Building on the Foundations: Pie High Living 1

Building on the Foundations: Pie High Living

A two part message on how we use money.

All of us need a degree of money. Most want more. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with wanting more if we seek it for and with the right motives.

Some people will look at those who have more as somehow sinful, or with jealousy.  Some with more may look at those with less as being sinful too! They might judge them for being in a situation where they are poor.

The truth is money is one of the most polarising things a church can talk about.

To help illustrate this message this week and next week we will be thinking about pies.  Everyone likes some kind of pie, right? Well, almost everyone.

Imagine money is your pie. It’s tasty and often we would like more. Like all illustrations we can take this too far, but as Christians how we use money will reflect what we believe; much the same way as we would treat a pie!

I want to talk briefly today and next week about three aspects to money.  I am going to use as a basis for this the great financial advisor, John Wesley (28 June 1703 – 2 March 1791).

Wesley famously said: “Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” When we hear these words our nature is to begin to think about how much we can earn and how much we can keep for ourselves. It's what the flesh does. Most will not be inspired by the idea of giving more.

Let's look at a key Scripture and then begin to unpack a new way of looking at money:

1 Timothy 6:6-10: But godliness with contentment is great gain. [7] For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. [8] But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. [9] Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. [10] 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.

Earn All You Can:

It is important to earn money.  It does not mean that we have to be greedy.  Some say money is the root of all evil, but that's not true:

1 Tim 6:10: 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.

If money is the goal that will often bring misery too.  Money does not in itself lead to happiness. It does give you options though, and opportunities for a higher standard of living.

We may be retired, we may be employed or on benefits, but however money comes to us we have a responsibility to be sensible with it, to be stewards of it.

When we are employed we are agreeing to sell our time (not our souls) at a given rate.  If we have skills that are marketable, or can be improved upon, then we should do so.  

Wesley's view was to gain or earn as much as you can. There was a deeper rationale behind this which I shall unpack next week. But the idea of earning to some can seem odd for Christians to do because greed is wrong, right. But we have to work.

All of us have each got a pie from which we need to live and draw sustenance. Some will have a bigger pie.  Some a smaller pie. We all have a pie though. If you can image that pie is the only thing that you’d ever eat, you will understand that each of us need a pie of money some description.

In the same way we need money to live.  We have to earn it.

Here are some principles about earning money from the Bible:

• Seek God's Kingdom first, then all other things you need will be added to you.

Matthew 6:31-33: So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

Our problem is we think that the adding by God to us will not involve work. Jesus used the illustration of how fine the birds of the air looked and how God looked after them (Matt 6:26). Have you ever noticed how industrious a bird is? They’re always busy!

• Work is important.

2 Thessalonians 3:10: For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

At times we may all need the help of the State. There is no shame in that and those of us who contribute by taxation into that system should do all we can to make sure our contribution is fair, not cheat on our taxes, ensuring that the most vulnerable in society are cared for. 

This verse was written to a culture where there was no benefits and people would simply sponge on the church, even though they could work. They just would not work. 

The Bible is clear, we do not support the idle, but we do the vulnerable.

I was brought up and lived on money from the benefits system as a child and teenager, but as soon as I could, I worked. I am not unsympathetic.

One thing that brings amazing self dignity to those who cannot work is volunteering, and learn valuable skills to find a job possibly in the future.

Those of us who do work need to do so joyfully.  Some view working as a result of the Fall, that the toil that Adam faced was a result of sin. The truth is he worked before the Fall too, he had dominion, was in charge, named animals and cared for creation.  Work is in us.  As Christians we are called to do good works (Eph 2:10).

• We have to provide for our families

1 Timothy 5:8: Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

One of the greatest privileges is to provide for our families, our kids, our spouses, even our parents in their old age.

The morality we give to money can be seen here. Do we give a child just everything they want or do we temper that with what they need verses what they want?

These are moral decisions every family must take. 

We have to decide how much of the pie we will consume for ourselves and also how much of the much we will use to feed and clothe our family.

• Debt enslaves you

Proverbs 22:7:The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

To try and get things quickly by buying on credit makes you a slave to someone else. Why? You have to recognise that above saving and above generosity. Decision making is curtailed.

Debt is basically not being satisfied with the size of your so taking a big bite of someone else's pie. In the short term that’s fine. In the long term, they eat more of your pie than you ate of theirs.

• Honour God with the plenty you have

Proverbs 3:9-10: Honour the Lord with your wealth,

with the first-fruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

The pie is not really yours, it’s God’s. I know you went out and earned your pie, you worked hard for it. The Christian knows that all the gifts and talents we have have been placed there by God.  You may have even prayed, as I have, for wisdom in your decision making at work. His wisdom. His pie!

You may argue with me over this but everything we have in life is a gift from Him, including the ability and gifts to earn money, therefore we need to put Him at the core of the reason to earn.

Honouring God means He will trust you with more.  Not solely for purpose of being rich.  For the purpose of generosity.

Earning is important.