Check Yourself - Part 4

Money and Faith: Finding Abundance in Obeying God

Check Yourself - Part 4 (Overcoming Entitlement)
by Curtis Thomas

“Listen, if you don’t trust the church… No, if you don’t trust me, even, to steward your tithe or offering well, then go somewhere you can trust the church and pastor to steward your giving well. It is not about whether you give to this church or not. It is only about obeying God.”

These words changed my heart over a decade ago. I didn’t grow up in church, so I was unaware of the spiritual discipline of tithing. But when I married a pastor’s kid, tithing was not an option. So I did it begrudgingly.

From what I had seen in the church, the theme of tithing was a tactic used by spiritual hack jobs who take advantage of people. “If you just sow a seed of faith, then God will return to you sevenfold.” All the while, those same “pastors” fly from speaking event to speaking event on private jets.

And in 22 years of ministry, my most traumatic experience came when I, a 26-year-old youth pastor, disagreed with some of the wealthiest in the church about a “mission trip” we should go on. And when push came to shove, I found that the youth pastor was expendable (I wrote about this last week).

But surprisingly, Jesus talks about money more than faith and prayer combined. In fact, the Bible has over 2,000 verses about money and possessions. It seems to be a very important topic. Why?

In seven specific passages (Matthew 5:42, 6:2, 6:24, 25, 19:21; Luke 16:9; Revelation 3:17), Jesus speaks not about acquiring wealth by “sowing seeds.” Rather, Jesus directly commands to give your wealth away to those who ask and are in need. He even goes so far as to compare wealth to being “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

So is money the problem? Is God simply commanding his children to be completely stripped of all earthly wealth? I don’t believe so. Jesus’ messages had an underlying theme that spoke directly about the state of one’s heart.

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus states, “You cannot serve both God and money.” It’s hard to understand why Jesus would say such things, until you have only $50 in your bank account and you come across a single mother of 3 who needs groceries. It was in this moment of being forced to choose between a false sense of comfort, “at least I have $50 to get by for the next week,” and giving to “the one who asks for something” (Matthew 5:42).

It was only a few hours before that moment with that single mother that I heard the pastor exclaim, “It is only about obeying God.” I still think of this moment often.

God simply wants our hearts. He is a jealous God who desires our worship and attention. He knows what is good for the souls of humanity, what gives life, and what robs you of it. He desires for us to walk in life, to reside in his presence, and saturate ourselves in his love.

That’s why I think money was a common topic of conversation in the Bible. Not because money is bad. It is a tool. And tools can be used for good and for bad. But when people, like me, have a heart that is actively fleeing God’s worship, money can quickly become a tool to aid in that flight.

So which do you want to be controlled by, dollar bills that come and go with great ease, or a God who offers life in abundance? My head easily wants God above all else. But my heart thinks of all the cool gadgets I could have if I only had a little more money.

It was that day, upon hearing that sermon, that I decided I would fight against my fleshly nature. I was already tithing, but no longer would it be out of reluctance - and no less than the full 10%. I don’t want to be shackled by the things this world deems valuable.

And when I could, I would buy the elderly lady gas, hand the person on the corner of the street the remaining $5 in my wallet, and make sure the single mom had groceries. Literally, I waged war on the sin in my heart which kept me from experiencing God in abundance.

Over a decade later, the battle is just as difficult, and I find myself losing it at times. But those words echo throughout my soul, “It is only about obeying God.” In place of money, I desire to serve God although, many times, I don’t.

Money is simply a tool. It comes and goes. It can change the lives of people both for the good and for the bad. But at the end of it all, I would rather be poor with a wealth of faith than be wealthy and bankrupt in faith.

This post was inspired by the following message.