Wealth

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“What do people on £1m salaries do with their money?” That might not be among the problems that you have to grapple with every day. But it was the title of a recent article. The conclusion was that it’s difficult to generalise about million pound earners. There are as many ways of spending a million quid as different personalities. But in the circles where many of these earners work – I quote:

Money takes on another dimension… It is used to judge a person's worth. Money is a gauge by which you measure how wonderful someone is.

Well maybe – but it’s not us who’s measuring, it’s Jesus. And how he measures turns the values of the greedy upside down.

What is true is that how we handle our finances – however large or small – is a very practical indicator of how we’re handling our lives. And the Bible lays bare before us our financial condition far more thoroughly than any financial adviser could ever do.

This evening we’re looking again at a short passage that relates one brief incident and a few words of Jesus. But it’s like a scalpel that slices through to the very heart of our thinking about money. It’s Mark 12v41-44. Please have that open.

Our Bibles call this incident “The Widow’s Offering”, but it is as much about the offerings of the rich as it is about the her meagre contribution to the coffers of the Jerusalem temple. Listen again to what happened.

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on.” (Mark 12v41-44)

I want to make three simple points from this.

First, JESUS WATCHES US GIVE OUR MONEY TO GOD

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. (v41)

Now, how do you feel about the JPC Giving Review? My own prayer is that we’ll find it deeply challenging, certainly – but also liberating, positively helpful and a source of great blessing. I realise, though, that the road to blessing might be rather traumatic. Our finances are a sensitive subject.

According to research, one in five Britons suffers from financialphobia, a recognisable condition rendering them unable to handle their personal finances. Sufferers are often left feeling anxious, bored or guilty when they are faced with routine money matters… Despite efforts to persuade them to take responsibility for their affairs, many sufferers will avoid doing so at all costs. Under 35s are the most likely to suffer. 45% suffer a racing heart, 12% feel physically ill, 11% feel dizzy and 15% become immobilised. They are petrified about discovering what state their finances are in.

Taking a long hard look at our own finances and at our attitudes to money can indeed be difficult but it’s an immensely valuable thing to do at regular intervals. What is even harder is to expose our finances to the gaze of someone else. The truth is, though, that that’s not something we have a choice about. Jesus watches our every financial move just as surely as he sat down opposite the place where the temple offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.

Now it needs to be said that that doesn’t just apply to each of us as we get, save, spend and give our money. It’s also true of all of us who have responsibility for allocating and then spending the money that’s given to the Jesmond Trust.

As the apostle Paul put it regarding his own financial administration:

“… we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.”

In other words the administration of giving must not only be right, it must be seen to be right. It must be honest – total integrity is vital. It must be effective – spent on the right things. It must be efficient – spent in the right way. And it must be accountable – that is, it must be seen to be handled rightly. That’s how we seek to operate at JPC and through the Jesmond Trust.

We want all our financial practices to be of the highest standard. Like Paul, we want to take pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men. We understand that our administration of giving needs to be honest, effective, efficient and accountable. If you see anything different, please challenge us about it.

Now the thing about our personal finances is that on the whole we don’t have public and professional scrutiny. We don’t have to give account to anyone else. Or so we easily think. But we do. We’re accountable to the one who gave us the money we have in the first place, and to whom it ultimately belongs. We’re accountable to Jesus. He’s watching what we do with it more closely than any auditor.

Don’t think, though, that he’s waiting to catch you out. Jesus came to save, not to condemn. His purpose is to bless us. He wants to guide and help us. He wants to warn us off going down roads that will lead us to disaster. He wants to set us free from the deadly bondage of money. He wants us to be able to use the money he’s entrusted us with to further his plans for our lives and for the ministry that he calls each one of us to.

So as you sit down to review your finances and your giving, think of Jesus at your elbow, as it were. Let him be your financial adviser. Let his presence with you by his Spirit be a gentle reminder that every penny you have at your disposal really belongs to him. Ask him to show you how he would like you to use that income over the next year. Because Jesus watches us give our money to God. That’s the first thing.

Secondly, IT’S THE PROPORTION WE GIVE THAT COUNTS TO JESUS

The obvious contrast here in Mark 12 is between the amounts that the rich were putting in to the treasury and the amount that this poor widow put in. They put in “large amounts” while the widow put in “two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny.” But Jesus changes the basis of the measurement. He asks his disciples to look at what’s going on through the eyes of God rather than through the eyes of men who are dazzled by wealth and by those million pound salaries. According to the value system of the world, the bigger the gift, the louder the applause. But Jesus effectively says that God’s scale is different. God looks at the proportion that is given, rather than the pounds and pence.

On that basis the contrast is just as great. But it is totally reversed. The rich, says Jesus, “all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.” Think proportionately. What proportion of their wealth were these rich people giving? Impressive as it looked to the eyes of men, in fact they were only giving a tiny proportion. What proportion was the widow giving? 100%. On Jesus’ scale, the widow’s gift is far bigger than those of the rich. “I tell you the truth”, says Jesus, “ this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” And that could well mean “more than all the others put together.”

So the first contrast here is between the amounts given. And there is a straightforward lesson that we need to take on board: God measures by proportion, not by absolute amount. That in itself is enough totally to transform our approach to giving.

But there is a second, implied, contrast here. It is the contrast of attitudes. These verses are very matter of fact. Who gives more, who gives less? But scratch the surface and there is a stinging rebuke to these rich people lining up and making a show of their, quotes, “generosity”. What makes that so clear is what comes immediately before this incident. Look up the page to vv38-40:

As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.” (v38-40)

Who are these people? They are very religious. Indeed they are leaders in the church. They know their Bibles inside out. In fact they spend much of their time teaching the Bible to others. They have the best seats in church. They wear long robes. This is beginning to make me feel very uncomfortable. But surely the point is this: to other people, and even to yourself, you can look very spiritual. You may even intimidate others by the apparent depth of your devotion. But inside, where it counts, your heart may be as hard and cold towards God as stone. What mattered most to these people was reputation, wealth, luxury and status. God and people in need mattered least.

What a contrast there is in the amounts that different people give! What a contrast in the attitudes with which people give! What a contrast between the way the world sees things and the way Jesus sees things!

Thirdly, JESUS WANTS US TO GIVE EVERYTHING TO HIM

A door-to-door collector for charity was told by a householder, “I'm sorry, I can't give anything, our dog ate the envelope you left.” “That's all right,” replied the collector, “I've got a spare envelope here.” “That's no good,” said the householder quickly, “he'd only eat that one too.”

Some people, rich or otherwise, will go to considerable lengths to avoid giving anything at all. Not so this widow. Just think for a moment about what she does here. She throws in a couple of coins, that’s all. But what do they represent? As Jesus commends her to his disciples he says: “but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on” - that is, the whole of her livelihood.

Remember the context of this incident at the temple. This is the final week of Jesus’ earthly life. Shortly before this, he cleared this corrupt temple, overturning the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of the rip-off merchants. Mark 11v18:

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him… (11v18)

And a few days later they found a way, and the nails went into Jesus’s hands and feet. And he died. Why? Because he laid down his life for you and for me.

We cannot sit down to do our financial review, and say to Jesus as he watches at our elbow, “Here’s the proportion you can have. You, Son of the Living God, gave your very life for me. I’m giving this percentage back to you, and keeping the rest for my own purposes.” No, surely we can’t do that. All we have and all we are has to go back to Jesus. “Lord, you have it all. You gave me all I have. It’s all yours. Now, what would you like me to do with it?” That, surely, is the only way open to us, if we’ve begun to understand who Jesus is and what he’s done for us all. We have to give the whole of our lives and the whole of our livelihoods back to him.

What will that kind of attitude of gratitude mean for us in practice? There are no rules for what we should give away and what it is appropriate to keep. If birthday presents were given according to a strict set of rules rigorously enforced, they would have no value as an expression of love. But seeing what others have done, like the poor widow here, challenges us to re-examine what our own giving says about our attitude to Jesus. And remember: the proportion we give says much more than the amount we give.

What happens when Jesus sees someone giving everything back to God? Blessing – that’s what. Has it ever occurred to you what the fruit of that woman’s giving has been over the centuries? It’s not too far wide of the mark to say that she’s had a significant impact on world history. Why? Because Jesus saw what she did, and he held it up and used it for his purposes, and it’s been the inspiration that has challenged and changed countless lives. She wasn’t even aware of it. She probably thought that her tiny contribution wouldn’t even be noticed by anyone.

God does so much that we’re not even aware of. But one day we’ll see it. And we’ll see all the missed opportunities. But we’ll also see the opportunities for generosity that we took. And we’ll see how Jesus took the seed we gave and multiplied it a hundredfold and then a hundredfold again. And even though we don’t always see it now, we can trust God for that fruit. And that’s a blessing to us, because we know we’re making the best investment of all.

George Muller was a Christian man from an earlier generation – alive when this church was founded a century and a half ago. Early in his ministry he was convicted by Luke 6v38. In that verse, Jesus says:

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Luke 6v38)

Muller decided that he should trust God for his daily needs. He began to give away everything he received except what was needed for his basic subsistence. God honoured his trust, and over his lifetime Muller founded 5 orphanages, 7 day schools, and 12 Sunday Schools; he distributed 2 million Bibles and 3 million tracts. Over the 60 years of his ministry he gave away £1.5 million – and at that time you could buy a house for a few pounds. We used to live in Bristol a stone’s throw from one of Muller’s orphanages, which is now a school. The sight of those buildings was a constant reminder to me of what the Lord can do with a life - and a wallet - given to him.

My prayer is that we will increasingly become the kind of church that Jesus can watch, and commend, and hold up as an example – as he did with that poor widow who gave everything to God. Can you imagine any greater blessing than that?

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