Money...Money...and More Money

By Rev. George Borghardt

For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. (Psalm 50:10–-12 ESV).

Money. Stuff. Mammon. It's all His, His, His. From the cattle on a thousand hills to the bird on the mountain, it’s all His. Everything belongs to the Lord—all of it.

And unlike us, He doesn't horde it all to Himself. He doesn't sit at the poker table guarding all His chips. He tosses them out, gives them away to all men. He gives His gifts to good people. He gives them to evil people, even to you and me.

Everything you have in your wallet is His. The lint in your wallet is His too. Even the wallet is His. Hey, isn't that wallet yours too? I mean, after all, it is your wallet, right? Of course it is. But it comes to you as gift from above from your Father who excels at giving everything from wallets to, as the Small Catechism says, “clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.”

You are probably going to be earning and getting more in the coming years. As you get this stuff called mammon, don't forget that it's all His. You'll have it for a while, use it, probably abuse it, and He will give you more anyway. That's the way your Father is. He gives without asking anything in return.

Consider God demanding something in return from you. Now that's scary. If He wants something from you, then it's everything. It’s all you have and are and all you acquire. Everything. Not only would He want it all, but He'd want it given with a cheerful heart too. That's the opposite of how we normally give. Usually, we give Him what we can spare or whatever is leftover after we get and use what we want.

Christ paid all that is due to God for us, all that we deserve for our mismanagement, for desiring more than we have been given, for not trusting that He's going to provide for us.

The Father has already paid what God demanded of you in the giving up of His Son. Receive His gifts without fear, and then cheerfully give Him what's due. Be certain and sure that He'll give and provide more. He hasn't failed you yet, has He?

That's how you face the tough decisions that are coming up in life, such as when the credit cards arrive. My eight-year-old son already gets them in the mail. Watch out for those credit cards. They are a good tool for developing credit, but they must be paid off. The only thing free in this world is salvation; everything else probably needs to be paid for. Not only will you have to pay that credit card back, but you’ll have to pay it back with interest.

You'd be surprised how much things cost, like books, gas, insurance, food, and cars. I still am. As a result, it might be good to sit down with a piece of paper and plan ahead a bit. Just how are you spending what you’ve been given? How can it best be used? Prioritize what you actually need before what you only think you need or what you really want.

What did you write first on your budget? Was is DVDs, junk food, or a new stereo for your car? Then that's your idol. Repent, and erase your idol and start over. It’s to be the Lord first and then you. He will not suffer Himself to be second on anyone's list. You don't get around to giving to the Lord. No, He's first, and after Him comes everything else.

Just because everything is His, don't fall into the trap of thinking that He needs it. He doesn't. You aren't doing Him any favors, nor do you get extra credit for giving Him stuff. In fact, if you think you might earn His favor by giving a bit more, you might as well keep your money. All things are His, remember?

And when there isn't enough, don't despair. When there is enough, don't feel secure. In both cases, He is the same giftgiving Lord who loves us in the giving up of His only-begotten Son. When times are tight, spend less. When times are fruitful, you might want to put that extra money away for when times are tight. You never know when those will be given to you.

But never doubt Who is tending to and caring for you. Your Father is doing the tending and caring. He adorns with lilies the grass of the field that is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the oven. He feeds the birds of the air; He doesn't let one of them drop to the ground apart from His loving care. If He tends to them, He'll certainly tend to you in Christ.

The cattle on the hills are His as are all the beasts and birds. He who has everything gives you everything in Christ. Live that way. Use your money that way. He has given you all things in Christ.

So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours...you are Christ's, and Christ is God's (1 Corinthians 3:21–-23).

Rev. George F. Borghardt III is the assistant/youth pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Conroe,Texas. He is the Internet Services Executive and the southeastern chairman of the For You Higher Things 2007 conference. Check out his blog at http://blog.higherthings.org/borghardt/ or e-mail him at revborghardt@higherthings.org.