Allen Jackson - Money and Power - Part 2
Well, I brought you the Financial Ten Commandments. These are not in Deuteronomy or Levit... well, they're probably there, but they're not arranged in the way I have done them. I took "thou shalt" and "thou shalt not" out of them so that you wouldn't be confused, but I do think of them as biblically sound fundamentals for dealing with our resources and our lives. I didn't arrange them in order of significance, but we'll walk through these really quickly. We can't afford to get bogged down too much. The first one is thou shalt work hard, or if you prefer, thou shalt engage in hard work. Both ways, I believe, are legitimate and accurate.
Proverbs 6, I chose this from The Message because it seemed pretty emotive to me. "So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy, do you know what comes next? You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest"! Plain enough. Some prefer the New Testament. I'll cooperate. Paul wrote to the church of Colossae and he said, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It's the Lord Christ you are serving".
Whatever you do, don't turn the page. I'm not done with that verse yet. It will not make me hurry if you turn that page over, I promise. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, not halfway, not distracted, not reluctantly, not embittered. You know how the Bible often refers to money? The Bible calls it the fruit of our labor. I think we forget that God gave Adam and Eve work to do before they ever sinned. The curse that he brought was about difficult and painful work, but work was a part of their perfect existence.
Adam was called to be a caretaker, literally in the Hebrew, a watchman over the garden. It's the word they use in modern Hebrew for a security guard. You see, we've created a false imagination of work. We've idealized the idea of work. It's often said that work should bring meaning to our lives, fulfillment to us. We should bound out of bed each morning, delighted at the privilege of another day of emotional fulfillment from our jobs. Folks, your kids can't fulfill that, and they bring a remarkable joy to your lives. We've put a burden on work that's impossible, and it's been given to us to make us dissatisfied and unhappy, and it's evil.
There's a second commandment we have, and that's that you need to establish a plan. In Matthew 6:25 Jesus... again, this is his Sermon on the Mount. "Don't worry about your life, what you'll eat or drink. Life is more important than food, and the body more important than clothes". Most of you, I hope, showered this morning. I pray many of you actually had the dishes done in your home today, maybe even washed some clothes. Well, if you accomplish those... now that we have indoor plumbing in Tennessee, it's an amazing thing, isn't it? But when your house was built, there was a plumbing plan so you could have water to the kitchen sink and to the bathrooms and all those places where you'd eat. It's not random or accidental. It's very intentional. And when it comes to your material possessions and your financial resources, the most significant step is establishing a plan. Do it on purpose.
Dave Ramsey's done really well with this general concept. It's not random. You don't have to choose my plan or his plan, but you need a plan. Do it on purpose. It'd be like having a garden, but you didn't really till the ground or you didn't arrange where you planted anything. You just got some bags of seed and walked through the yard and kind of randomly scattered seed. It's highly improbable you'd have a garden that would provide much sustenance, and if you're not intentional with your time and energy and your resources, it's highly improbable that you'll be effective as a steward of what God's given you.
For years, I've suggested the same beginning point. Many of you are far more sophisticated, I'm sure, but it's not a bad beginning. It's the 10-10-80 plan, that the first tenth is the Lord's. That's a biblical idea. It does belong to God. The biblical word for that is "a tithe". Where do you pay your tithe? I believe it belongs to the place you go for spiritual care, wherever that may be. God promises to honor you when you honor him. Some will say, "Isn't tithing an Old Testament concept"? Yes, and so is adultery. I'll tell you, when it comes to money, we get weird. Don't get weird. And then ten percent goes to savings and investment. That'll require a little self-discipline. And the remaining 80% is for your living expenses and the needs that you have. Get a plan. If you don't like that one choose another, but have a plan. Be intentional with your resources.
The third commandment is avoid debt like the plague. How do we find ourselves $35 trillion in debt? 'Cause we don't consider debt that big of a deal. I'll spare you the statistics on our personal debt. They are overwhelming. Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender". As miraculous as compound interest is, if you ever get on the negative side of compound interest, you're looking at a modern-day nightmare.
I'll give you one example: a $7,500 balance on a credit card at 18% interest. It's a minimum payment of $150. How long do you think it'll take? Thirty years and two months. Total payment? It was over $23,000, unless the government comes in and decides to forgive your loan, and then you have to rearrange your idols because they become prominent for you all of a sudden, and since the government doesn't have any money, they're just taking somebody else's money to pay down a debt that you chose for yourself. That should not make any of us happy. In the plainest of language, Jesus purchased our freedom with his own blood. Don't allow yourself to be enslaved to indebtedness. Fight to stay out of debt. We should be fighting as a nation. I don't mean physically, but we should be fighting as a nation to stay out of debt. We have lost our minds.
Number four, distinguish between wants and needs. The Matthew passage where Jesus said not to worry about all these things we worry about. We have a very limited number of true needs. We need air to breathe, we need food to eat, we need a little water. Beyond that, most things fall into the "wants" category. Now, our vocabulary on this one is pretty broken. We talk often about what we need. I'm guilty myself. You know, shopping, COVID was a gift to me. It was an excuse to not go back to the mall. That was not one of my great temptations. I could walk through the mall without getting emotionally wrung out, but now Amazon has stepped into the breach.
I think it could be one of the expressions of the devil 'cause they will show it to you and deliver it to your home today, and they will, it's digitally attached to you in some way and you don't feel the pain of that transaction. It's just amazing. It's like having an M&M dispenser that just keeps refilling right in front of your hand all day long. It's fundamentally wrong. One of the things in my life that helped me get a little bit, handle on this idea, Philip and I, my brother and I studied at Hebrew University, and this was a while ago. We were allowed to bring two duffel bags, and that contained everything we needed for that year of school, our linens, our towels, our clothes, our books, our cooking utensils.
Whatever we needed for that run at the university had to go into those two duffel bags. And that's through the changes of season. That's the whole bit. It reshaped how I understood what was essential. It reshaped a lot of things in my life, and I'm not sure all those lessons held, but you've got to distinguish between your wants and your needs. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Some of you are angry, resentful, embittered, filled with all sorts of destructive emotions because things you want have not arrived on the timetable that you wanted them to arrive, and you have withdrawn from serving God.
Do you understand there are multitrillion dollar industries whose primary goal is to make you dissatisfied, to convince you that the label in your clothing or the label on your car or the label on something your children have is what defines your value and your self-worth? They're constantly showing you something that's new and better and more-improved and technologically advanced. Obsolescence is built the most of the things that we purchase. And so often it makes us terribly dissatisfied, and it pushes us further and further. Well, the Bible says that godliness with contentment is great gain. This whole arena, this whole topic of discussion, and it may be, we will explore it in some other ways, but I think we have walked so far away from a biblical perspective on our possessions and the role they have in our lives. Wants and needs.
Number five, determine when enough is enough. Jesus tells a parable about a wealthy man, very successful man, very clever man, very smart man, very diligent man, checks a lot of boxes until the night that his life is demanded of him and he's been completely unaware of eternity. He didn't lay up any treasure in heaven. He wasn't concerned about those things. He was concerned with accumulating and becoming. There was gonna be some day in the future when he would change his focus. It's in Luke 12:19. He said, "I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things stored up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.'" That was his goal. It's hedonism.
"And God said to him, 'You're a fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you've prepared for yourself?'" This guy had bumper crop after bumper crop. Every year, he exceeded the projections. Every year, he exceeded the the threshold. He made his bonus and some. He never missed, but he was never satisfied. See, I believe beyond some point, we have to say that our life goal is advancing God's cause. I believe we have to have some sort of a shift from just establishing material success to real significance in our lives. Not easy. It's not easily done. I pray no one around our community of faith is ever labeled in the halls of heaven a rich fool. That would be a tragic evaluation to have attached to your journey under the sun.
Number six, thou shalt not compete with the Jones. And if your name is Jones, I apologize. This is a national pastime. Oh, we don't declare it as such, but we know it's true. In Deuteronomy 5 and verse 21 it says, "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his servant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor". We read that and go, "Thank God I don't ever remember coveting my neighbor's donkey". But let me help with a definition or two. "Coveting" is looking at your neighbor's stuff, and instead of just appreciating it or being happy for them, your answer is "I gotta get one of those. I need one of those. How'd that clown get that before I did? I'd be happier with that".
We learn it really early in life. You go to school and somebody having lunch to you has got a better lunch box than you do. We later learn it later about our clothes, and then it's about cars, and then it's jobs, and then it's vacations in the right place. The social media has not helped us with this. Now we vacation competitively. Oh, we don't put it in those terms. We say, "Look where I am". If I'm working, I don't care. I mean, I love you, but it's all right. Help yourself. Then it's our vacation homes. The list goes on and on.
Well, I brought you a way out of the madness. I've suggested it before. It's not new, but we have such a hard time holding this one. Let's decide tonight, as a part of this service, we're gonna declare our neighbor the winner. They win. And this is a real thing. You may need to go knock on their door. You may need an honest moment with them. You may have been gardening competitively. "My flower bed's better than yours. My yard is better than yours". You sneak over a night and sow weeds in their front yard.
So, here's the idea: In your heart, if not to your neighbor or your friend, tell him, "Take your victory lap. You win. You win the house game, the car game, the landscape game. You win the Christmas light contest. I concede you've got the biggest snowblower. Your television can be seen from outer space. I'm proud of you. Your computer is so large, the memory is so great, and the speed so fast they call you Cloud 2. You win". Just make them the winner. Opt out. That's not my goal. What do you get for being the winner? A heart full of stress and a truck load of debt. It's not a real victory. The next one, I gotta hurry, don't make major financial decisions without getting wise counsel first.
Proverbs 11, "For a lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure". Be humble enough to allow someone else to review the way you manage your money. You know, through the years, we've walked with lots of individuals and families when they go through difficult places and set them up with some sort of accountability, and that's a very difficult thing to do: to allow somebody else to talk to you about how you're handling your resources. You know, we get some weird notions around giving. You know, it's all private. That's really not what the Bible says. The Bible says when you help those less fortunate than yourselves, don't rob them of their dignity by announcing it, but the majority of the giving that's done in the Bible is done in the open. You should know that how you handle your money is a very open point of conversation in the heavenlies. Awkward. Get wise counsel. Have the humility to take the input.
The next one is don't corrupt your kids with money, not easy. Proverbs 22:6, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he's old he won't turn from it". Have sit-down conversations with your kids regarding money, hard work, the connection between the two. Dads, you have a responsibility to protect your kids, you do, and I know our culture tells us these days that protecting our kids means we buckle them in a car seat until they're old enough to drive the car and that they can't ride a bicycle unless they've got a helmet on and that you wouldn't dream of letting your kids go outside without the appropriate SPF on, that if you've got your kids in a car seat and they got a bike helmet and you've got plenty of sunscreen, you've protected your kids.
It's an inadequate presentation. You gotta prepare them to deal with this world, and you need to have honest conversations with them about resources and the effort it takes and the value that's attached to them. Don't just bail them out. We've modeled too much poor behavior to our kids. We've taught them that spending is a way to overcome emotional low point, all sorts of messaging that are not helpful. John Grisham wrote a best selling novel about it, "The Testament". It's about a family. It was destroyed by the bestowal of resources that they didn't earn. It's not always a gift. The next is learn how to honor God with your resources. Proverbs 3, "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops".
Honor the Lord with your wealth. "Tithes" and "offerings" are the word the Bible uses. The tithe is the first tenth. The offering are beyond that. There are times and seasons in your life where a tenth is a real sacrifice. I mean, it's a marginal call. There are other times in our lives where that doesn't represent a sacrifice at all. We just become more indulgent. Honor God with the resources that he entrusts to you. It's the best way to secure your future. Again, those are not messages you hear very many places any longer in our culture. And then the last one, I'm about done. There's hope. Don't steal. We need to visit with this one for a while longer than I've got in this session.
"Stealing" is both a transitive and intransitive verb. I'll give you the definition. It's to take something that belongs to somebody else without the owner's permission, to take something that belongs to someone else without the owner's permission. I would submit to you that our government is in the business of stealing, but the only reason they can get away with it with such largesse and in such a widespread way is we've become a nation of thieves. We've lost the notion of a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. We've lost the notion of what a fair profit would be. We have lost our balance. We have stepped away from biblical principles. The Bible talks a lot about this. It talks about unjust weights and measures. It talks about taking advantage of those who are less fortunate. It talks about using your power and your strength to take advantage of those who are weaker. We have lost our biblical balance.
Ephesians 4, if you prefer the New Testament, "Who's been stealing must steal no longer". This is not a new thing. They were stealing in the Ephesian church. "I'd long suspected it. You know how those Ephesians are". How would you like to make the book, the book? Imagine if that was Murfreesboro and Paul said, "Look, those of you in Murfreesboro, stop stealing". It's a little bit of a cringe moment. I mean, this is the Ephesian church with "having done everything, to stand, stand therefore". Put on your armor of God, but don't steal and hide other people's money inside the armor. "But must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need".
Folks, the Bible has a great deal to say about how we handle the physical possessions that God gives to us. They're an expression of what we've done with the time that has been given to us. And our willingness to take that counsel is not about getting rich. Our willingness to take that counsel is the best way to secure our future in the midst of turbulence and turmoil, and I think we've had so much, and we've imagined that we'll figure it out, that we've just never had to treat this as if it was particularly serious.
You know, and I understand to a great degree I'm preaching to the choir because we've done life together for a long time and the generosity of the people who have worshiped here have made possible the proclamation of the gospel across Middle Tennessee and throughout the earth, but I know there are many people that stand on the outside of that and haven't participated, and I don't say that because of any particular need that we're holding. I'm telling you that because it will have a bearing on your life in time and for eternity.
And if I'll talk to you about the other biblical principles, I'm afraid of my boss if I don't tell you the truth about these as well. Begin to ask the Holy Spirit. Give him permission. "Where are my decisions about my time, my talent, my attention, and my resources? Where are they being influenced by the spirit of this present age, and how might I bring greater alignment to what you have asked me to do in your Word"?
If you'll pray that prayer, I trust the Holy Spirit to help you, and I believe it's the best way you can prepare for what's ahead. As much as I'm thankful that we have elections and we can choose leaders, elections won't fix us. They may give us some temporary relief depending on how you feel about positions, but they will not fix us. In the last two national election cycles, somebody from either party has occupied the highest space in the land, and we're still in this mess. I brought you a prayer. Why don't you stand with me? We'll read it together. Can we acknowledge the Lord has blessed us? We have so much. We have so much food, there's too much of us. We got so much stuff, we have to rent places to put it. Our cars keep getting bigger. Never mind, I don't wanna go down that road. Let's pray this prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your abundant provision for my life. You have provided everything I need for life in godliness. Holy Spirit, help me to live in such a way that I may be rich toward God. Forgive me for withholding those things which belong to You. Today I choose to respond in obedience regarding my possessions. I repent of trusting in anything other than God for my security. I turn away from any greed or covetousness. I will give to the Lord with joy my tithes and offerings. Thank You for Your abundant provision for my life. In Jesus' name, amen.