines

to really

love the other

and that's

what God's

grace has

done

as God's

grace has

come into

their lives

rather than

them becoming

more ethnocentric

or you know

more just

cultural centric

or national

centric

it's breaking

down these

barriers

because they

have a

compassion

for people

who are

of a

different

ethnicity

different

culture

just

everything

and as

God's

grace

comes into

their lives

they have

this desire

to give

sacrificially

for the

other

so here's

the point

first number

four

Andrew

the Bible

does not

romanticize

poverty

nowhere in

the Bible

there's no

Walden Pond

there's no

noble savage

there's nothing

like Jean-Jacques

Rousseau

there's nothing

like that

the Bible

does not

romanticize

poverty

or being

poor

but the Bible

tells us

of how

God's grace

frees

dignifies

and empowers

the poor

and the

powerless

the Bible

tells us

of how

God's grace

frees

dignifies

and empowers

the poor

and the

powerless

you see

God's grace

we receive

it

it's a

passive

thing

that

I can't

do anything

to earn

God's grace

it's not

something

that I

can do

that if

I do

enough

good

action

somehow

another

God's

grace

will

I'll

earn

it

like a

prize

it's not

like

you know

saving up

points

or air

mile

points

or aeroplan

points

you get

enough

points

you get

a

flight

there's

nothing

I can

do

it's

something

we receive

passively

but at the

same time

it's something

that when

God's grace

comes into

our lives

it creates

activity

God's grace

comes into

our lives

and as

God's grace

as Jesus

comes and

lives within

us

as the

Holy Spirit

comes within

us

the Holy Spirit

starts to

irrigate

things within

our life

in our

mind

in our

heart

in our

will

in our

imagination

and at

the same

time

that it

starts

to do

this

irrigating

work

within

us

it

creates

this

desire

for the

grace

to continue

to go

out

in different

ways

and that's

as we'll see

in a moment

the gifts

the charisms

that come out

from us

and that's

and that's

and that's

what's happening

here

you see

what's one

of the things

that we know

about the

poor

well first

of all

people don't

think about

the poor

I mean

one of the

things that's

going on in

our culture

right now

is that there's

very little

talk of the

poor

it's about

middle class

tax cuts

and in fact

you know

on one hand

the fact that

we have a

concern at all

for the poor

in our culture

is something

as I think

that comes out

of our

Christian past

but you know

at the same

time even

what goes on

in our culture

isn't us

sacrificially giving

but us

wanting to

have the

government

spend other

people's money

to help

the poor

do you know

that the

percentage of

people in

Canada that

actually give

enough money

to charity

that they can

claim an

income tax

receipt has

been going

down as a

percentage of

the population

ever since

Revenue Canada

started to

I think it's

about 24

consecutive

years of

decline

in our

country

and often

what we want

is other

people to

give their

money

but the

poor

are irrelevant

they're

invisible

we see them

as victims

and they often

by our culture

they're understood

to be irrelevant

invisible

victims

and powerless

but here we

see that when

God comes

into their

lives

it means

they're not

irrelevant

they're not

invisible

they're not

to see

themselves as

complete and

utter passive

victims that

have no power

but God uses

their limited

resources and

their great

real restrictions

in such a

way that

they are a

true and

noteworthy

blessing

that's why

I say

that the

Bible

doesn't

romanticize

poverty

but it

tells us

of how

God's

grace

frees

dignifies

and empowers

the poor

and the

powerless

and in

fact

look again

at this

text

look again

at verse

four

verse three

again

for they

gave according

to their

means

as I can

testify

and beyond

their means

of their own

accord

begging us

earnestly for

the favor

or the

privilege

of taking

part in the

relief of the

saints

let's be

honest

how does

our culture

understand

favor or

privilege

in our

culture

in a

world

where money

is the

primary

narrative

favor

means

avoiding

pain

privilege

means

avoiding

pain

sorry

there is

two tier

health system

in our

country

because

rich

athletes

and rich

people

don't have

long

waiting

lists

and part

of the

way that

money and

power works

in our

culture

is we

don't even

ask

why is it

that that

rich

person

why is it

that my

my grandmother

has to wait

six months

for surgery

and the rich

athlete has

surgery the

next day

why is it

my neighbor

has to wait

eight months

for surgery

and that rich

person

or that

powerful

person

they had

surgery right

away

like we don't

ask that

question

because

in fact

the idols

of our

culture

make us

blind

to the

fact

and the

normal way

that we

understand

favor

is getting

out of

obligations

and keeping

our money

in our

own pocket

and so here

in the text

we see a

profound

inversion

of how our

culture

and how human

beings normally

by their own

flesh

understand power

these people

as the

graces

come into

their lives

they beg

Paul

for the

favor

for the

privilege

of being

used by

God

to bless

these

others

it's a

very very

very powerful

text

now some

of you might

remember

I mean hopefully

all of you

remember that I

said if you've

come here this

morning and you

haven't given

your life to

Jesus even if

you've been

coming here for

many many

months maybe

even for

years

and you

would not

really describe

yourself as

having given

your life to

Jesus that he

is your

savior and

your lord

and I've

said it

would be

really be

good if

you give

us no

money

and I

get that

from verse

five

did you

notice it

verse five

look at

again what

it says

in verse

five

and this

not as we

expected

in other

words they've

given themselves

and their

money

and this

not as we

expected

but they

gave

themselves

first to

the lord

and then

by the

will of

God

to us

and in

the original

language

first to

the lord

has a

double

sense

it means

the very

first thing

they do

is give

themselves to

the lord

or rededicate

themselves to

the lord

and it

also means

first in

importance

and in

priority

you know if

you've read

Stephen Covey

and looked at

how he does

some of his

time management

and you know

you get the

boulders of

your day

or your week

or your month

or your year

you do the

boulders first

or the huge

rocks first

because they're

the first

the big

things

the things

that are

of the

utmost

priority

and that's

what he's

saying here

what God

desires

as the first

thing that we

do

God desires

as the thing

that we

recognize

is most

important

is to give

ourselves

to him

and the

money issues

they're going to

come down

the pike

and so

if you could

put it up

Andrew

God does not

have any

needs

he does not

need your

money

God loves

you as a

person

and longs

to have

you return

to him

God loves

you as a

person

and longs

to have

you return

to him

remember what

grace is

grace is a

justice without

compromise

and love

to the

uttermost

which has

the real

power to

enter into

human lives

and change

us for

our true

good

and God

desires to

enter in

he desires

to have us

enter into

him

he desires

to have

Jesus

enter into

us

he desires

with the

son and

the Holy

Spirit

to make

his home

within us

he desires

to pour

as we

give ourselves

to Jesus

and now

Jesus comes

and lives

within us

the Holy

Spirit

comes and

lives

within us

and as

this happens

God gives

gifts

God gives

gifts

look at how

it continues

in verses

6 and 7

accordingly

we urge

Titus

that as

he has

started

that is

making a

collection

for money

so he

should

complete

among you

this act

of grace

but as

you excel

in everything

in faith

in speech

and here in

speech it

means speaking

in tongues

it means

speaking

being able

to preach

it means

being able

to teach

the Bible

in knowledge

it can mean

having words

of knowledge

it also

can mean

just knowing

the faith

and having

the wisdom

that all

those Old

Testament

texts about

wisdom

and that

practical

knowledge

that come

as a result

of gifts

of grace

in earnestness

that's a type

of ability

to have some

type of willpower

that keeps in

the same

direction

and in our

love for you

and actually

in the original

language

it's a picture

of the

love of the

you know

of the Holy

Spirit

is the love

between the

Trinity

the Father

and the Son

and it's

the love

within the

congregation

of true

believers

and this

love

which does

characterize

the Trinity

and is to

characterize

Christians

that this

love

is now

present in

them as

well

see that you

excel in this

act of grace

also

in this act

of grace

also

we receive

grace

passively

but it

makes us

active

in risking

in going

in praying

and speaking

in giving

but some

of you

might say

okay George

wow you've

taken us

a long way

from this

question

and I

do agree

that the

Bible has

surprised me

here about

how it

talks about

money

and the

Bible has

asked me

some cultural

questions

which in

fact I'm

not entirely

sure where

to go

with it

it might

very well

be the

case that

money by

itself

actually

doesn't

create

generosity

but maybe

it does

create

something

like

selfishness

but George

isn't the

Bible still

telling us

to give

money

like isn't

isn't

God still

being

bossy

no for

two reasons

the first

is it

makes it

very clear

he's not

God is

not ordering

us around

look at

verse

at verse

eight

I say

this not

as a

command

and in

the original

language

the word

command

has an

implication

of a

command

from God

in the

original

language

I say

this not

as a

command

but to

prove or

to test

by the

earnestness

of others

that your

love also

is genuine

and what it

means here

if you

could put it

up Andrew

is the

next point

the Bible

encourages

us

to let

love

grow

and run

its course

by taking

next steps

the Bible

doesn't command

here

it specifically

rejects it

what the Bible

is doing

here is

encouraging

and you might

say that's

a distinction

without a

difference

no in this

particular case

it's a

distinction

with a

difference

it's a

very very

different

thing

I just

discovered

recently

that an

acquaintance

of mine

who's

becoming

a friend

that just

11 months

ago he

was robbed

by gunpoint

in a

taxi

he was

in a

third world

country

he was

taking a

taxi to

the airport

and the

guy pulled

over in a

dark spot

turned around

stuck a gun

in his face

and said

give me

everything you

have

and

it ended

up

I mean

he told

me about

this now

so obviously

he didn't

die in the

whole thing

and it

ended up

you know

it was

it ended

up

he ended

up getting

out of the

hole

I mean

he did

lose

everything

by the way

he had

to give

everything

his

suitcase

his

credit

cards

everything

but his

passport

which was

sort of

tucked away

in another

part of his

body

and the

guy didn't

notice it

if God

wanted to

he could

show you

up

and he

could say

give me

all you

got

God's

way more

powerful

than a

guy with

a gun

just like

that

he could

just do

it like

that