The Testing That Comes With Blessing

I once read a story about a man who was extremely tight-fisted with his money. Every time he received a paycheck he took $20 from it and stuck it under his mattress. As he neared the end of his life he told his wife to promise that she would take all the money from under the mattress and put it in the casket with him so he could take it with him. When he passed she kept her promise. She gathered all the money, deposited it in her bank account, and placed a big, whopping check for the full amount in his casket. In the end they both lived (and died) happily ever after.

THE WORD

"Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless." -Ecclesiastes 5:10

This past Sunday I preached a sermon (and a very long one, I might add) on money. I'm happy to report that to my knowledge no one quit the Church or asked to be removed from the membership list... yet. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't struggle with how to approach the topic of finances as a fairly inexperienced pastor.

It's not because I'm unfamiliar with what the Bible teaches or because I wrestle with the principles that are clearly laid out for us in the scriptures. I was very blessed to grow up in a home where my parents taught me the importance of tithing, giving generously, and being good stewards of what God has given us.

No, the reason I struggle is because I'm a millennial pastor (few of us as there are) who grew up on the other side of the prosperity gospel fad. And by the "other side" I mean the ugly side. Generations before us grew up watching the guy on television preach red-faced and urge listeners to "sow a seed of faith and the Lord will bless you abundantly." My generation grew up watching that same guy on television too... only we watched him get pinned to a cop car while news helicopters hovered overhead.

I've watched much of my generation walk away from the Church because of the abuses and liberties that preachers have taken with solid principles, such as sowing and reaping, and blessing and cursing. There are many pastors out there who struggle with talking about money at all and many others who love to talk about it too much... who then make it harder for the others. I could be speaking only for myself, but I believe there are many of us who would just rather run away from the subject all together.

But hear me: that's not biblical either. Jesus talked about money more than any singular person in the Bible. If we don't teach what He taught then the Great Commission will go unfulfilled and His Church will go unequipped, uneducated, and dare I say unblessed.

So, Sunday I taught on money... for almost an hour. I suppose if I'm going to do something I'm going to do it, uh... thoroughly. And can you believe I still have more to say on the subject? Probably not shocking.

TESTING & BLESSING

The Hebrew phrase for "wealthy" indicates heaviness or weight. That means there's a burden that comes with the most valuable things in life. For example, children are the greatest blessing we can have, yet raising them will test every bit of your character, patience, and might I add, sanity.

What God blesses us with, whether it's wealth, influence, giftings, or relationships, is not solely for us to enjoy but also for us to steward. We have been entrusted with blessing, therefore we must handle it (whatever it is) well.

God blessed Abraham with a son, then tested him by instructing him to give that son up as a sacrifice. God blessed David with a promise of the throne and then brought him through ten years as a fugitive of the state. God blessed Joseph with a vision of his future as an influential world leader but he was tested in a slave-trade and a dungeon. Daniel was blessed with a gift to interpret dreams AND an all-expenses paid one night stay with a pack of lions.

What I'm getting at is blessing always comes with periods of testing. If we do not properly handle what God entrusts to us, He will not continue to yield those things to our oversight. So in keeping with the money theme, here are what I believe to be the four tests that come with financial blessing. In other words, any time money comes into our hands, be it a paycheck, gift, or unexpected blessing, I believe these are the four hurdles we should be jumping each time. Perhaps you may think, "I don’t have enough money to prioritize each of these things" but these can and should be done in proportion to whatever we have. Remember, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." (Luke 16:10) At the end of the day, this is all about being faithful with whatever it is we have been entrusted with.

THE FOUR TESTS WE MUST PASS WITH OUR FINANCES

1. THE SURRENDER TEST

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it." -Malachi 3:10

The tithe is the act of surrendering ALL of our finances to the Lord by bringing the first tenth into the local body we have submitted ourselves to. Robert Morris famously says, "When it comes to the tithe, you can't give it because it already belongs to God. You can either bring it or steal it."

Surrendering the first tenth is an exercise of faith and trust in God that He will provide FOR the rest, WITH the rest. The New Testament Church demonstrates a level of faith and giving that goes way beyond ten percent. They were selling and giving everything at the leading of the Holy Spirit. Nothing has changed since. We are to be obedient to the provider in how and to whom He would have us give to.

Giving in offerings, to charity organizations, to the poor and needy, and to those who simply have needs we are able to meet, should all be a priority for us who have chosen to honor God with our lives and worship Him with our means. As we do, His promise is to bless. Hear me, you can't afford to NOT tithe.

2. THE SAVING TEST

"Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest." -Proverbs 6:6-8

When I was growing up my parents would give my brother and I a $10 allowance each month. After tithing my one dollar I would swiftly make my way to the dollar tree and buy nine cheap toys with the rest that would inevitably break before the week was over. Thus I would wait for another three weeks to do it all again. It took quite a while for me to realize if I just saved my money for those few weeks and put it with the following month's allowance, I could afford things that wouldn't break.

This is all too similar to the cycle many live in for much of their lives. Instead of saving up and working hard for the things we really want (and even need) we take short cuts and attempt to secure a long-term treasure through short-term means. This is why as the 2023 Northwestern Mutual study found, that the average American carries at least $20,000 worth of debt (and that excludes mortgages). As the old journalist Earl Wilson once said, "There are three types of people: the haves, the have-nots, and the have-not-paid-for-what-they-haves."

Saving is not what we do with what is left over, it’s what we determine to do before we start spending. It's an exercise in self-control and requires us to wrangle the greed monster back into his cage every pay period and replace that vicious cycle of owing and weeping with sowing and reaping.

3. THE SPENDING TEST

"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" -Luke 14:28

Ok before I get the "false teacher" alarms screaming at me, let me be clear that I know I'm taking the above verse out of context. I obviously know Jesus was referring to counting the cost of following Him and not counting the cost of your monthly grocery order. But there are layers to what Jesus is saying here. This is a very simple principle yet difficult practice for the majority of people when it comes to money. We don't seem to know how to count the cost. Dave Ramsey, quite bluntly, often says, "People never have money problems, they have MATH problems." We can't seem to force ourselves to sit down and be honest about what we can and cannot afford from day to day, month to month, and year to year.

I'm a firm believer in sticking to a budget. I remember early on in our marriage Jill and I decided to start hashing out a really good but firm budget that we would stick to each month. We both felt really nervous about the whole thing because to many (including us at first) a budget sounds like a medieval torture device that specifically strangles the joy out of your weekends.

But what we found is that a budget doesn't strangle your hopes, dreams, and aspirations, it actually helps to bring them into fruition by strangling your bad habits. A budget prohibits you from the rash and abrasive decisions that we often make with our money. Everything from "I really like this dress" to "I have to have this car now!" Budgeting is not constricting but freeing. Before we kept a budget, with every swipe of the card we felt slightly uneasy, not knowing how much would be left over, if any. But now we have lived in the freedom to spend for years because we have already called all of our money into a huddle at the beginning of the month and told it exactly where to go.

4. THE SOWING TEST

"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous." -Proverbs 13:22

Long term vision is perhaps one of the most valuable traits of a great leader. So many are simply unable to see past their current pay period, let alone their current year, career, or LIFE. This is what set Moses apart as one of the great prophets of old. He allowed the Lord to speak to him about what would take place with the children of Israel long after he was gone. Therefore he spent years pouring into, preparing, and positioning Joshua as his successor.

I know very little about investing and putting my money to work, but I know a great deal about my limitations and I have come to accept that the day will come when I am to sit down from my work and eventually sit down from my time on earth. So, I've chosen to surround myself with wise voices who can help me invest in the future that's coming whether I want it to or not.

Whether it's retirement, your children's college, or simply just building wealth in order to be more generous and faithful with your assignment from the Lord, investing in a future season is the best way to steward the current one. Can you pass the test of the immediate flashes of pleasure and see further out to the imminent future of promises?

CONCLUSION

In summary, we would do well to generously give, cautiously save, wisely spend, and intentionally invest with every paycheck or sum of money that comes into our hands. Once again, that may seem impossible to you now, but just starting somewhere is going to get you somewhere better, but only with persistence and guidance.

If you're looking for resources to help turn your finances around I always suggest Financial Peace University as perhaps one of the best starting places. Another great resource is Robert Morris' Beyond Blessed series where he thoroughly teaches on the principles of stewardship. This is about giving God our hearts. If Jesus said our hearts will follow our treasure then we want to learn how to best submit our treasure to Him so that our heart stays there too.