The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.

But I don’t hoard like that.  I’m not like them.  I throw things away, and I even give things away to those in need – sometimes.  Plus, I’m married to a woman with the gift of hospitality, which is accompanied by the gift of housecleaning. She has taught me well!  Hoarders have a problem.  I don’t.

Or do I?  Obviously the kind of hoarding featured on the show is the extreme, but after reading this quote by one of my Christian heroes, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I’m not so sure I don’t have a problem myself.  He wrote these words in his benchmark book, The Cost of Discipleship:

“Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected. In the wilderness God gave Israel the manna every day, and they had no need to worry about food and drink. Indeed, if they kept any of the manna over until the next day, it went bad. In the same way, the disciple must receive his portion from God every day. If he stores it up as a permanent possession, he spoils not only the gift, but himself as well, for he sets his heart on accumulated wealth, and makes it a barrier between himself and God. Where our treasure is, there is our trust, our security, our consolation and our God. Hoarding is idolatry.”

I’m not convinced that having a savings is sin, nor am I convinced that I should give everything I own away and expect God to replenish me anew every morning with the things I gave away the day before.  Many of the things I have are things God has given me that I need for the sustenance of me and my family.  However, I have many things I don’t need.

I’ve moved my family 11 times in the 18 years I’ve been married.  I’ve hauled a lot of things from place to place to place.  I’m also well aware that there are many in my scope of influence who do not have what they need.  I have dabbled in hoarding, and I don’t think I feel very good about it after all.  May the Lord continue to press on us the truth that He has blessed us in order to be a blessing to others, and may He remind us often of these words penned by the Apostle Paul.

I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.  As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” (2 Corinthians 8:13-15)

Last year, the Dallas Cowgirls (I mean Cowboys, excuse me) revealed a jumbotron to top all jumbotrons in their new stadium.  Its dimensions are staggering: 72 feet tall and 160 feet wide.  If you’ve seen it on TV, you know that the screen is just massive.  It hangs in the middle of the new stadium and has been known to block punts.  No one could have ever fathomed a screen that large, and the thought of yet a bigger screen was simply unheard of…until now.

The Charlotte Motor Speedway decided to one-up the screen in Dallas with a screen that will measure 80-feet tall by 200-feet wide – nearly 30 percent larger.  The screen will be made up of 158 panels consisting of 9 million LED bulbs, and the entire structure — which will weigh 650,000 pounds when complete, will reach more than 110 feet in the air.  Always bigger.  Always better.  After reading about all of this, I’m just not sure my 42-inch screen is adequate.  I’m praying that God will give me the money to buy a larger screen soon.  Will you join me in praying?  I think He’s all for the American way of bigger and better.

Isn’t He?

Gospel to the Unreached Millions (GUM) / Administrative expenses: 43.1%
Based in Houston, this evangelical ministry is one of the least efficient in translating donations into international programs designed to spread its spiritual message. With administrative expenses topping 43% and fund-raising expenses more than 38% of its total budget, GUM was able to disburse a mere 18% of incoming money to the targeted recipients of aid in its last reported fiscal year, 2006. Managing a budget of almost $1.5 million, GUM has a poor track record of directing that cash to its evangelical programs.

Changed Lives / Administrative expenses: 47.4%
Changed Lives is a Christian organization based in Tennessee whose message of Biblical values is broadcast streaming over the internet to followers around the world. Carried by speaker Ben Haden, who began his broadcasting career at NBC in 1967, Changed Lives features video lectures on a number of spiritual topics and distributes Bibles and other religious literature for free to its supporters. While the organization’s revenues have increased over the last three reported years, its overhead has more than kept pace, pushing administrative expenses to over 47 percent of the group’s 2008 budget of around $790,000.

American Tract Society / Administrative expenses: 68.0%
Topping the list of America’s worst charities is an organization that spent more than $1.6 million dollars on its administrative expenses in 2007, over twice what it spent the previous year. The American Tract Society, based in Texas, distributes religious literature to spread its message around the world. With a history of low ratings from Charity Navigator, the group’s administrative expenses have consistently outpaced the amount of donations coming in. While the group receives income from other sources than contributions, donors to the American Tract Society may be surprised to know that the recipient is the most inefficient in the country at maximizing the impact of its donations.

Obviously, this research does not speak to the effectiveness of these charities at accomplishing their stated goals, but it does lend insight into how each one spends the money that they collect from their donors.

CHALLENGE:
In response to this Sunday’s sermon on generosity, the elders have issued a churchwide sacrificial giving challenge. Next Sunday (October 3), a special offering (in addition to the regular offering) will be collected for the ministry of the Hills in Japan. Because the dollar-to-yen exchange rate is so low right now, they are experiencing a serious financial deficit. Their ministry in Japan is so vital to the expansion of the kingdom that the elders have set the goal of collecting $10,000 from this second offering to send to them. Pray about how you can store up treasures in heaven by generously giving to the ministry of the Hills. If you will not be in attendance on Sunday, please send your financial gift to the church or drop it by the office this week.

MAIN POINT:
Kingdom citizens are people who decide how much is enough to live on and generously give away the rest.

TEXT:
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.  “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!  No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:19-24)

QUOTE:
Glen Stassen, professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, and author of Living the Sermon on the Mount says:

We know the reality: if we invest all our money in an expensive, luxurious car, then a significant amount of our caring and attention will go into how the car is doing.  This is what is meant by our heart following our possessions.  If on the other hand we invest our money in education and evangelism; prevention of HIV/AIDS, hunger, and poverty; in orphanages, in poor countries, and agricultural development and teaching the gospel there, then we will pay more attention to how people we have given to are doing.

God wants our heart not only our money, but Jesus is a realist.  He knows that our heart tends to follow our money.

APPLICATION:
How to live like generous kingdom citizens in today’s world…

1. Decide how much is enough and stick to it.

Pray about this and realize that enough is much less than what you think it is.

2. Know where your money is going.

Track your spending so that you can determine how much is enough and areas of excess.

3. Get out of debt and stay out!

Ask the Lord to make a way for you to get out of debt and be willing to trim and cut in order to do so.  Also, do not stop being generous while you are working your way out of debt.

4. Get to know people in need.

Francis Chan, pastor and author of Crazy Love wrote this:

Awhile back I had a free evening, so I decided to go to the store and buy some items to give away to those who needed them more than I do.  It was a good idea, something I want my life to be characterized by more and more.  But it was embarrassing.  I realized that everyone I knew had enough, that I didn’t know many people who were truly in need, and that I needed to change that.  I needed to go and intentionally meet people who don’t live like I do or think like I do, people who could never repay me.  For their sake, but for my own as well.

5. Don’t be afraid to do what it takes to be generous.

Francis Chan again:

Sometimes I feel like when I make decisions that are remotely biblical, people who call themselves Christians are the first to criticize and say I’m crazy, that I’m taking the Bible too literally, or that I’m not thinking about my family’s well-being.  For example, when I returned from my first trip to Africa, I felt very strongly that we were to sell our house and move into something smaller, in order to give more away.  The feedback I got was along the lines of “It’s not fair to your kids,”  “It’s not a prudent financial choice,” and “You are doing it just for show.”  I do not remember a single person who encouraged me to explore it or supported the decision at the time.

We ended up moving into a house half the size of our previous home, and we haven’t regretted it.  My response to the cynics, in the context of eternity, was, “Am I the crazy one for selling my house?  Or are you for not giving more, serving more, being with your Creator more?”

LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE SERMON.

The House of Prayer First United Pentecostal Church in Thibodaux, Louisiana has been selling fireworks in their church parking lot since 1994.  This year, the church plans to use money from fireworks sales to pay off debt on its building, which was once owned by Lowe’s. In the past, money raised from fireworks sales has also been used toward mission work in foreign countries.

The fireworks sold this season could bring the church as much as $15,000-20,000 after taxes, said Ronnie Melancon, pastor for more than 25 years. He expects the church to be debt free by the end of this year.

One church member said this about the church: “We’re really fun-loving and we enjoy life.  We’re not a cult. We just love Jesus…and fireworks.”

By the way: for those who are concerned about mixing the message of Jesus with potentially unsafe fireworks, the church offers parents the option of buying bags with safer fireworks specifically designed for younger children!

Last April, the church gave 1,400 families $50 each and told them to give it to someone else. And before that, Pastor Toby Slough told his congregation to take money from the collection plate if they needed it – even though church donations were down. That day they had the largest offering ever.

When asked if he worries people will hear of the church’s generosity and take advantage of it. Pastor Slough replied, “If I’m not being taken advantage of, I’m not being like Jesus.”

To read and watch more about this, click here.

According to abc.com, Illinois real estate agent George Michael allegedly converted part of his home into a chapel and became ordained as a minister by signing up with an online program in order to be exempt from tens of thousands of dollars in taxes on his multimillion dollar lakefront property.

Michael contends that all he was trying to do was help his wife, who has multiple sclerosis, and his disabled daughter worship at home instead of traveling miles to the nearest Armenian church. He says that he chose online ordination because it was faster than spending years at a theological school.  But one state judge has called Michael’s tax exemption application “a sham,” arguing that Michael’s professed faith — the Armenian Orthodox religion — is at odds with the church that licensed him online – the Church of Spiritual Humanism.  (Ya think?!)

In order to prove that a part of his home had been converted into a church, the city requested that he send them pictures.  So he did, and one of the photos submitted by Michael showed his home with a cross installed on its exterior. But it was noted by a judge that the cross was drawn on the photograph with a marker and did not physically exist at the time the photo was taken of the building.

As Michael pursues his battle for the exemption in court, local government officials are preparing to send him a property tax bill of roughly $225,000 for 2007 through 2009.  Michael says that he is fed-up with the hassle and has put the house/church on the market…for $10 million!

Albuquerque is tied with Toledo, Ohio as the fourth least generous city in America.  The extensive 60-city study was done by the Albuquerque-based Tijeras Foundation in 2008.  Through their research, they were able to discover the average percentage of household income given to charity by people in these cities.

The most generous city in America?  Birmingham, Alabama.  The least generous city?  San Antonio, Texas.  The Tijeras Foundation commented that even Birmingham and other top cities have a long way to go, noting that few Americans (evangelical Christians included) approach the biblical tithe of ten percent.

Here’s the top 10 and bottom 10 lists with the percentage of household income given to charity in each city:

TOP 10 MOST GENEROUS CITIES IN THE US

1. Birmingham 3.6%
2. Memphis 3.4%
3. Columbia, SC 3.2%
4. Greenville, SC 3.1%
5. Atlanta 3.1%
6. Grand Rapids 3.1%
7. New York 3.1%
8. Naples 3.1%
9. Charlotte 3.1%
10. Tulsa 3.1%

TOP 10 LEAST GENEROUS CITIES IN THE US

1. San Antonio 1.7%
2. Pittsburgh 1.8%
3. Tampa 1.8%
4. Albuquerque 1.9%
5. Toledo 1.9%
6. Austin 2.0%
7. Boston 2.0%
8. Honolulu 2.0%
9. Ft. Lauderdale 2.0%
10. Orlando 2.0%

As base a thing as money often is, it yet can be transmuted into everlasting treasure.  It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor; it can keep a missionary actively winning lost men to the light of the gospel and thus transmute itself into heavenly values.  Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth.  Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality. - A.W. Tozer

“Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth.”  I love that line!  May God prompt all of us to hold a little more loosely onto our temporal possessions, and may we be willing to turn them into everlasting wealth when He calls on us to do so.