I’ve heard people say if you have a problem spending too much money that you should try going to a cash only system. Honestly that probably would curb a lot of money I spend because I do a lot of online shopping. Another strategy is to think about purchases in terms of how much money you make per hour. A couple of nights ago, I bought something I’ve been considering for a while. It was a good brand name, the features seemed numerous, and it will make my life a little bit easier. But when I finally laid my head down to sleep, I realized it would have taken me at least four hours of work to pay for that. It was like a slap in the face saying “Why would you spend this much money on that?!” The truth is that I buy a lot of unnecessary things. The thing I just bought will make my life easier but was it a necessity? No, definitely not.
There are many different jobs and rates of pay. I remember someone telling me about a lawyer fresh out of school. This person’s hourly wage was about $400. Right or wrong there are just some professions that make a lot more money than others. How much do you think it would cost to have an hour of the Lord’s time? The Creator of our universe, of everything that exists, is freely available to us at any time day or night, weekends and holidays too. God is always there ready to listen if we would but come to Him. We will never receive a bill for His counseling sessions and even if we did what would be the price? Does God even need our money? God says in Psalm 50:12, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness.” There isn’t anything we can give God that isn’t already His. Or is there? God asks us for our love. And if we love Him we will desire to “offer to God thanksgiving, and pay [our] vows to the Most High” (Psalm 50:14). We give to Him not because He needs it but to show our fidelity and love to Him and His mission and what He has done for us.
The trouble is that I like buying stuff. The Bible is also full of people… who like stuff! I know this because of verses like, “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:37) or “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2a) and many more. It is a struggle, one that we are hesitant to talk about because it hits so close to home. Jesus said “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). It is hard to deny myself when I want something, and I have the money available to buy it. Sometimes I wonder if I did go to a cash only system would I find myself giving more money to God simply because instead of deciding to spend $5 on an ice cream I could then come home and put it aside for God instead. It is harder to do that with non-tangible funds, but it is possible.
A couple of weeks ago I decided that maybe I would like to buy item X so I put it in my online shopping cart. Then I did what I should really do each time… I let it sit there for a couple of days. In the end, I deleted it because let’s face it. I didn’t need item X and most likely I would have used it once and that would have been it. So instead I left a note for Ryan to put the money I would have spent on that item toward church funds the next time he was making out an offering check. Even though I was feeling a bit disappointed at not getting the thing I thought I wanted/needed, it was amazingly nice to write that note and set that money aside for a better purpose. No I don’t manage to do that every time nor am I saying there aren’t things we need to buy or even gifts that we desire to purchase for each other. What I’m contemplating is a more conscious awareness of the money I have and what I spend it on.
I think many times it is easier to spend money on God when we have a goal. A few years ago, the church where I work wanted to replace their old rotting wooden playground. A committee was made and research was done regarding what to get. The new playground cost came to approximately $25,000. To me, and probably most people, that seemed like a ton of money! The church sent out an appeal letter to the congregation laying out all the reasons why this particular playground was chosen. In a short time, all that money came rolling in. I was amazed at how fast it happened and how generous people were. People were excited to donate funds for something that had a clear goal and vision.
What if we could see the kingdom of God in this way? What if we could think about every dollar we give as money that could potentially lead someone to a relationship with Jesus? What if we could imagine Jesus and the Father walking down the aisle with the offering plate not to guilt us into giving but to remind us of who and what we are really giving for. It’s not just money going into a bank account, it is money going into God’s treasury. What an honor and blessing we have that God has entrusted us with helping Him fulfill the most important job in the world, sharing the good news about Him!