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Get your own, Free HomepageIn real life, when we go to our doctor for a check-up, he or she will often begin to poke, prod, and press various places, all the while asking, "Does this hurt? How about this?" If we cry out in pain, one of two things has happened. Either the doctor has pushed too hard, without the right sensitivity. Or, more likely, there's something wrong, and the doctor will say, "We'd better do some more tests to find out why that hurts!"
Now if today's focus on tithing feels irritating or uncomfortable, it might be good to examine why that is. I don't think it's because I'm pushing too hard. In the 19 months that I've been in this church, I have never preached about money or told a single person that they weren't giving enough. I've always invited folks to join in a spiritual journey toward tithing...to grow into that discipline...to be willing to always look at their giving and be open to growth. But, bottom line, I've always left it up to you and God - just as I do with our "SuperTithe" effort today. I tithe - I believe in tithing - I encourage everyone to tithe - but, bottom line..."whatever!" No, if you're feeling uncomfortable today, it's not my fault. So what is it?
When we're uncomfortable physically, it's because something is out of balance. If the doctor's poking somewhere hurts, we have to find out why. The same is true for us spiritually. When something - some topic or some challenge or some idea - makes us immediately "uncomfortable," it's important to find out why. Because, just like physical discomfort, spiritual discomfort is a sign that something is wrong...something is out of balance and needs attention to be made healthy again.
A physical pain can call for a wide variety of tests to determine the problem. In some ways, a spiritual discomfort is easier to diagnose. Almost anytime we get uncomfortable about something in our spiritual lives, we can trace it to two things: our focus...and our fear. What we are focusing on in our lives will always determine our level of spiritual health. And our fear...whatever that fear may be...will be the root of any spiritual "dis-ease" we experience.
So, first of all, whatever might be making you uncomfortable spiritually today...maybe it's not money...because it's prayer or maybe it's some feelings of guilt or disappointment or anger with God...whatever it is, I would ask you - and myself - the same question: What is the focus of your life?
You know, it doesn't take much sometimes to come between us and God. Money's great for doing that. Money often comes between people and God. Someone said that you can take two small ten-cent pieces, just two dimes, and shut out the view of a panoramic landscape. Go to the mountains and just hold two dimes closely in front of your eyes - the mountains are still there, but you can't see them at all because there's a dime shutting off the vision in each eye. It doesn't take large quantities of money to come between us and God; just a little, placed in the wrong position, will effectively obscure our view and absorb our whole focus.
And its not just money that can do that. Other material possessions can do that. Jobs can do that. New lovers or the quest for new lovers can do that! Old grudges or fantasies of worldly success can do that, too. Sometimes small things can completely obscure our view of God's big picture in our lives. And that creates a lot of spiritual discomfort.
That' s why Jesus, in that reading we heard from the Gospel of Matthew, said - essentially - "Don't put your priorities on things in this world that are not going to last. Keep your sights on things that make a lasting difference and that you can carry with you into eternity."
Last week, you know, we received a nice plaque from C.E.F.A. thanking us for our Christmas toy drive and you might remember that it said, "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." Now the emphasis there is on the last part of the saying: doing things for children, other people, the environment - these things all help change the world for the better. But, in the context of looking at our spiritual focus and the priorities in our lives, I think it's important that we look again at the first part of that saying: "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove"...PERIOD!
Jesus never said that this world was unimportant; but He said and implied over and over again that its importance is not in itself but in that to which it leads. This world is not the end of life, it is a stage on the way; therefore we must never lose our hearts and souls to this world and to the things of this world. As we travel through this world, our focus should be on something much bigger and much longer lasting!
If we're spiritually uncomfortable, we have probably lost our focus on the things of God - we may need to change our priorities in life. And when we even say the word "change" we immediately uncover the real culprit - the real cause of our misplaced focus - and that's FEAR! Fear is probably the root cause of every evil...every unhappiness...every dis-ease in our world! Spiritually, fear comes from not trusting God. Bottom-line. Every time we start a sentence with, "T'm afraid that..." what we're really saying is, "I don't trust God to..." whatever.
In another church, it seems that a member there was also having trouble with the concept of tithing. One day she revealed her doubts; she said, "Pastor, Ijust don't see how I can give 10% of my income to the church when I can't even keep on top of my bills." The Pastor replied, "Joan, if I promise to make up the difference in your bills if you should fall short, do you think you could try tithing for just one month?" After thinking for a minute, Joan said, "Sure, if you promise to make up any shortage, I guess I could try tithing for one month." The Pastor smiled at her and sighed and said, "Now, what do you think of that! You say you'd be willing to put your trust in a mere mortal like myself, who possesses so little materially, but you couldn't trust God who owns the whole universe!"
Whether its money or relationships orjobs or material needs, it seems that we all have trouble trusting God. We give into that demon named "fear" whose only purpose in the world is to come between us and the One who can provide everything that we need...up to and including genuine happiness!
We need to hear more clearly and strongly those words from 2 Timothy: "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline !" Imagine how different our lives would be if, instead of operating from a basis of fear, we would depend on God's power, operate from a place of love (including loving ourselves!) and use our God-given ability for self-discipline! If we truly did those things, we'd never be spiritually dis-eased again!
I still have a lot to learn about this principle myself and, believe me, I'm confronted with it all the time ! But I did learn a great deal about the truth of this Scripture back when I first started to tithe. It was around 1991...I had quit my former career to devote time and energy to training for professional ministry. For quite a while, I was unemployed. I got by on retirement funds from my old job, help from my parents and odd jobs here and there. And, thanks to having a good paying job during my twenties and not enough sense to know how to handle it, I also had around $12,000 in credit card debts at the time.
As a spiritual discipline and out of a desire to trust God more with my life, I began to truly tithe. 10% of my gross income every week, faithfully. And, no, things did not just magically fix themselves for me. I finally had to go to the Consumer Credit Counseling Service, cut up all my credit cards and spend six years paying off all that fun I had had!
I didn't suddenly get a fabulous job or immediately find the perfect lover or become immune to the standard pains and annoyances of everyday life. But I never went hungry. I never lost my apartment or my car. I discovered unexpected blessings and minor miracles were always there when I really needed them to be. But most importantly, I learned -- not perfectly, but much better - how to trust God. I relied on God's power. I learned to love myself enough to stop some behaviors that were really messing up my life. And I learned that I had to have some self-discipline - I had to do my part. And I still have to re-learn those lessons a lot.
But one thing I can absolutely tell you is true: IF WE DO OUR PART, GOD WILL ALWAYS DO GOD'S PART! I've heard it said that God won't do for us what we can do for ourselves. I also know its true that what we cannot do, God most surely can!
What's your spiritual discomfort today? Tithing? Or is it something else? I would suggest to us all -- myself included -- that today is a perfect day for a little spiritual self-examination. No "doctor" can poke us in the soul and find out why it hurts. Only the "Great Physician" Jesus Christ can do that. And while human doctors may prescribe any of a thousand different cures for what ails us, the treatment Jesus suggests is universal for all spiritual dis-eases. God says, "Re-focus on the big picture...stop standing in your fear... mix my power with lots oflove...use reasonable self- discipline...and call Me - every morning!" Amen.
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