This past Sunday our adult Sunday School lesson began studying the relationship of Samson and Delilah. The lesson spoke of two elements, first Samson’s love for Delilah and second Delilah’s love for money. Now it is common understanding that Samson had a weakness for woman and it should be noted that Delilah is the only woman that Samson actually “loved” but it also should be well understood that Delilah had a weakness for money as she sold the Jewish strongman for silver that probably amounted to about $750,000 in today’s market.
But why should we be surprised as the current mindset of so many in the world is just as money ignorant and it is also like that even in IFB Christianity?
The first mention in the Bible of a person’s wealth is Abraham in Genesis 13:2 where God classifies Abram as “very rich in cattle, in silver and in gold.” The first mention of financial transactions in the Bible are also in reference in Abraham in Genesis 17:12-13 as God commanded Abraham to circumcise all that were in his house including those who had been “bought with thy money.” Though this post is not about slavery let me take just a moment to clarify that this “slavery” in Genesis 17 was not about the oppression of a race of people but was based either a person’s inability to repay their financial debt or when a nation was overrun by a pagan army and the citizens where sold into slavery instead of being slaughtered. As a matter of fact the Jews were commanded under penalty of death not to take people just to make them slaves (Deuteronomy 24:7 & Exodus 21:16), also God commanded all slaves were to be set free after a set period of time (Deuteronomy 12:12-15), and that slaves were to be treated with respect and care (Ephesians 6:9). Though the Bible does not condemn all types of “slavery” it did not condone it either. But that is a subject for another post, I just wanted to point it out for the discussion of Abraham’s financial illustration.
Today in the world money has become the status symbol both for those that have it and for those that do not. As an example, when billionaire Warren Buffet speaks he is seen as an expert on whatever he says because he is wealthy. Another example is that people defend President Trump by saying is a successful businessman so, in their minds, that means he will be a good president. But even some churches that have big buildings and lots of money are judged as successful. Money, to many, is an ultimate sign of God’s blessing and in a recent survey of Christians by Time magazine “61% believed that God wants people to be prosperous.” Now mind you it is a natural thing for the flesh to desire “stuff” and there are examples of godly people in the Bible that were blessed with prosperity, but publicly most IFB churches and people would reject this “Prosperity Theology” completely. Yet is there something about money and our philosophy of it that is helping to destroy our homes and IFB churches today? Let’s consider a few things.
First how much time do we spend thinking about money and how much time do we waste on looking after the things money can buy us? Notice that no where in the Bible does God condemn money or possessions, just the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10), coveting of things which we do not have, (Romans 13:9), and not being content with those things which we have (Philippians 4:11 & 1 Timothy 6:8). We get that in most cases. Yet even in some IFB churches we often look at other churches’ ability to support more missionaries and assume that church is being more blessed by God than ours. This mindset, unfortunately, leads some pastors to preach hard about sacrificial giving when what they really want is be able to say that their church added more missionaries and thus “brag” about what God is doing in their church. But God clearly says in His Word that we are not to base our actions upon someone else’s actions or upon trying to “keep up with the neighbors” (2 Corinthians 10:12) even if that "neighbor" is another church. Thus it is wrong to base our preaching and thinking about giving based upon what another church or person is giving and doing.
Second how much effort do we give in making money? Money is a tool. This is a lesson that I learned many years ago and I have tried to teach it to our church family here at Valley. If you see money as a tool then you will recognize that if it is used well it can accomplish much, but if it is used without care, much harm can come to the user. Think of a power saw. It can cut wood well, but, it can also cut off your hand when used improperly. The difference is a respectful, well trained, conscientious user. So it is with money. If you spend so much effort in the getting of money that you have no more energy to care for your family (Ephesians 5:22-6:4) or serve your Lord (Exodus 20:3) then there is clearly something amiss. So many Christians and churches have the emphasis that finances drive their church programs and ministries. Well meaning preachers will say, “This ministry runs on money. It’s the fuel for the ministry.” When in truth the Spirit of God is the fuel of the ministry and we must seek Him. How many pastors/deacons give themselves ulcers when they see the financial reports of their financially struggling churches yet they don't lose a moment of sleep when the Spirit of God is not moving in their midst? To the best of my knowledge there is not one verse that tells us to pray for money, yet how often do we pray for it now? The best passage, in my opinion, about this aspect of God’s view of our money is Matthew 22:15-22.
Third how much are we doing to actually prepare for the future financially? Now this may seem contrary to everything else I have just said as I have tried to downplay the importance of money in our lives. But Jesus told HIs disciples to make friends of the money of this world (Luke 16:9) and so there isa point to be made here. I believe Jesus said this in Luke 16 because He knew if we are not careful we will ignore our responsibilities of preparing for the financial future in lieu of “ministry” now. For example, I have seen well meaning Christians sacrifice everything for the ministry now and feel they are spiritual in doing it. They are going to trust God for the future, and besides the Lord if coming soon, so why be concerned about retirement years or disability potential. They forget that Matthew 6:34 is not telling us to spend all our money today and trust God tomorrow. Yet, again and again through the years I have seen where a pastor has died and his widow has to get a job for the first time in decades because he made no preparation for her care. In some cases I have seen the pastor's widow is older and she struggles to care for herself on Social Security, if he even remained in the system. Regretfully I have seen several times where a godly woman has had to almost beg her friends and family to help support her because her husband “sacrificed for the ministry” and “trusted God for the rest.” The let's add to this, the stories of missionaries who have died on the field and their widow either has to stay in the field trying to hold their work together alone because she would not have any income otherwise. Of course, in most cases where a widowed missionary remains on the field, support is usually cut in half as many IFB churches refuse to support "single" women in the field. Finally, how about the pastors and churches that have parsonages as part of the salary of their preacher yet they make no preparation for the potential that the man of God may die and the house needs to be used by the next man of God? So many ministries and ministers forget that lives are short and sometimes the families of the ministers may outlive him and thus they need to be cared for. There is verse I feel I should point out here, 1 Timothy 5:8 “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” This isn’t talking about unbelievers not caring for their family but it is about believers not making preparation for their families when the bread winner is gone!
We need money to live but it must be kept in perspective. We should never judge our lives or church by what another has or does not have. We must learn that our task is to do the task God has given us to do and be content with that alone. However, we must be sure that we do not sacrifice unnecessarily our family’s future well being for our present ministry.
Before I close, let me say that I am writing this from first hand experience. I am not bitter at all, but I have learned from the experiences I am about to relay to you. You see, my father was a minister for over 50 years until his death in 2000. And though I cannot go into exact details, I can safely say that he literally sacrificed his relationship with some of his children and his family's future financial stability to stay in the ministry when he was disqualified in many minds. Though I loved him and respected him in many areas, he failed to place his family’s future as a priority in his life. He saw his ministry as his ultimate call and my older siblings suffered as a result. Also he never made what I now understand to be the proper financial preparation for his wife when he died. He was a generous faithful man who would be sure and give when none else gave. He would empty the bank account to buy the bus when the offering was short. He sold his guns to pay the expenses of new ministries and so on. Now, mind you I loved his heart for ministry, but I also learned that there is a balance that many good men have failed to consider in their future finances. In my father’s case, my mother had to get a job as soon as he died to care for herself as she only had minimal Social Security coming to her. They had their own home which was far better than many I have seen through the years and for that I am thankful. Though my mother never once complained, because she saw it as part of her duty as a pastor’s wife, I knew it hurt her down deep that he hadn’t made full preparations for her like he should have. He did not love money, but he did not use it either. Let’s not allow money to destroy our homes or ministries by misusing it, either by loving it or not learning to use it.
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