126 Sermon Illustrations on Money

In January because of Christmas bills due.

In February because of fuel bills and car upkeep.

In March because of income taxes.

In April because of clothes for Easter.

In May because too much rain threatens the crops.

In June because too little rain threatens the crops.

In July because of vacation expenses coming up.

In August because of vacation expenses to be paid.

In September because of the children's school needs.

In October because of winter clothes and doctor bills.

In November because of the Thanksgiving trip.

In December because of the Christmas shopping.

See: Malachi 3:8; Colossians 3:2

How much money is too much?

Singer Elton John appeared recently in Calgary Canada (Nov. 17). Tickets for the concert were $79.50. This 52 year old popular singer (who owns lavish homes in England, France, and the U.S.) according to the Calgary Herald spends as much as $400,000.00 a week. That amounts to nearly 21 million dollars a year. For most it is difficult to imagine how you might spend that much money. But apparently John doesn't seem to have much problem. If you could fill a concert venue at $79.50 you might be able to learn how to spend that much money.

The pastor preferred to spend the moments just before the main Sunday service in prayer.

But the two men who knocked on his door were leaders in his conservative church, and they insisted that their mission was urgent. What they said ended up in one of the stacks of congregational case studies that put flesh on the sobering statistics inside John and Sylvia Ronsvalle's "Behind the Stained Glass Windows: Money Dynamics in the Church."

"We want you to stop talking about inviting other people into this church," said one of the men. "There are too many new people now. We don't know half the people who come here and there are new people in leadership positions." If the pastor kept preaching evangelistic sermons, then they vowed to leave -- creating a financial crisis that would threaten the church mortgage.

They wanted their church to stay the same. That's what they were paying for.

"It's hard to understand, but we know that some people don't want their churches to grow," said Sylvia Ronsvalle, who, with her husband John, leads empty tomb, inc., in Champaign, Ill. For two decades they have worked in hands-on ministry to the poor, while also operating a small think-tank (www.emptytomb.org) that analyzes 30-plus years worth of data on giving in religious institutions, both liberal and conservative.

"Some people may not even want other members of their church to give more money and support new ministries," she added. "It's sad, but it's true. There are lots of people out there who can't see past the doors of their own church."

Right now, church workers all across America are mailing annual statements covering donations. Here is one of the unwritten laws: 20 percent of the members give up to 80 percent of the annual budget. In most cases, 50 percent or more give little or nothing. Studying these rather utilitarian issues, said the Ronsvalles, quickly leads to other questions. Why are so many content to see their congregations limp along when it comes to evangelism, missions and benevolence work? Why do people give what they give? The answers are rarely comforting.

* Some people make major donations in order to control the institution that frames life's major transitions. As the old saying goes, people want a church when it comes time to "hatch, match and dispatch" family members. Some act as if they are purchasing shares in a beautiful building for these events and, as every clergy person knows, they care deeply about what that building looks like.

* Many people view their offerings as payment for services rendered by the staff and clergy. Perhaps they want witty and practical sermons that please their intellects or emotions. They expect clergy to visit them in the hospital and offer pastoral counseling -- for free -- in times of crisis. Youth pastors must heal and entertain their sons and daughters, answering awkward questions feared by parents.

* Others are buying a culture. For some members, this may be classical- quality, or even cable-television quality, music or drama. Some use the church as a social club, or the focus of ethnic identity. The church and its clergy may even be expected to carry water for a powerful family's favorite social causes, either liberal or conservative.

* Finally, the Ronsvalles' research shows that many church members sincerely see giving as a matter of faith, the natural result of gratitude and a biblical vision. The question that haunts empty tomb, inc., is how to help clergy conquer their fears of challenging members to share with others, especially in an age of plenty. Right now, charitable giving in some denominations has fallen to levels lower than in the Great Depression.

"There are people out there who are sinners and they aren't going to obey God and his Word. They're just not going to give the way they should, even though they sit in church week after week," said John Ronsvalle. "They may think the church doesn't need them to give or maybe they just don't see the need to, quote, spend their money on what the church has to offer, unquote. ...

"The question is whether they want to love other people, in the name of Jesus. In the end, that is what they have to want to invest in -- the hearts and lives of others."

Terry Mattingly (www.tmatt.net) leads the Institute of Journalism at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. He writes this weekly column for the Scripps Howard News Service.

The moth looks like such a harmless creature. In its pearly white color it hovers about without sound at twilight, or in our dark rooms and especially in our closets where our woolen clothes are kept. It is not impertinent like the robust flies of the summer. It does not have the sting of a mosquito. It does not sound in our ears the shrill notes of the cricket. It does not nibble and gnaw like the mouse and rat, nor, as roaches do, indecently overrun our food. It is most fair, silent, and apparently harmless. Yet every housewife springs after it with electric haste. It is a dreaded pest, not for what it is but for what it does. Once a garment is moth-eaten, it is almost impossible to repair it. How true this is in the case of the proud rich. Once one begins to suffer the sickness of pride of riches, the cure is very difficult. Let us beware, for, once the moths have done their work upon us, there is hardly any hope. Let us remember, also, that the moth does its work secretly, without our realizing it; so does the pride of riches. We may be proud of the things we wear and possess without ever realizing it. How stealthily the moths work; pride of the soul even more so.

“You must give God what He asks,” counseled William Thomas Warren, 52. “Pay God, and do it before you pay your monthly bills,” advised the self-proclaimed “financial pastor” in Troutville, Virginia. “If you are willing to do this, the usual result is: your income will gradually increase. Your expenses will miraculously decline.”

Pretty much the opposite, say prosecutors. Warren is under federal indictment for allegedly operating a classic “Ponzi” fraud scheme which allegedly bilked the faithful out of around $3 million.

When officers went to Warren's home to arrest him, they found him hiding in a crawl space. They also found a pad of paper outlining what Warren thought he should do next: “Move Right Now” because of “Indictment papers plus arrest avoid.”

__________

Roanoke Times

*

A man named Ian Fleming, 33, was arrested in September 2004 in New York City after he attempted to deposit bogus, computer-generated checks into his account at a Commerce Bank in Forest Hills, in the amounts of, respectively, $5 billion and $6 billion. Police said that the week before, Fleming had done a trial run by successfully depositing bogus checks in the amounts of $350 and $1,300 and thus probably felt he was ready to move on up.

*

An elderly tenant lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.

His house was filthy, and such an odor came out of the house that it smelled horribly. The neighbors could not stand the stench anymore, so they summoned the police. The officers knocked down the door, discovered the filthy living and called in a sanitation service that cleaned the house.

Under police surveillance, numerous small bags of money were discovered in rooms all over the house. Seemingly it was from monies the beggar had collected through the years.

After police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire. And he now had a clean apartment house to come home to.

He said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg. His only interest was in getting money. The sad fellow had never learned how to use it for himself.

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Source: Chapnotes, ChapnotesMail@aol.com

Entrepreneurs, it's been said, are born hungry and alone. And most are quick to seek not just bread but also fellowship. Nowhere is that impulse more evident than in the growing ranks of Christian business owners, who are banding together for mutual support while they seek to express their faith through their companies. They have created at least 30 networking organizations in the U.S., about half of them launched in the past five years. While most Christian entrepreneurs hire and do business with Americans of all faiths, a more controversial trend is the rise of local Christian business directories, listing companies that wish to attract customers among fellow believers. Shepherd's Guide, the largest Christian-directory publisher, prints five million guides a year in more than 100 markets nationwide, up from 3.2 million in 2000. Meanwhile, the market for religious products (everything from hit movies and popular music to live-action figures of Christ and the apostles) is expected to top $8.6 billion in annual sales by 2008, according to Packaged Facts, a market research consultancy.

In corporate America today, with its emphasis on offending no one, the norm is to keep expressions of faith quiet and generic. Christian entrepreneurs are more likely to see their offices and factories as extensions of their beliefs. They strive to accommodate evangelism to an evolving body of workplace law based on the separation of church and state. And on a more personal level, many struggle to reconcile the often hard-edged requirements of commerce with the teachings of Christ.

Parts of the gospels are famously hostile to the pursuit of material wealth. It was Jesus who said that a camel can pass through the eye of a needle more easily than a rich man can enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:25). Elsewhere Jesus asserted that no man can serve both God and Mammon (Matthew 6:14). The rich man who keeps all the commandments must still give all his property to the poor, Jesus said, if he wants to go to heaven (Mark 10:17-23). And Jesus did not just drive the moneychangers from the temple; he also expelled “all of those who bought and sold” there (Matthew 21:2).

On the other hand, parts of God's covenant with Noah would fit nicely in a commencement speech at Harvard Business School: “And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein” (Genesis 9:7). And in the ambiguous parable of the talents, Jesus seems to use business success as a metaphor for moral virtue. A master goes away on a journey and entrusts each of his slaves with a sum of gold talents, or coins. When the master returns, he asks each servant what happened to the money. Those who increased their capital by investing it are praised, but the servant who buried his money gets branded “worthless” for wasting a valuable opportunity (Matthew 25:14-30). “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away,” says Jesus, sounding to modern ears like Gordon Gekko before his first cup of coffee.

When the gospels were written, most Christians were poor, persecuted outsiders. But after the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion, Christianity became the official religion of the empire and an avenue for worldly advancement. Since then, Christian doctrine has grown more amenable to business. In the 17th century, Calvinist merchants piled up wealth in the belief that it was a sign of God's blessing. The Pilgrims sailed to North America seeking both religious freedom and commercial opportunity. And modern evangelical business owners often measure success in souls saved as well as widgets sold.

Entrepreneurship seems to appeal to many devout Christians for the same reason that it attracts environmentalists, devoted parents, feminists, and libertarians: They want a workplace that reflects their deepest values. Some doubtless use the gospels to rationalize business as usual. But at a deeper level, sincere Christians have much in common with committed entrepreneurs. Both callings demand faith in things unseen and persistence in the face of dangers and doubts. They ask themselves: Is it right to lay off workers to boost profits, or only to save the company? How do you foster a Christian office culture without violating the rights of non-Christian employees? What if you can't get a city contract without bending the law? How fast must you run to beat a camel into paradise?

Steve Salerno is a reporter with wide experience. As a freelance feature writer, Salerno has written for magazines including HARPER'S, ESQUIRE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, and many others. He has contributed articles to the LOS ANGELES TIMES and THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Many of his articles have focused upon “money stories,” that deal with financial scandals and controversies in the business world. Now, he is ready to report on the biggest scandal he has ever encountered -- America's self-help movement.

Salerno writes: “In twenty-four years as a business writer and an investigative journalist, I have covered all kinds of 'money stories.’ I have written about boondoggles on bankers' row and sleight of hand at Seventh Avenue fashion houses. I've written about the gyrations of the stock market as well as the myriad forces that surround, yet never quite explain, investing itself. I've written about money as it relates to sales, money as it relates to sports, money as it relates to music, money as it relates to love. It's safe to say that if it involves money, combined with some form of human aspiration, I've probably written about it.”

Nevertheless, Salerno's experience in reporting still left him amazed when he confronted an industry whose story “represents the ULTIMATE marriage of money and aspiration.” That story is the rise and dominance of what he calls the “Self-Help and Actualization Movement” -- identified in his book by the acronym SHAM.

America's SHAM empire includes an army of therapists, authors, motivational speakers and “corporate coaches,” all ready to offer help, encouragement, motivation, correction, and assurance -- for a price.

Salerno knows big money when he sees it. The SHAM industry is big business. Self-help books are never far from the best-seller list, and the products, conferences, and services of self-help gurus come at considerable cost. The top speakers earn more than ten million dollars per year, and the self-help sector of the economy is growing by leaps and bounds.

There's a good reason for that, Salerno explains. Self-help business is repeat business. The self-help industry would go out of business if its books and products actually SOLVED the problems -- real or perceived -- that led customers to buy the products in the first place.

Of course, comedians are quick to jump on the oxymoron that lies at the very heart of the industry. If people could genuinely help themselves, they wouldn't need the self-help movement. As comedian George Carlin has quipped: “If you're reading it in a book, folks, it ain't SELF-help. It's HELP.”

No matter what it is called, the self-help movement is big business and a growth industry. Last year, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY reported, “Self-help books are a Teflon category for many booksellers. No matter the economy or current events, the demand is constant.”

The repeat business is often no accident. Salerno served for some time as editor of the books program associated with the magazine, MEN'S HEALTH. Part of the giant Rodale publishing empire, MEN'S HEALTH offered a book service directed towards male customers. The company conducted surveys in order to identify “the customers' worst fears and chronic problems,” which then became fodder for future books and products. The secret behind the program's success was, Salerno reports, the fact that many customers could be enticed to buy yet more books on self-help within eighteen months.

Depending on how one defines the category, publishers release thousands of new self-help books each year. Some of these books make their way to the very top of the best-seller list -- and stay there for months or years. But the market for self-help books and products is not limited to mainstream bookstores. Salerno reports that such products are staples of the more than 5000 New Age bookstores now found in the United States. In reality, much of the energy behind the New Age phenomenon has now been refocused into SHAM with New Age consultants and coaches now ready to talk about profits and marketshare rather than meditation and channeling.

Salerno acknowledges that the self-help tradition has a long pedigree in the United States. After all, Benjamin Franklin wrote what may be identified as America's first self-help book, POOR RICHARD'S ALMANACK. But the real rise of the self-help industry, at least in publishing, can be traced to 1937 with the publication of Dale Carnegie's HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE and Napoleon Hill's THINK AND GROW RICH. Thirty years later, Thomas A. Harris redefined the industry with his best-seller, I'M OK-YOU'RE OK, which revolutionized the genre.

Once again, a book's title was the reverse of its content. As Salerno understands, Harris “explicitly posited that the average person is damaged early in childhood and walks around thereafter in a paranoid, self-pitying state.” His book supposedly offered a way out of that state of victimization.

In reality, victimization has become a major theme of the entire industry. Salerno suggests that the SHAM industry is divided into two camps. The first is EMPOWERMENT and the second is VICTIMIZATION. He explains: “Victimization and Empowerment represent the yin and yang of the self-help movement. It is likely that this schism will always exist, no matter which guru or message becomes the flavor of the day.”

The focus on victimization allows Americans to blame other persons -- or impersonal forces -- for their problems. Salerno sees Alcoholics Anonymous [AA] as the “template” for the victimization worldview. Human problems are translated into the vocabulary and categories of victimization so that persons can speak of overcoming what has been done to them, what has happened to them, or those who have afflicted them.

The truth is that virtually everyone can find someone to blame. In her spoof of the self-help movement, I'M DYSFUNCTIONAL, YOU'RE DYSFUNCTIONAL, skeptic Wendy Kaminer asserted that the victimizers are usually close at hand: “Grandfather was an alcoholic, mother is a compulsive rescuer, Uncle Murray weighs 270 pounds. Father is a sex addict, your sister is anorexic,” -- and the beat goes on.

There is simply no way to get around the fact that the self-help movement is more focused on the SELF than on help. Americans are evidently quite ready to focus on themselves as an ongoing project and to buy, read, and accept arguments that place blame far outside our own responsibility.

Problems are redefined in terms of therapeutic categories. Individuals are described as DYSFUNCTIONAL, and those who deny this diagnosis are charged with being in DENIAL.

Salerno identifies “five overlapping messages” of the Recovery movement -- one of the central streams in the self-help river. These messages include: 1. You're damaged goods. 2. Good is bad. 3. It's all about YOU. 4. All suffering is created equal. And 5. It's not your fault. Together, these five messages explain everything from the nation's current focus on addiction and a general proclivity to self-centeredness, to the moral evasions of President Bill Clinton and the executives caught in recent business scandals.

Beyond this, Salerno detects a significant cultural damage. Children are raised in an increasingly therapeutic culture in which, as children, they are taught to take responsibility for their actions, but as they become adults are told to blame someone or something else. Salerno also suggests that the impact of SHAM is leading to something like the feminization of society. He accurately notes that most of the central categories of the self-help movement are essentially feminine. Perceptively, he notes that many of these categories are now being sold to men under the category of “corporate coaching.” As management theorist Warren Bennis has observed, men will accept this therapeutic advice so long as it is packaged as “coaching.”

Steve Salerno is hardly the first to criticize the self-help movement, nor will he be the last. Nevertheless, his unique perspective as an investigative journalist offers a perspective that other authors may miss. Salerno suggests that the self-help movement is making America helpless. Christians will understand that the problem is far worse than that. Indeed, the self-help movement represents a false gospel that offers an unreal hope of redemption. The very category of “self-help” represents a repudiation of the Christian message -- that God in Christ has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. But then, the entire biblical worldview of sin is missing from the self-help worldview. The greatest threat of the self-help movement is that it will leave Americans not merely helpless, but hopelessly lost.

________

This article was originally published on August 24, 2005.

Once again, Americans are spending everything they make -- and then some. The U.S. Commerce Department reports that the 2006 savings rate was a negative 1 percent. This means that Americans either dipped into their savings or borrowed to finance purchases.

Furthermore, the 2006 figure was even lower than the 2005 -0.4 percent and was the poorest showing since the -1.5 percent savings rate in 1933 during the Great Depression.

Could it be that some Christians think that when a person saves funds, he or she eliminates the need to live by faith? If so, they have arrived at a false conclusion, because saving is not another word for hoarding.

There is definitely a great difference between saving and hoarding. Actually, saving involves faith, but hoarding eliminates faith. So, it’s best to ask God for the wisdom to understand the difference, and the willingness to be willing to honor Him by handling your money biblically.

GO ASK AN ANT?

In Proverbs 6:6-8, the Bible uses an ant as a good example of saving. “Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise. Without leader, administrator, or ruler, it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food during harvest.”

It seems that, somehow, within the ant colony, God has designed these creatures so they are able to calculate very accurately what they’ll need to get through the winter; they then gather and store that amount during the summer and autumn.

In fact, that’s a good description of “saving”: Looking forward to a future need, then putting aside whatever is necessary to meet that upcoming requirement so you won’t have to borrow.

ATTITUDE VERSUS AMOUNT

You must understand that the difference between saving and hoarding is attitude, not amount. In today’s society, when we measure what we’re putting aside against the biblical standard, there’s no doubt that we could conclude that many of us are hoarding.

A serious question that American Christians need to ask themselves is, “How much is enough?” Many believers have bought into the world’s mindset concerning finances and have ignored God’s clear biblical principles.

As Christians, God commands us to “not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). The way we handle resources should reveal our trust in God. Even our American currency reminds us that it should be “In God we trust,” and that we shouldn’t simply trust in the currency on which that statement is printed.

BUT WE’RE NOT ANTS

We’re not ants, so where do we place our savings? Before answering the “where” question, you should determine (1) your specific purpose for saving the money and (2) the sort of risk level you can handle. It’s important to understand that although there are certain similarities between savings and investments, there are also great differences. But we won’t go into that now, because we’re talking about savings.

There are some simple guides we can mention about savings.

(1) A savings account might be the safest place to store surplus funds, but it yields the lowest interest rate.

(2) Certificates of deposit (CDs) yield a slightly higher rate than savings accounts. CDs and Treasury notes are two of the safest investment vehicles, but they also return relatively low yields.

(3) Money market funds may provide somewhat higher returns than either CDs or savings accounts. There are small risks involved with money market accounts. However, as long as they are with a strong company the risk should be minimal.

Always keep in mind that the higher the return on your savings, the greater the risk. Consider that if you’ll need all or part of the money soon, a savings or money market account might be best, because CDs could tie up your money for at least 90 days. And, with CDs there are penalties for early withdrawal of funds.

PLAN WITH PURPOSE

Don’t save just for the sake of saving something. Instead, have a plan and save with purpose. Also, prayerfully think about designating some of your surplus money for helping someone in need in your church.

Yes, there is a difference between saving and hoarding. Saving involves faith because it represents good stewardship, but hoarding eliminates faith in God and it ignores faithful stewardship.

Remember, always pray and ask God for the wisdom to handle the provision He has given you. And, be sure your savings have a purpose that reflects biblical stewardship so that you’ll avoid hoarding.

Be sensible, and don’t jump on the downward savings trend. Instead, “Go to the ant.... Observe its ways and become wise.”

________

Howard Dayton is CEO of Crown Financial Ministries.

”… because you … have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you … “ (vv. 16-17)

– For reading & meditation: Genesis 22:1-19

We referred yesterday to the man who was broken by a financial disaster, but came out of it enabled to say, “Never again will I be broken by material loss.” And why? Because he built for himself a biblical framework which enabled him to see the whole issue of finances from God’s point of view. Here are the steps my friend took in moving from financial bondage to financial freedom.

In a definite act of commitment, transfer the ownership of all your possessions to God. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we do not in reality own our possessions. We are stewards, not proprietors, of the assets which God puts into our hands. After reading the story of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son, my friend got alone with God and offered every single one of his possessions to the Lord. He said, “I continued in prayer until every single item I had was laid on God’s altar, and when it was over I was a transformed man. That act of dedication became the transformation point in my finances.”

If, in reality, we do not own our possessions, then the obvious thing to do is to have the sense to say to God: “Lord, I’m not the owner, but the ower. Teach me how to work out that relationship for as long as I live.” When you let go of your possessions and let God have full control, the whole issue of stewardship becomes meaningful. You are handling something on behalf of Another. Money is no longer your master – it becomes instead your messenger.

PRAYER:

Father, I’m conscious that, once again, You have Your finger on another sensitive spot. I wince, but I know I can never be a true disciple until I make this commitment. I do it today – gladly. For Your own dear Name’s sake. Amen

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Kings 17; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2; Romans 14:12

1. What can we learn from the widow at Zarephath?

2. What is the characteristic of a steward?

Sermon in 1 Timothy series - Clean Up the Church, #14. 1 Timothy 6:6-11

FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY

=====================

I. Is winning a big lottery ticket a blessing or a curse?

II. Godliness and money.

A. Everyone needs material things. Luke 12:28-31

B. Many religious people get this wrong.

C. True godliness produces contentment. 6:6

III. What exactly is contentment?

A. Contentment was a favorite virtue of Greek Stoics and Cynics.

B. Christians put a twist on it. Philippians 4:10-13

IV. Two reasons why godly contentment makes sense.

A. You can't take it with you. 6:7

B. You have enough already. 6:8

V. The danger of "more."

A. Greed is a trap that ultimately leads to personal destruction.

B. It is a problem for Christians, too.

C. Flee the greed. 6:11

*

[Original illustration at this number was obsolete and deleted]

Millions of us have experienced the uncertainty of creating a solid investment portfolio as the stock market rises and falls like a rollercoaster. Individual investors, senior citizens with mutual funds, charitable institutions with endowments, and most people who have a pension plan -- have all suffered from the fragile and fluctuating world economy.

Not even the experts know what to do. “One of the funny things about the stock market,” said the American publisher William Feather, “is that every time one person buys, another person sells, and both think they are astute.”1

It is God who gives us the ability to earn a living and gain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). The Bible tells us to handle our money as wisely as we can. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus commended the wise stewards who made good investments of what had been entrusted to them. Proverbs 13:11b (NIV) says, “He who gathers money little by little makes it grow.” That’s why John Wesley famously said, “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”

But the Bible’s fundamental investment strategy has little to do with accumulating money. Jesus Christ wasn’t a stockbroker, but He gave the best investment tip in history when He said: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

No investment advisor has a better plan. We have entire cable channels like Fox Business Network and Bloomberg Television with talking heads who hawk investment advice day and night. The Wall Street Journal has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, and dozens of magazines are devoted to investment strategy and money management.

But Jesus perfectly understood the law of returns when He said in John 6:27a, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life.” Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” The apostle Paul warned us not to put our hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to be rich in good works, thus laying up a treasure for ourselves as a firm foundation for the coming age (1 Timothy 6:19). We need to take stock of our lives and make sure we’re investing ourselves in eternity.

With the world facing one crisis after another, it’s hard to imagine a safe place to deposit our money. But when we faithfully tithe or devote our resources to the Kingdom, it propels the Gospel to the world. Souls are saved and heaven is populated. When you support your local church, your funds are transmuted into literature, lives, ministries and missions. You may never see the returns till you get to heaven, but what a joy it will be to run into folks on the golden streets and learn that it was your gift that helped bring them to faith in Christ.

But our investments for Christ go beyond money. We also invest our energy and passion into the work, and this investment comes back to bless us even now. It’s perilously easy to become so busy doing what comes next and tackling only those things that seem urgent. But the Bible tells us to give thought to our steps (Proverbs 14:8, NIV). We should begin every day by thinking through our agenda and making time for what is truly important, things that will matter in eternity.

The Bible says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world ... the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17). The investments of this world may crumble, but the time, energy and resources we invest in God’s work are solid investments that will pay dividends throughout eternity.

________

1. Charles J. Corrado and Bradford D. Jordan, Fundamentals of Investments (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004), 214.

David Jeremiah is pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., and founder and host of “Turning Point for God.”