University of Warwick in England completed a study that discovered that for most people to feel happy about their income, it had to be more than what their friends and colleagues had. It turned out that no matter how much a person earned as long as they knew someone who earned more – they weren’t satisfied. In other words, what they have isn’t enough, no matter how much it is.
And that is NORMAL?!
Shouldn’t surprise us. The writer of Ecclesiastes (5:10) noted ‘whoever love money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.’ That pretty much sums the normal mindset of people – whatever we have is not enough – there is always room for more to earn – to spend – to buy – to shop – to save. The only way we know we are rich is if you can’t find someone who has more!
The comparative standard of wealth is further complicated by the fact that the vast majority of us don’t consider ourselves anywhere near being rich. If asked, “Are you wealthy? We would respond, “Who me? You have got to be kidding!” And 98% of Americans would respond the same as way.
Here is the rub – roughly 98 % percent of the people in the world’s developing countries would consider America’s poor – rich! We view ourselves as not rich even though we all know people living on less than we have. We also know people who are rich (whether they believe it or not). We fall between – the millionaires and the homeless. But defining rich is hard – it is an ever moving target. We all believe we need something else in order to be rich. A recent Gallup poll indicated that people making $30,000 a year believed that to be rich they needed to be making $70,000. People making $50,000 stated that making $100,000 would be rich. Virtually no one responded that they were rich.
Another study of top earner in the US asked how much would you need to have to feel rich? The most common response – 5 million dollars. Ask someone with 2 million dollars, Are you rich?” and the answer would be – “who me? No way.”
Rich is moving target. Why? Because we don’t feel rich. Besides when we talk about income – is it gross or net(before or after taxes)– with or without insurance? mortgage payment? Car payment? College, braces, car insurance, music lessons, sport camps, you get the idea . . .
So I bring you good news this morning. It’s better than good – it’s great – it’s better than great – it’s amazing. For some it's unbelievable. Here it is: You really are rich.
The truth is we are rich, but we don’t feel that way. How is that possible? I blame it on M&Ms. Oh wait, not the little candies.
No the M&Ms I am talking about our mass media and mass marketing. Advertisers want us to feel rich if we can afford their brands – Mercedes, Lexus, Cartier, Versace. Other marketers want us to feel proud of how cost conscious we are Walmart, Target, Hyundai, Old Navy. Either way we are encouraged to buy, spend, and shop for more. We buy the biggest lie being sold – enough is never enough. The end result is that it is perfectly normal for us to stress about not having enough money, not making enough money, and owing too much money. Recent survey reveals that over half of working Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
Monthly payments? Normal
Credit card debt? Normal
Little or no saving - normal
Paying only the minimum? Normal.
Most common fight amongst couples is money? normal
We spend more than we earn - normal
Want to give more, but can’t - Normal
Recurring theme – normal doesn’t work! What if our whole thought about money is wrong? The Bible states that the streets in Heaven are paved with Gold. Our response is that is awesome! The riches of heaven are overflowing. BUT, what if they are paved with gold because gold has the same value as asphalt?
Who said Gold in heaven has the same value we place on it in this world? Jesus said, "it is more blessed to give than to receive." But we live our lives completely the opposite. We live to gain, to hoard, to keep, to spend on ourselves. And that is normal?! What if we lived weird? Jesus weird.
Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 CEB
Living weird with regards to our finances simply means where our money goes are heart will follow. But you already knew that. And yet, the average Christian in the US gives a little more than 2% of their income to the church and missions. That means that the remaining 98% goes to the world. Which means 98% of our heart goes toward the world.
Don’t love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them. Everything that is in the world—the craving for whatever the body feels, the craving for whatever the eyes see and the arrogant pride in one’s possessions—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world and its cravings are passing away, but the person who does the will of God remains forever. 1 John 2:15-17 CEB
I am proud of Fist Church. In the midst of all that we have done, built, paid for – all that is new . . . we have tithed. Yes as a church we tithe! We give over 11% of our offerings to support missions in around the globe and in Indiana. When you consider the additional giving to missions above beyond we actually give nearly 17% of our total 'church income' away.
Would seem the normal thing to do – but less than half of our churches in Indiana do this? In other words this church is weird! But you already knew that. We haven't always done this. As a church, we got there this past year by making a commitment and making some choices about our priorities. By many other's standards we did some weird things and made some weird choices.
If how we give is a measure of weird we are, then I want to help you become weird. Here are 3 ways you can reveal your heart and become a bit weird:
1) Give Spontaneously. This is the first level of giving. You see a need and you give. This is an impulse or an emotional way to give. Your actions impact others. Why? Because what you are doing is weird. However, if this is the only way you give then your impact is limited.
2) The next level of giving is strategic giving. Strategic givers plan ahead so they can be generous. They are intentional.
But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity. Isaiah 32:8 NLT
Strategic givers ask really weird questions like “How can we be more generous? How can we be a greater blessing to others?” A strategic giver plans their gifts. They are tithers (or moving towards the tithe). They make a pledge to give and then execute their giving plan. The strategic giver also realizes that giving is not something we do. Instead, ‘Generous‘ is who we are and our giving grows out of who we are. And that is a little weird.
3) Finally, there is sacrificial giving. This type of giver is beyond weird. They are crazy. These people believe that the things of this world just don’t matter. More than simply acknowledging that truth with words; they actually use their possessions as tools to advance God’s kingdom. This type of giving doesn’t mean they give away everything. They are just willing to give away more rather than accumulate more. Actually many sacrificial givers are quite wealthy – they just don’t live like being wealthy is their goal. These people delight in what they have, but they also delight in giving spontaneously, strategically, and sacrificially.
When we learn to live as generous people, we become more life Christ – that’s weird. In living this way we act on Jesus’ words: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ (Acts 20:35b).
The weird truth is that it is more blessed to give than to receive. It is unfortunate, but true, it is weird to live believing that it is more blessed to give than to receive. It’s also weird to think that we are rich.
What if we lived that way as well?
We might just be a little weird and that is a good thing!
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