Money really does matter. There are at least 330 references to money in one form or another in the Bible. In the four gospels alone, Jesus mentions money in one form or another at least 48 times.

But as important as money was in Bible times, it is even more important for us today because we do not raise our own food, we buy it with money. We do not shear sheep, weave cloth and sew our own clothes; we buy our clothing with money. We do not make our own tents or build our own houses; with the help of loans, we purchase them with money. Our medical care is not handed-down home remedies; we go to the doctor, the clinic, the hospital, the pharmacy, and we haggle with insurance companies about paying the bills with money. And in order to make money for basic food, clothing, shelter and health care, we spend money for education, through taxes, tuition and related costs. This is to say nothing about the money required for transportation, frills and fun. Because money is needed for all this, money is power, and because money is power, money is also one of the primary symbols our society uses to measure success. Money really does matter.

Just how important money is to us personally can be somewhat gauged by the degree of discomfort we feel when the preacher starts talking about it. I know I have an almost automatic reflex to protect my pocket book from those who might want some of my dollars. And I suspect many of you are like I am in that we often try to protect our conscience from being troubled by any information that might tempt us to give away some of our money.

Money really does matter, and because it does we who call ourselves Christians dare not pretend money is off limits. We who claim to be followers of Christ, we who talk about the importance of taking the Bible seriously, we simply cannot claim "king’s X" when it comes to money. To claim to be a Christian and to try to avoid examining our use of money from the perspective of the Gospel is for us to be religious hypocrites of the first order. To claim money talk is off limits in the church makes about as much sense as saying that the topic of sexual behavior is off limits within the church.

Money really does matter—not only because in our society it is necessary for food, clothing, shelter and education, but because our use of money clearly reveals what is important to us. Perhaps nothing in contemporary life reveals more clearly our values than the way we use our money—both as individuals and as a society.

Even in the days of the Bible when economic life was very different, this was true; this is why Jesus talked so frequently about money and possessions. What we value, what is important to us, what we believe makes life worth living is most clearly reflected in our use of money.

Sometimes, people in the church either misstate or misunderstand what the Bible has to say about money. The Bible does not say: "Money is the root of all evil." The Bible, in a variety of ways, says what Paul bluntly stated in the passage we read: "… the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. …" What we love is what we focus our living on. What we love is what sets our priorities. When money is what we love, making and protecting our money becomes one of our basic priorities, if not the primary priority.

When Jesus was asked about priorities, when he was asked what is most important in life, he said that we are to love God with all we are and love our neighbors as ourselves. From the Biblical point of view the central question in life is, what do we really love? What do we really care about? What do we believe really makes life worth living? What is the primary concern that shapes what we do with our time and energy? Or as Isaiah or Jesus or Paul might ask: "What do we really worship?"

When we live loving money, we not only distort our own lives, we contribute to the distortion of life. When we live loving money, we rationalize all sorts of subtle ways to justify selfishness and thereby distort our relationship with God. When we live loving money, we find all sorts of rationalizations for the kinds of selfish behaviors that undercut and distort our relationships—even with family members.

Or to say all this in Paul’s words: The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. Most of us, if not all of us, in this congregation know the truth of what Paul was saying. At times the words have fit us or others we have observed. "In their eagerness to be rich," Paul wrote, "some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains."

Money really does matter. Think of the harm done with drug money. Think of the way money is used in bribes and in ways of inappropriate influence. Think of the harmful, excessive stress caused in families locked in poverty. In many cases, spouse abuse and child abuse are directly related to money issues in the home. Or look at some global problems. People in the world are starving and it is going to take money not merely to feed them, but to enable them to be able to feed themselves. All too many adults, even in the U.S., even in Austin, are locked in poverty because of their lack of education. It is going to be expensive to develop and do the kind of adult education that is needed. Money really does matter.

Throwing money at any problem does not solve it, but that is not an excuse for selfishness to hide behind, because without money, significant amounts of money, wisely invested in solving the problem, the problem will not be solved.

Money really does matter. It is a power for doing good; it is a power for doing much harm. But as powerful as money is, there are major limits to its power. In the passage Paul told us that as important as money is, money does not have the power to make us happy. Our financial worth is not a measure of our contentment in life. Contentment in life, finding true joy in living is related to the awareness that our living matters.

The way to find this true joy or contentment is what Paul was talking about when he wrote that we are to pursue righteousness (that is, we are to pursue living in a right relationship with God); we are to pursue godliness (that is, we are to strive to be our best selves); we are to pursue faith, (that is, we are to place our confidence in God and God’s grace); we are to pursue love (that is, we are to live our lives striving to give of ourselves for the good others); we are to pursue endurance (that is, we are to keep striving in these ways even when we have stumbled, even when the going is tough and we cannot see that what we are doing is making much of a difference, we are to endure) and we are to pursue gentleness (that is, we are to do all this not with tense, teeth-gritting tenacity, but out of a sense of confident peace and hope—all those qualities that make gentleness possible).

Or as Jesus said when he was asked what is really most important in life, we are to love God with all we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And in the context of this sermon, this means we are to use our money to give expression to this love.

John Wesley, drawing on the insights of Scripture, knew very well that money really does matter. In his most famous sermon dealing with money, he had three bits of advice: First, he said we are to make all we can, while doing no harm in any way to others. Second, he said, we are to save all we can, not for the sake of becoming wealthy, but for the sake of taking care of our basic necessities so that we will not become a burden to others. Third, he said, we are to give all we can. Money is a resource for doing good, and we are to do as much good as possible with the money we have.

This is what Paul was saying in the passage we read. We are to use our money to do good so that we are what Paul calls "rich in good works, generous and ready to share." Money cannot make our lives worth living. But when we use the money we have in ways that make God smile, we are living as God intends us to live and our living makes a difference.

So, the key issue in regard to money is the same as in regard to any power; the key issue is the use we make of money. When we love money, merely for its own sake, the sake of greed, or for the sake of selfish indulgence or for the sake of wielding power over others, we inevitably find it impossible to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And whenever we live failing to have our attitudes, words and deeds shaped by love of God and neighbor, we inevitably find ourselves either doing evil or doing nothing to prevent or stop evil—which is another form of doing evil.

Money really does matter. This is why each of us needs to examine both our attitude toward money and our use of money.

 

God, keep us focused on Christ and the Gospel so that we will live our lives loving you and our neighbors. Protect us from loving money so that we will be able to use our money in ways that make you smile and in ways that will deepen our relationship with you. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer:

God, because we are focused on what we want, it is easy for us to overlook all we have been given. So many of your gifts come to us in such ordinary packages—another day is given us to live, members of our family need us and love us, all around us are persons ready to be our friends as soon as we are ready to invest energy in friendship. In the ordinariness of sunshine and rain, hot days and cold, starlight and cloud cover, we see only the surface evidence of the magnificently complex system you created when you set life loose on this planet in this one in a billion solar system in your universe. God forgive us for taking all we have been given for granted and forgive us for ignoring you as if you did not matter, and for living as if you do not exist.

God help us to be aware of your presence in our lives. Teach us how to live in harmony with you. Show us how to fulfill the potential you see in us and in all creation. Help us let go of those habits of living that distort our lives and the lives of others. Give us compassion for those who really need us; and give us courage to stand up for what is right and against what is wrong. Give us the wisdom to know which is which. Enable us to live as Jesus taught us to live when he taught us to pray: "Our Father. …"