Nuggets 9:   The Church and My Money

"The only interest the church has in me is my money."  You often hear that.  There's nothing uglier than using religion to fleece people.  I am turned off by that as much as anyone.  I am equally turned off when people use the same statement as a cop-out to sidestep valid appeals.  It is amazing the ways I can find to justify my selfishness.

Regardless of how many TV evangelists there are with gold-plated bathroom fixtures, God is real and he has true, redemptive work going on in the world.  He invites us to be part of it (and what an honor that is!).  According to Jesus, nothing defines my heart any more than what I do with my money when God's real work is in need.  "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Can you answer "yes" to each of these statements?  1.  I want to honor God in my giving.  2.  I want to be like God who so loved that he gave.  3.  I want to support Christian values in a world that is losing them.  4.  I want to be part of what God is doing.  5.  I want to give at a level that God considers reasonable.  6.  I want to carry my part of the load as far as I am able.  7.  I want my love to be more than words.  If these statements describe your heart (and you have the means to give), significant giving will be a joy.

Reality is, we all adjust our finances to cover what we see as most essential.

1 Timothy 6:5;  Jeremiah 17:9;  2 Corinthians 8:3-5,9,12;  9:7;  Matthew 6:21;  Proverbs 6:9,10;  John 3:16;  Matthew 5:13-16;  Genesis 28:20-22;  Leviticus 27:30;  1 John 3:18

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