United Church Podcast

Simple Money. Rich Life. | Give All You Can

We want to know that bringing God our first and best actually works. 

We can try to be noble and make it about something “deeper,” but at the root of it, we want to know that if we give to God through the church, all of the things the Scriptures say about giving and the associated blessings, are true. For those of us versed in church, however, and at the very least professing followers of Yeshua, we want to know it works and that the principles and promises of the Scriptures are real. 

How, though, can we know it works if we never test the promises, especially given that giving to God is the one area in our lives that the bible says to test God! [Malachi 3:10] Knowing that giving in the U.S. is abysmal. 

• 3% - 5% of Jesus’ followers in the U.S. tithe (Give 10%)
• 75% - 80% of Jesus’ followers in the U.S. give just 2% of their income
• The average giving amount per churchgoer is $17 per week (Health Research Funding).
• Of Families making $75k+ per year 1% of them give 10%
• People making $20,000 a year are eight times more likely to give than someone making an annual income of $75,000.

Simple Money. Rich Life. | Make All You Can

We all want to make the most we can while making a difference in the world. Or at least, we should want that very thing. Of course, some people purposefully choose to earn less because that is God’s direction for their life, perhaps for a season or a lifetime. 

But in the context of what God has called us to do, we should be earnestly asking ourselves how we best steward what He has given us in time and talents. See the parable of the minas [Luke 19:11-27] and the parable of the talents. [Matthew 25:14–30]

Interestingly though, the very idea of money, what we do with it and what we make is a strangely forbidden conversation in our culture. And telling people they can and should seek to make more—in a church sermon—unthinkable, which is why I took us back to the Wesley quote. Be reminded that all of this works together for a greater purpose, not self-service.

So, you and I—at least most of us—want to make more money. We do, and hopefully, for the right reasons. What is stopping us? Primarily, it is a lack of knowledge and tools on what to do next to raise our earning potential.

We spent over a decade in primary school learning everything but what we needed to know to make a living and an impact in this world. 

I do not know how all of that makes you feel, but it would make me feel trapped, and frankly, I have heard that word from others more times than I can count. People feel trapped in dead-end jobs and opportunity-less situations, and maybe you do too. 

Everyone should have been shown how to maximise their potential to make as much as they can, to impact as many as they can. But sadly, we were not shown how. We have been left to try and figure it out independently.

Simple Money. Rich Life. | Save All You Can.

We want to be free to save for the future without fear of lack in the present. Given that nearly seventy per cent of Americans fear not having enough to retire, and another sixty per cent fear not having enough for next week, it stands to reason that there is little argument here. We want to be free to save for our futures.

And yet, many of us likely feel financially stuck. Maybe we have tried all the budgets or explored some expert financial advice, but nothing seems to work. You might even feel worn down to the point where you want to give up. 

You may even be quietly wondering to yourself right now, “Where exactly is this money going to come from? I do not have hidden money just sitting around.” The idea of saving, when you feel like you are just trying to make it through the week, might feel far-fetched. 

And with nearly half the country having less than one thousand dollars in savings—and sixty per cent of U.S. adults, including more than four in 10 high-income adults, living paycheck to paycheck—it stands to reason that if you are feeling stuck, you are not alone. But what do we do?

Simple Money. Rich Life.

Many of you are worried about money. It may not be a stretch to say that many of you even thought about missing the gathering today because your anxiety about money and things related to money is so high.

In fact, according to the Mind over Money survey by Capital One and The Decision Lab, seventy-seven per cent of Americans report feeling anxious about their financial situation. Seventy-seven per cent that is three out of every four people! If you worry about finances, you are far from alone!

Additionally, and interestingly:

• 58% feel that finances control their lives
• 52% have difficulty controlling their money-related worries

Americans are most worried about their financial future, which includes: not having enough money to retire (68%), keeping up with the cost of living (56%) and managing debt levels (45%).

And the impact financial stress has on us stretches into all aspects of our lives. People say they feel fatigued (43%), find it difficult to concentrate at work (42%), and have trouble sleeping (41%). A quarter of respondents said financial stress even affects their relationships.Here is what I know to be accurate, and you do too: we want to be free from financial anxiety. We all do. Seventy-seven per cent of people want to be free from this anxiety.

Easter | Free

You and I want to be free. The challenge to that, however, is quite complex. The first complexity is the definition of freedom itself. Is “free” the capacity and ability to do as we wish? What does “free” mean? There are at least fifteen definitions, according to Merria-Webster, including “not taken up with commitments or obligations” and “open to all comers.” When there are that many definitions and interpretations of “free” that we must sort through, the danger of adopting the wrong perspective is high. People, pressure, and influences push you and me toward things that ultimately entrap us, though they were pitched to us under the guise of freedom. Credit cards allow us to spend until we find ourselves bound by debt. Drugs or alcohol promise us stress-free, but we may find ourselves bound by addiction. A promotion may promise us freedom through opportunity, but we may find ourselves bound to a schedule that drains us of life. University is said to be the path to freedom in the future, but many of us are bound by student loan debt. In the end, we are not free.

Holy Week | Palm Sunday | King Jesus | Mark 1:1-11

 We often do not live as though we have a King. Love. Dependence. Reverence. Celebration. Submission. Do those things characterise how you interact with Jesus, not just in the privacy of your personal devotions, but in your public displays of affection for Him. 

Sometimes we treat Jesus as an elected official, judging the job He’s doing by how it is meeting what we’ve deemed to be our most pressing needs. Our displays of affection are often minimal. Our celebration of His Kingship is diminished. Our reverence for Him, reductionistic. His royalty, a topic to be examined, but not a pervasive reality that requires the whole of our being. And yet the scriptures are clear, Jesus is King—good, benevolent, and worthy of honour and celebration. And Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, in many ways much like the Thai anthem, shows that when you believe you have a King, you respond accordingly.

Ruthless Elimination of Hurry | Slowing

We need to slow down our lives so that we live them and not skim them. We need to train ourselves to be fully present people, present to God, others and our own souls. 

The more time we spend at this quickened pace, not enjoying our lives, the less enjoyable they become. The more time we treat each day as though we are guaranteed another, the faster they seem to fly by and the more empty, repetitive and routine they feel.

So, today we look at the Teacher's words in Ecclesiastes. He tells us, much like the famed line from the Film Shawshank Redemption, to get busy living because life is unpredictable, and enjoyment is a gift from God. Today's invitation is to Live your life as though every moment has meaning.

Ruthless Elimination of Hurry | Simplicity

Every man, whatsoever his condition, desires to be happy.” There is little argument here; we want to get happy and stay happy. And there is a “gospel,” a Western, post-modernity “gospel” that tells you exactly how to get the happiness you seek—get more stuff. The more you have, the happier you will be. \So go on and get that new vehicle, this “gospel” preaches. Sell your home, and get a bigger one. Move out of your apartment and rent a bigger one. Get that new dress. You need those shoes. Work as much as you have to work to get what you want, to be… happy. 

It has not always been this way, consumption being touted as the primary path to happiness. Our nation, and the people in it, have only recently come to define happiness as making money and accumulating things. There was a purposeful shift instigated by a clever villain in big business and greedy politicians who crafted an economy around consumerism, which fed a lie to our parents and grandparents that people need more money and more things to be happy.