Kingdom Finances

As many of you already know, I do not ask people for money.  Years ago I read in the Scriptures that the child of the righteous one does not beg for bread.  I accepted that verse as an instruction that as a son of God I should never beg for money.  Sometimes I have gone to extreme lengths to avoid even the appearance that I was in need of money.  As part of that quiet commitment I have often avoided even talking about the subject of money.

Three times today God has been challenging me about this.  He has been asking me if my pride in following this path is more important than His desire to share with His children a fresh perspective concerning how we should operate in the world of finances without becoming owned and controlled by the finances of the world.  I found myself struggling.  I was having difficulty admitting that my pride was a problem.  Alas it is difficult to argue with Holy Spirit about what He sees so clearly.  Perhaps a little bit of context will let you see me more clearly:  

First confrontation -- My daughter was chatting with me about her personal finances and her desire to build up her savings account.  I pointed out that she had been allowing her compassion for other people to draw her into spending lavish amounts in order to bless people with gifts, meals, and companionship.  Holy Spirit whispers, "Really Stuart, and what about you ?" 

Second confrontation -- I was talking with a young family man.  I pointed out to him that virtually every man or woman I know who is really building Godly relationships of ministry in the Body of Christ has gone through some period in his/her life when there was barely enough income to feed and cloth the family.  Holy Spirit whispers, "So do you think you are exempt from going through that again ?"  

Third confrontation -- I was on the telephone with the travel agent making arrangements to buy airline tickets from home to Europe, Europe to Africa, and back again.  In round numbers I expect the expenses for this trip (travel, accommodations, meals and miscellany) will be close to $20,000.  I found myself wondering whether Father God could afford this trip.  Holy Spirit whispers,  "It is no problem for Him.  Is it a problem for you ?  Have you made it your problem ? " 

Fourth confrontation -- An opportunity arose this week to acquire a piece of real estate that would make an ideal ministry center here in the Washington, DC area.  It is a place where young men and women from around the world and from around this area could come to receive teaching and counsel and opportunities to serve others.  It has or can be equipped with all the tools needed to serve multiple generations.  Estimated cost to buy it and complete all the desired modifications One Million Four Hundred Thousand Dollars {$1,400,000 }.  If the funds were available it could be ready to use by the time I return from Africa.  The conversation around the table turned to whether we should be buying more Power Ball Lottery tickets because there is no other way we could possibly see that much money.  Holy Spirit whispers, "Stuart, do you really think the lottery is more powerful than the Creator God ? "

Now you can see why I felt a bit vulnerable when Holy Spirit said, "Let's sit down and write a blog entry about Kingdom Finances."   

Most of you will have previously heard me teach about the basic principles of personal finances:  1.)  Stay out of debt.  2.)  Give a tithe of your gains to support men and women (as distinct from organizations) who are serving to equip the Bride.  3.)  Make offerings to help defray the cost of buildings and equipment used by the Body of Christ.  4.)  Always carry a bit of cash to give to those less fortunate than you are.  These principles of love and grace will always serve you well.

But today I am called to examine with you some larger issues of Kingdom finances.  I want to address several misconceptions that most of us were taught as we grew up in the world surrounded by religious institutions.

Problem One:  We have been trained to falsely identify institutions as the Body of Christ instead of seeing that the Body of Christ is a community of intimate very personal relationships.  We tend to label buildings and institutional meetings as the Church.  But we fail to recognize a time sharing a cup of tea or coffee is more often a genuine Church experience than the Sunday morning gathering.  The effect of this.  We think only the money we give to or through the institution is really given to the Kingdom of God.

Problem Two:  We have been trained to give in response to external human stimuli rather than in response to Holy Spirit.  News coverage of an earthquake in Haiti or a tsunami in Indonesia can trigger an avalanche of giving.  Skillful orators use motivations of pride, greed, and guilt to manipulate congregations of believers to give huge sums of money.  But, Jesus says the way we use our money is a direct reflection of our core spiritual decision making.  Thus, when men and events control the way we spend our money we need to ask ourselves is Jesus really Lord over my core spiritual being?

Problem Three:  We often act as though we are spiritually blind.  We can be motivated to buy buildings.  We can get excited about furnishing clothing or food to people in need.  But we seem to be blind to the significance of training leaders or ministering to people on a spirit to spirit level.  We seem to need social and emotional feedback more than we want to please the Lord.  In large measure we seem to think that Jesus' miracles of healing and feeding people were far more important than His Sermon on the Mount or the parables by which He taught us about the Kingdom of God.

Problem Four:  We often fail to recognize and/or value the men and women Jesus has given as servant gifts to His Bride.  When I was practicing law the regulations of the State Bar required me to take educational courses to maintain my professional competence to serve my clients.  Such courses cost hundreds of dollars occasionally even thousands of dollars.  They were courses where experienced attorneys shared with us so that we would be better equipped to serve our clients.  In the church, however, most people are quite content to give the ones who come to equip us for spiritual ministry less than they spent on breakfast the morning of the meeting.  Many people are prepared to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to get the help of a doctor or dentist or lawyer but they do not think about giving similar amounts to the apostle or prophet or teacher who helps them deal with a spiritual problem.

Problem Five:  We have been trained to measure our success in terms of dollars and numbers of people. But that is the opposite of how Jesus looked at things.  He viewed an impoverished widow who gave only a tiny amount as being far superior to a wealthy young ruler.  He taught the large groups in parables so that they would not understand.  But He imparted words of spirit and life to the small intimate group of His disciples.  

Problem Six:  We largely ignore Jesus' instruction to make disciples in favor of the religious institution's mandate to recruit members or make converts.   Thus, billions of dollars have been expended to build the statistics of people who have come forward in a meeting to "receive Jesus" but a mere pittance has been expended to equip local leaders to disciple the saints.  

How can we become part of the solution to these ongoing problems ?

First and foremost,  LISTEN to Holy Spirit.  Hear Him about each and every decision to give money.

Second and nearly as important, never give money outside of a real personal RELATIONSHIP.  Do not allow yourself to use your money to excuse yourself from building a real relationship with the recipient.

Third, whether you are giving fifty cents or fifty million dollars, let your money and your heart be COMMITTED TO SPIRITUAL LIFE not merely to social or psychological help programs.

If you do not have time, ability, or commitment to follow these three simple steps, FIND SOME HELP from someone who is both willing and equipped to follow them.  

His, thus Yours,

Stuart