Reflections on God and Money

Friday, 29 March 2013

Cashing in on the Cross (1)

[Jerusalem’s judges] give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, ‘Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us’.

For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain…

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money… Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain…

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain…

Micah 3:11, Titus 1:7, 1 Timothy 3:1-8 & 1 Peter 5:1

The Bible and subsequent church history contain many examples of people who think that religion is an opportunity to make money. In Acts 8, we read of a former magician who offered the apostles money to be able to have the power to ‘impart’ the Holy Spirit as he had seen them do. He gave his name to the practise of buying positions of authority in the church and simony has been a temptation ever since.

This Easter weekend, the most solemn period in the church calendar, I digress from the series on Giving & Funding to explore the commercialisation and trivialisation of what Jesus Christ did when he died on the cross.

We are rightly appalled when we hear of Christian ministers who offer to pray or prophesy for people only if they pay, either a straightforward fee or by way of a ‘donation’ to their ministry. This seems quite contrary to the qualifications for church ministry and leadership that St Paul and St Peter set out. But could there be more subtle ways of cashing in on the cross that we now take for granted, because generations of Christians have absorbed the norms of capitalism and the consumer society?

Many years ago, I was struck by the distinction between ministry and entertainment made by singer-songwriter, Keith Green, who died in 1982 aged only 28 years. It is explained in his biography, No Compromise. He accepted that Christian musicians could legitimately sell tickets to their concerts but he did not think it was justified if they considered what they did to be ministry.

‘Were [his recordings] “products” or “ministry”? Keith could see where his recordings might be a bit of both, but his reason for doing them was definitely ministry. What if someone couldn’t afford to buy one — wouldn’t that exclude them from ministry because they couldn’t pay for it?’

Today, charging Christians to join in the fellowship and ministry at conferences is commonplace. But, I wonder… Is there a meaningful distinction between charging people fixed fees to attend those sorts of events and charging them to attend church services or any other form of ministry?

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Sunday, 24 March 2013

Giving & Funding (10)

And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I (Moses) command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth…

Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out… The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you… And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.

The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow…if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Prosperity preachers often refer to Deuteronomy 28 to illustrate how God promises material wealth as the reward for obedience, particularly the obedience of giving. The passage quoted above certainly makes the blessing that God promises sound good but it needs to be balanced with the rest of the chapter, which details the sorts of chastening and punishment the people could expect if they were disobedient.

It is important to remember that the promise of both blessing and punishment was given to the nation of Israel, not to individuals, and the Torah, the ‘Old Testament Law’ that governed their way of life, had a lot to say about not hoarding wealth and doing good to the people who were less well off. If people began to hoard material wealth for themselves, to indulge their own extravagance while others suffered, that would be disobedience and the blessings would be forfeit.

Or to put it another way, the blessings were to be kept in circulation for the benefit of the entire community, not hoarded by individuals. This is why we are considering the funding of churches and other ‘Christian’ organisations alongside giving, because when Christians stop sowing it is not only their personal situations that suffer but the activities of churches and the many ‘Christian’ organisations that seek to give practical help to people in need.

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Saturday, 23 March 2013

Giving & Funding (9)

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

3 John 1:2

The above verse is a favourite among Prosperity believers but, as I quote it from the English Standard Version, its importance might not be immediately apparent. Other translations use the word ‘prosper’.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (New King James Version)

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. (New American Standard Version)

The Greek word translated 'prosper' originally meant doing well on the road, such as on a business trip, and came to mean being successful. Hebrew words translated prosper and prosperity in the Old Testament had similar meanings: to push forward, to be good, to be wise, to be profitable, to deal prudently and to enjoy success. Only quite recently has to prosper taken on the meaning of becoming rich.

The modern Prosperity Gospel developed from the much older Holiness Movement but it seems to me that money and material wealth is much more important to ‘Prosperity’ believers than it was to those who preceded them. Even a few generations ago, a teacher like E W Kenyon (1867-1948), who many ‘Prosperity’ preachers point to as their inspiration, expected God to provide for him without expecting to be personally rich: at times, he may have handled a lot of money but it passed through his hands and did not stick to his fingers.

The first misunderstanding I want to avoid, therefore, is that material wealth is available to Christians just for the asking. As I explained yesterday, self-interest and selfishness defeats our prayers.

The second misunderstanding is that by giving we can in some way trigger an automated blessing from God. We cannot! Giving is not like buying into a guaranteed investment plan. Of course, God is pleased with obedience but it does not qualify us for a reward of riches; rather, our obedience begins to change us into the sorts of people who, if God so wished, could be trusted with riches.

The third misunderstanding is that sowing and reaping is a way to get rich. I will explain why tomorrow.

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