Pastors Corner

Federal income and county property taxes have come due, so we can forget about money for a while, right? Except … we are followers of Jesus, and it might surprise you to know that money was his favorite topic of discussion! I recently came across an article titled “Jesus and Money — No Place to Hide and No Easy Answers” by Kyle Snodgrass of North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. He names the Gospel of Luke (this year’s gospel of emphasis on Sunday morning) as warning us “that possessions and family are the biggest obstacles to discipleship and, therefore, the biggest opportunities for discipleship.” Snodgrass highlights seven issues about money which are worth our consideration.

1. Identity: Where our treasure is, there is our true self. Jesus asserts that we get our identity from God and from following him.

2. Security: Is security from possessions or from God? Security based on possessions is ephemeral and idolatrous.

3. Anxiety: How much do we worry about finances? Focus on the kingdom of God places other needs in life in perspective.

4. Greed: The drive to have more — of whatever — is evidence of lack of self-control and inept thinking, and it disorients life.

5. Generosity: We cannot love neighbor as self or be involved in the kingdom without generosity. Generosity must be wise, but Jesus never suggests that we only give to the responsible poor. Generosity must mark disciples of the kingdom, and it is for them to determine how to make generosity effective.

6. Good news for the poor: We cannot follow Jesus and not care about the poor or hide from the poor, which our neighborhoods often allow. If it is nothing else, the gospel of Jesus is good news for the poor.

7. Wisdom and shrewdness: The church needs strenuous effort to understand the economy of the kingdom. That implies a perspective of final meaning that does not view things merely from a human point of view.

Snodgrass concludes his article in this way. “Jesus does not tell us all we need to know about money or giving. He has no directions on how to give or how to insure that giving does not make things worse for the recipients. As elsewhere with boundaries, Jesus will not permit a boundary that would allow one to say, ‘If I give x percentage, that is sufficient.’ The fault is not in money or possessions themselves, but in how tightly we cling to them, how self-serving we are with them, and the use we make of them. The issue is the focus of our lives and the way that focus determines the use of our possessions. Money is a wonderful tool, but a terrible lord.”

Now for the good news! We have “wonderful Lord” who has given us all good gifts in abundance. As we continue to wrestle with First Lutheran’s annual budget, our endowments, our staff decisions, our strong history of benevolence support, remember the gift of grace which prompts this necessary wrestling. Remember also that God’s gift of grace in Jesus Christ continues to reorient our thinking about money so that we will be free and enlivened servants of our Lord.

Grace and Peace,

Philip M. Nesvig, pastor