Treasure & Heart

This is a very challenging time to be thinking about financial stewardship in the congregation. Yet nearly every congregation has their annual stewardship campaign in the fall, so we are not alone in having to face this challenge during what some are calling an unprecedented economic crisis. What has been happening on Wall Street and in the housing market has left those “in the know” completely stymied as to what might happen next or how the situation will right itself. It has left the rest of us confused and worried. It’s scary, especially as the cost of just about everything is going up, up, up. So, with some understandable apprehension and with greater faith in a God who provides, we will face this challenge in the coming weeks as we prayerfully make our financial pledges for 2009.

Jesus told his disciples, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We often think of that statement in reverse, that where our heart is, our treasure will go. But that’s not Jesus’ point. His point is not that we decide first what we love and therefore what we will devote our resources to. Rather, we follow his example by giving what we have away for his sake, and by doing so, our hearts and our love follow. It’s a harder way, a narrower way. It’s easy to give to people and causes that we have decided are worthwhile. It’s more difficult to give for Jesus’ sake, without hope of reward or benefit. It is more difficult to give a “first fruit” offering to the church than it is to give out of what’s left over after everything else we want is taken care of. But the Gospel is unambiguous. Jesus wants everything we call our own to be used for God’s greater purpose. Jesus calls us to make such sacrifices and bids us to follow him in the way of giving.
As we think about the church’s budget, we often ask ourselves how much it will cost to keep the lights on and heat the building. The answer to these questions is a dollar amount. I would like us to ask instead: Why will we keep the lights on, and why will the heat be turned up this year? The answers to these questions will reflect our priorities and our mission. They will be based on our gratitude for all the blessings we have been given.

As Nathan and I consider our 2009 pledge, we are struggling, as I know many of you are, to decide how to cut our expenses, how to save, how to pay back our student loans, how to care for Theo, and how to give in the way we believe Christ is commanding us to give.

May our faith in a God of love and abundance guide our discernment and give us the courage to risk greater, larger, more abundant giving this year, in Christ’s name and for the sake of the world.