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October 2001, Page 4.
Index of articles.
Money:
index,
Missions 2,
All from you,
Steward,
Test me,
Why money,
Why I tithe.
In this issue:
(October 2001)
Vicar's Letter,
CW book,
Money,
Question,
History.
What's the point of money?
The Collect for Harvest is a good answer:
Eternal God ... you give us the fruits of the earth in their season.
Grant that we may use them:
- to your glory,
- for the relief of the needy, and
- for our own wellbeing,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This prayer was changed in 2000 - the order of the last two points was swapped. So here's a question: which of these is the most important use of money?
Clearly we have to use some money to look after ourselves. If I am paid for working, it would be dishonest for me to starve myself and so make myself useless to my employer. Clearly I also need to look after my dependents.
BUT if I spend the whole of my income on myself I've got the balance wrong. I need to distinguish between my needs and my wants: and the needs of others need to come above the wants of my own heart.
And then, since I believe that God is real, I need to put some of my money where my mouth is and give him some of it. Although God has no use for my money in heaven, he has a lot of things to use it on down here on earth. How can I call myself a Christian if I don't use at least some of my money for God's glory?
Jesus told a sad story about a rich man who lived in luxury every day, and a poor man at his gate who longed to eat what fell from his table. When they both died the rich man looked up from hell in torment, and had a conversation with Abraham about the rights and wrongs of eternity (read it in Luke 16:19-31). Why did the rich man go to hell? Not simply because of his riches - rahter because of the way he used them. During his life he lived as if God didn't exist (he admits to Abraham that he and his brothers have never taken any notice of Moses' laws), and he ignored the needs of the poor man at his gate.
The point of money, Jesus is saying, is to use it for good while it is here, because you can't take it with you when you go. (In fact, his story is an illustration of the saying in Luke 16:9.)
I don't ask you to give money away because the church needs it (although it does), or even because others need it (they do as well). I ask because where your treasure is your heart will be too. I'd hate you to make the same mistake as the rich man in Jesus' story.
John Hartley