This week we started our stewardship series called, “Matters of Money.” John Wesley preached a message in 1760 called, "The Uses of Money." In it he said, "Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can. Each week we'll look at each of the three exhortations. The first sermon talked about God’s call to “Go and Make Money.” In wasn't a health and wealth message but rather a call to submit our earning potential to the Lord.
Listen to the audio by following the link or read the text below.
“Go and Make Money”
Brimfield Faith UMC / October 31, 2010
Luke 19:11-27
INTRO
November is typically the month that we focus on issues of finances and stewardship. In the past, people and pastors both dreaded the infamous stewardship talk. I think this dread was caused by a focus on the church “getting” enough money to keep the church running. Pastors are notoriously bad with money which is a shame because the Bible is filled with advice and wisdom on money. In fact, the Scriptures the topic of money and wealth is addressed more than any other topic. According to Crown Financial Ministries there are 2,350 verses on finances and 15% of Jesus’ teaching deals with finances. This is because God understands that where our treasures are, our hearts will be also.
While we as a nation continue to flounder in “the Great Recession,” it is time that the church to take back the realm of finances in a positive and productive way. Stewardship series can no longer be about convincing you to give your hard earned money to God. The reality is that God doesn’t need your money. Instead, we need to learn to give to God for our own sakes. It is a privilege to be able to participate in God’s mighty works. Giving back to God keeps us humble, grounded and connected to God.
The founder of the United Methodist Church, John Wesley understood the importance of money as well. In 1760, he wrote a sermon entitled, “The Use of Money.” In it he has three basic principles when it comes to money. “Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.”
Each week, we are going focus on one of these ideas. We will see that the Scriptures have unique and important insights on all three of these ideas. This morning we are going to look at this idea of earning all that we can.
EARN ALL YOU CAN
When you hear that first statement, “Earn all you can,” what is your reaction? If you are like many Christians, there might be an adverse reaction to it. Perhaps think of the saying, “Money is the root of all evil.” I, of course, have misquoted the verse. It is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil, not money itself. Even if we know that money isn’t the root of all evil, most of us are wary about having too much. After all, the Scriptures are full of verses warning and rebuking the rich. For example, Jesus teaches us that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The Bible seems replete with anti-rich statements, stories and parables. So how then do we reconcile this, with the exhortation to “earn all you can.”
This move begins by recognizing that money is not evil but rather a tool in the hands of human beings. How we use and treat the money we have is what determines the outcome. The reality is that God wants our lives to be profitable in all facets. We need to use our spiritual resources to the best of our ability but we must also material resources wisely. God calls us to be profitable with our resources.
Consider the parable of the talents that you heard read earlier. In the story, the master gives three servants each an amount of money. The first two servants turn a profit with the money they’ve been given. This pleases the master greatly. The third servant, out of fear and probably ineptitude, puts the money under his mattress and then gives it back to the master. The master is furious with this and chastises the man. For the men who made a profit, he rewards them with more and tells them, ““Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.” In business terms, God wants us to be profitable whether it is with spiritual resources or material wealth.
This issue of profitability is actually a hotly debated topic these days. In my business classes, we were taught that the first responsibility of a company was to be profitable. The argument is that a business cannot do good in the world if it doesn’t generate revenue. The number one goal of any business is to make money, period. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Motors, wrote a book called Winning, in which he unapologetically makes the same point. Companies also have a responsibility to engage in social goods but they can only do that when they are sustainable and profitable. Struggling, bankrupt companies cannot contribute to society and cannot make a positive difference in the world.
John Wesley essentially endorses this approach when he exhorts believers to earn all that they can. As followers of Christ, we are being called to go and make money. I believe that God gives Christians money making ideas and business solutions if we will listen. Too often, we divorce the task of making money from spiritual things and we miss what God is telling us. I believe that God wants us to prosper and thrive so that his kingdom can prosper and thrive as well. Of course, there are parameters within which earning money is acceptable. While the call is to make money, there are certain guidelines within which one must operate as a Christ follower. Therefore, I want to spend the rest of this morning talking about the guidelines to help us earn all that we can.
Guideline #1: Earn Legally.
In 1 Peter 2:13-14 it teaches that we must “accept the authority of every human institution.” So the first guideline almost comes without saying. We must earn legally. We cannot break laws in order to make money. Earlier this month, the Brimfield Police Department found a marijuana farm with over 700 plants on it. The value was estimated at $250,000. This was most certainly a profitable business, but it certainly was not legal. God does not and will not bless us when we earn money illegally. Earning money legally is important because the government establishes laws in order to keep people from harming one another. There are nuances, of course, but this is the basic guiding principle to creating laws: Does it harm others or put others at risk?
John Wesley had his fair share of short sayings. One of his most famous was his “Three Simple Rules.” 1 – do no harm; 2 – do good; 3 – stay in love with God. These three simple rules go well with our three guidelines for earning money. The first one applies to earning legally. To earn legally involves doing no harm. Scripturally, this means we do not disparage, gossip, we do not injure, wound, or act maliciously. As a Christian, earning money legally and without harming others is the bare minimum. It is the starting point. There are plenty of companies and individuals that earn money legal but God is still not pleased. This brings us to our second guideline.
Guideline #2: Earn Ethically.
In 3 John 11 it says, “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” The next step towards earn money God’s way is to earn it ethically. Ethical behavior can be difficult to define. To define it this morning, I would draw upon second of the three simple rules: doing good. Therefore, to earn ethically involves doing good. This means we don’t lie, cheat or mislead others. Don’t overcharge interest. Don’t exploit others vulnerability. Instead, to earn ethically means we engage honest work. We seek to look to bless others with your business. We attempt to add value to people’s lives as we earn money ethically.
Along these lines, John Wesley gives us a great and unlikely historical example of an ethical business. The story is about a business man by the name of Arthur Guinness. Legend has it that Guinness, received divine inspiration for the recipe to the famed Guinness Stout Beer as a way of saving the Irish from the Gin Craze” that threatened to destroy Ireland. This is only part of the story of Guinness though.
John Wesley preached a message at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, that we know Arthur Guinness heart. While we do not know the exact words said, Wesley would have said to the wealthy business men there, “Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can. Your wealth is evidence of a calling from God, so use your abundance for the good of mankind.” These words changed the course of Guinness’ life and the direction of his company. He embraced the ideas of Wesley and turned his company into the leader in societal good of the day. He started Sunday schools, gave money to the poor, and helped hospitals. Guinness employees were paid better than any others. They received medical and dental care. Families were afforded vacations into the country side. A workers family could take educational classes. The benefits were endless and the positive impact limitless. The employee perks far outweigh anything we see today.
Guinness might be most known for beer today, but in the 17th Century it was a powerful agent for the Kingdom of God. People’s lives were changed and society was transformed because Arthur Guinness embraced the mantra “Earn, Save, Give all you can” God’s way. While some companies embrace ethical business today, we don’t see the influence and prominence of the Guinness Company. Arthur Guinness embodied what it means to do good and to earn money ethically.
Guideline #3: Earn Morally.
The final guideline to earning money is to earn morally. In Colossians 2:6-7 it reads, “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” This last exhortation is probably the most challenging but certainly the most important. For the Christian, I would define moral by the third simple rule: stay in love with God. Therefore, to earn morally involves staying in love with God.
This means don’t engage in work to earn money that does harm to yourself: body, mind or soul. When we do too much work, harmful work, or dangerous work, this can harm our love for God. Therefore, we need to engage in work that can encourage our spiritual health. WE might also seek to engage in work that brings people closer to God.
This doesn’t mean we all need to be pastors, missionaries, or health care workers. Most of our jobs will permit us to earn money morally and while staying in love with God if we embrace the right attitude. This guideline to earn morally will be better flushed out in the next two sermons, so I won’t belabor it at this point. Nonetheless, as we look for a job we should consider whether it will hinder our relationship with God. Jesus says we cannot serve two masters. Therefore, if our jobs are vying for our loyalties before God, then we must seek other employment.
CONCLUSION
I hope you can hear the call of God this morning concerning money. We need not be afraid of it. We need not sabotage our earning potential. Instead we should seek to be profitable with all that God has given us. We need to submit our earning potential before the Lord. When you earn all that you can, you can serve God in a greater capacity. You can use your money to make a positive influence in the world for the Kingdom of God. So I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to go out and make some money. And remember if we do it legally, ethically, and morally, I have faith that God is going to bless you in it. Have you submitted your earning potential before God?
Brimfield Faith UMC / October 31, 2010
Luke 19:11-27
INTRO
November is typically the month that we focus on issues of finances and stewardship. In the past, people and pastors both dreaded the infamous stewardship talk. I think this dread was caused by a focus on the church “getting” enough money to keep the church running. Pastors are notoriously bad with money which is a shame because the Bible is filled with advice and wisdom on money. In fact, the Scriptures the topic of money and wealth is addressed more than any other topic. According to Crown Financial Ministries there are 2,350 verses on finances and 15% of Jesus’ teaching deals with finances. This is because God understands that where our treasures are, our hearts will be also.
While we as a nation continue to flounder in “the Great Recession,” it is time that the church to take back the realm of finances in a positive and productive way. Stewardship series can no longer be about convincing you to give your hard earned money to God. The reality is that God doesn’t need your money. Instead, we need to learn to give to God for our own sakes. It is a privilege to be able to participate in God’s mighty works. Giving back to God keeps us humble, grounded and connected to God.
The founder of the United Methodist Church, John Wesley understood the importance of money as well. In 1760, he wrote a sermon entitled, “The Use of Money.” In it he has three basic principles when it comes to money. “Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.”
Each week, we are going focus on one of these ideas. We will see that the Scriptures have unique and important insights on all three of these ideas. This morning we are going to look at this idea of earning all that we can.
EARN ALL YOU CAN
When you hear that first statement, “Earn all you can,” what is your reaction? If you are like many Christians, there might be an adverse reaction to it. Perhaps think of the saying, “Money is the root of all evil.” I, of course, have misquoted the verse. It is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil, not money itself. Even if we know that money isn’t the root of all evil, most of us are wary about having too much. After all, the Scriptures are full of verses warning and rebuking the rich. For example, Jesus teaches us that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The Bible seems replete with anti-rich statements, stories and parables. So how then do we reconcile this, with the exhortation to “earn all you can.”
This move begins by recognizing that money is not evil but rather a tool in the hands of human beings. How we use and treat the money we have is what determines the outcome. The reality is that God wants our lives to be profitable in all facets. We need to use our spiritual resources to the best of our ability but we must also material resources wisely. God calls us to be profitable with our resources.
Consider the parable of the talents that you heard read earlier. In the story, the master gives three servants each an amount of money. The first two servants turn a profit with the money they’ve been given. This pleases the master greatly. The third servant, out of fear and probably ineptitude, puts the money under his mattress and then gives it back to the master. The master is furious with this and chastises the man. For the men who made a profit, he rewards them with more and tells them, ““Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.” In business terms, God wants us to be profitable whether it is with spiritual resources or material wealth.
This issue of profitability is actually a hotly debated topic these days. In my business classes, we were taught that the first responsibility of a company was to be profitable. The argument is that a business cannot do good in the world if it doesn’t generate revenue. The number one goal of any business is to make money, period. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Motors, wrote a book called Winning, in which he unapologetically makes the same point. Companies also have a responsibility to engage in social goods but they can only do that when they are sustainable and profitable. Struggling, bankrupt companies cannot contribute to society and cannot make a positive difference in the world.
John Wesley essentially endorses this approach when he exhorts believers to earn all that they can. As followers of Christ, we are being called to go and make money. I believe that God gives Christians money making ideas and business solutions if we will listen. Too often, we divorce the task of making money from spiritual things and we miss what God is telling us. I believe that God wants us to prosper and thrive so that his kingdom can prosper and thrive as well. Of course, there are parameters within which earning money is acceptable. While the call is to make money, there are certain guidelines within which one must operate as a Christ follower. Therefore, I want to spend the rest of this morning talking about the guidelines to help us earn all that we can.
Guideline #1: Earn Legally.
In 1 Peter 2:13-14 it teaches that we must “accept the authority of every human institution.” So the first guideline almost comes without saying. We must earn legally. We cannot break laws in order to make money. Earlier this month, the Brimfield Police Department found a marijuana farm with over 700 plants on it. The value was estimated at $250,000. This was most certainly a profitable business, but it certainly was not legal. God does not and will not bless us when we earn money illegally. Earning money legally is important because the government establishes laws in order to keep people from harming one another. There are nuances, of course, but this is the basic guiding principle to creating laws: Does it harm others or put others at risk?
John Wesley had his fair share of short sayings. One of his most famous was his “Three Simple Rules.” 1 – do no harm; 2 – do good; 3 – stay in love with God. These three simple rules go well with our three guidelines for earning money. The first one applies to earning legally. To earn legally involves doing no harm. Scripturally, this means we do not disparage, gossip, we do not injure, wound, or act maliciously. As a Christian, earning money legally and without harming others is the bare minimum. It is the starting point. There are plenty of companies and individuals that earn money legal but God is still not pleased. This brings us to our second guideline.
Guideline #2: Earn Ethically.
In 3 John 11 it says, “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” The next step towards earn money God’s way is to earn it ethically. Ethical behavior can be difficult to define. To define it this morning, I would draw upon second of the three simple rules: doing good. Therefore, to earn ethically involves doing good. This means we don’t lie, cheat or mislead others. Don’t overcharge interest. Don’t exploit others vulnerability. Instead, to earn ethically means we engage honest work. We seek to look to bless others with your business. We attempt to add value to people’s lives as we earn money ethically.
Along these lines, John Wesley gives us a great and unlikely historical example of an ethical business. The story is about a business man by the name of Arthur Guinness. Legend has it that Guinness, received divine inspiration for the recipe to the famed Guinness Stout Beer as a way of saving the Irish from the Gin Craze” that threatened to destroy Ireland. This is only part of the story of Guinness though.
John Wesley preached a message at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, that we know Arthur Guinness heart. While we do not know the exact words said, Wesley would have said to the wealthy business men there, “Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can. Your wealth is evidence of a calling from God, so use your abundance for the good of mankind.” These words changed the course of Guinness’ life and the direction of his company. He embraced the ideas of Wesley and turned his company into the leader in societal good of the day. He started Sunday schools, gave money to the poor, and helped hospitals. Guinness employees were paid better than any others. They received medical and dental care. Families were afforded vacations into the country side. A workers family could take educational classes. The benefits were endless and the positive impact limitless. The employee perks far outweigh anything we see today.
Guinness might be most known for beer today, but in the 17th Century it was a powerful agent for the Kingdom of God. People’s lives were changed and society was transformed because Arthur Guinness embraced the mantra “Earn, Save, Give all you can” God’s way. While some companies embrace ethical business today, we don’t see the influence and prominence of the Guinness Company. Arthur Guinness embodied what it means to do good and to earn money ethically.
Guideline #3: Earn Morally.
The final guideline to earning money is to earn morally. In Colossians 2:6-7 it reads, “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” This last exhortation is probably the most challenging but certainly the most important. For the Christian, I would define moral by the third simple rule: stay in love with God. Therefore, to earn morally involves staying in love with God.
This means don’t engage in work to earn money that does harm to yourself: body, mind or soul. When we do too much work, harmful work, or dangerous work, this can harm our love for God. Therefore, we need to engage in work that can encourage our spiritual health. WE might also seek to engage in work that brings people closer to God.
This doesn’t mean we all need to be pastors, missionaries, or health care workers. Most of our jobs will permit us to earn money morally and while staying in love with God if we embrace the right attitude. This guideline to earn morally will be better flushed out in the next two sermons, so I won’t belabor it at this point. Nonetheless, as we look for a job we should consider whether it will hinder our relationship with God. Jesus says we cannot serve two masters. Therefore, if our jobs are vying for our loyalties before God, then we must seek other employment.
CONCLUSION
I hope you can hear the call of God this morning concerning money. We need not be afraid of it. We need not sabotage our earning potential. Instead we should seek to be profitable with all that God has given us. We need to submit our earning potential before the Lord. When you earn all that you can, you can serve God in a greater capacity. You can use your money to make a positive influence in the world for the Kingdom of God. So I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to go out and make some money. And remember if we do it legally, ethically, and morally, I have faith that God is going to bless you in it. Have you submitted your earning potential before God?
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