“Measure Twice, Cut Once”

Carefully Building a Generous Church

Mike Steiner, September 21, 2014

(SLIDE) I read a story of a missionary in Africa who received a knock on the door of his hut one afternoon. Answering, the missionary found a native boy holding a large fish in his hands. The boy said, "Reverend, you taught us what tithing is, so here. I've brought you my tithe." As the missionary gratefully took the fish, he questioned the boy. "If this is your tithe, where are the other nine fish?" At this, the boy beamed and said, "Oh, they're still back in the river. I'm going back to catch them now." This boy understood the concept of giving God the “first fruits” – (SLIDE) giving with God in mind!

We read in the Bible that Jesus praised the woman who possessed and used an extravagant jar of perfume to honor Him (Mark 14:3-9) and the poor woman who had only two pennies and gave them to the temple treasury (Mark 12:41-44). Why did He praise them? Because both used their money and possessions with God in mind. One of the glaring characteristics about the early church (or gathering of believers) detailed in Acts 2:42-47 was generosity motivated by their devotion to God – giving with God in mind – a carefully built church that measures twice and cuts once understands that idea – giving with God in mind – and knows the need to create an atmosphere of generosity, and that generosity begins with you and with me.

You can measure someone’s emotional intelligence (IQ); you can measure someone’s emotional stability (EQ); have you ever measured your MONEY QUOTIENT (MQ)?

You don’t have enough money if:

-Missionaries send care packages to you.

-The ushers keep returning your offering.

-You try to make purchases using your library card.

-You have nothing to put out on garbage day.

-Your decorative lawn goose has a lean, hungry look.

You have more than enough money if:

-You’re going to feel deprived until you get that gazebo for your backyard.

-You find tens and twenties under your couch cushions.

-Neighborhood kids wish they had as many toys as your dog has.

-Friends fight over your hand-me-downs.

-Your decorative lawn goose has five changes of clothing.

So what is your Money Quotient – do you have too much or too little? But when it comes to money, it’s not about the amount – it’s about the attitude. Do you remember the scene in the New Testament with Jesus and the rich young ruler? What did Jesus tell him? “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me. (Matthew 19:21).” What was the young man’s response: “When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth (Matthew 19:22). Was his problem the amount of money he had or his attitude toward money? (SLIDE)ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!

For us, following Jesus means we develop a healthy attitude about money and possessions. A hymn verse many of us have heard teaches us a fundamental truth about money and possessions:

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in every mine.

He owns the rivers and the rocks and rills, the sun and stars that shine.

Who is “He” – it’s God - God owns it all – He is the source of all we have.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING – and it’s important individually and corporately. Even the church needs to have the right attitude – not always the case with many churches. We have sought over the years to be faithful with God’s blessings – and we must continue to maintain a healthy attitude about money and possessions to ensure we continue to carefully build a generous church. To have an inspiring church, a loving church, and a generous church takes all of us – when we individually have the right attitude toward money, the church will usually have the right attitude as well. It’s not easy – we live in a wealthy country – and we dealwith attitudes that are unhealthy when it comes to money and possessions. We have to teach generosity, and, most importantly, we must model generosity. What will it take - what does it take to have a generous attitude?

1)(SLIDE) Grasp your mortality.

A patient was sitting in a waiting room, anxiously waiting to discover the results of his tests. The minutes that passed by seemed like hours. Then, he heard those all too familiar words: “The doctor will see you now.” As he walked into the doctor’s office, he blurted out, “Am I going to die?”

The answer to that question is – YES… We are all going to die. We may live as if we’re immortal, but we are all going to die. The big question is: what will you leave behind when you die? Paul answers that with respect to money and possessions: (SLIDE)1 Timothy 6:7 - For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

Did you ever hear about the man who told his wife to put all of his money in a bag and store it in the attic? He planned to grab the sack on his way to heaven after he died. He later did die, and his wife ran upstairs only to find the bag of money still there, which led her to declare: “I knew I should have put that sack in the basement!”

To die broke was the dream of the very rich industrialist Andrew Carnegie at the turn of the century. Carnegie said, “The man who dies rich, dies disgraced.” Carnegie expressed his ethic by making sure he gave away most of his wealth – by the end of his life he had given 90% of his fortune to various charities and foundations.

James Dobson (Focus on the Family) once compared life to a Monopoly game: “We work hard to accumulate things so we can impress people who will probably resent us anyway. Then once it’s all over, we give it all back, and someone puts us in a box and closes the lid. Suddenly the dollar bills, deeds, and hotels don’t matter. What matters is whether or not we pursued righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. What matters is whether or not we are ready to face God.”

A poet David Whyte said this: “I don’t want to have written on my tombstone, when finally people struggle through the weeds, pull back the moss, and read the inscription there: ‘He made his car payments.’”

It’s always good to think with the “end” in mind – what would you want on your tombstone – what would you want to be remembered for? What matters most to you – to your family – to your loved ones to your God? You can bet it’s not how much money you made or how many things you possessed!

2)(SLIDE) Seek contentment.

A Vietnamese folktale tells about a family of 12 who lived in a one-room house. When the father got tired of listening to the complaints about the house being crowded, he brought the horse into the house and left him there. After a week, he took the horse away, and everyone was thrilled about the amount of room they had!

Paul told the Philippians: “for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Philippians 4:11-12). We’re bombarded every day with commercials that are really telling us to not be content. There are bigger and better things out there for us – buy this, buy that – and your life will be better. Maybe it’s about time that we “learn to be content whatever the circumstances”. Paul in 1 Timothy 6:3-5 begins a discussion about the evils of money with a description of false teachers and speaks about those “who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain”. He then goes on to say: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” The Contemporary English Version puts that phrase this way: “And religion does make your life rich, by making you content with what you have.”

3)(SLIDE) Pursue spiritual wealth.

What is your area of pursuit? Shopping? Golf? Boating? Paul tells Timothy that for some it’s money: (1 Timothy 6:9-10) “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” He, then, encourages Timothy to pursue that which will last – the things that please God – godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. He adds this bit of guidance in verse 17 – “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

One biblical author – a certain man by the name of Solomon – shared this bit of wisdom: (SLIDE) “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income…”(Ecclesiastes 5:10)Solomon proved it with his own life. And at the very end of his writings in Ecclesiastes he concludes: (SLIDE) “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every good deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

Remember the words of an old hymn: “Count Your Blessings”

When you look at others with their lands and gold.

Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold.

Count your many blessings – money cannot buy–

Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

Count your many blessings; name them one by one;

Count your many blessings, see what God has done!

The Bible is clear – true wealth, true contentment – is only found in God, in His Son Jesus Christ, in heaven. You can spend your life pursuing the things of this world, and you’ll never find the satisfaction you might be seeking. Only in God can you find real satisfaction and peace and hope and joy. I love what Paul told the Corinthian believers when he was urging them to be generous. He tells them about the Macedonian believers – about their generosity – their “rich generosity” – you see - they gave out of the “most severe trial, their overwhelming joy and their extreme poverty” – they considered it a privilege to share – and “they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” They gave with the right attitude – (SLIDE) they gave with God in mind!