River Road Church Baptist

Dr. Cecil E. Sherman

October 19, 2003

Where Your Treasure Is

Matthew 6:19-21, 24

I got you in the balcony.   Fred, I can see you!   Heretofore you’ve been blurred.   I understand it’s you, but only by a bowtie!   Now, I’ve got a fix on you.   Of course the only problem is I can’t see my notes.   It’s different.   So if I say something that is a little amiss today, I hope you’ll understand I’m trying to deal with something that is totally different from all of my life.   I have been nearsighted and now all of the sudden I’m farsighted.   I’ll get used to this, but when the process was over, I couldn’t read a menu in the restaurant, until I went to Walgreen’s and got these expensive glasses that are now parked on my nose and at some later time I will get an appropriate pair that will solve this problem.

But in the meantime, I want to talk with you today about the position our church is in as we anticipate pledging a budget next week.   And this is the right time to talk about it.   You have heard some excellent statements by lay people in this congregation as they’ve approached this each in his/her own way and said things that were appropriate, that were testimonial in quality and described a dedication that is to the health of this house.   I hope that my comments will have the same effect.   You’re going to making up your mind in the week to come about whether or not you pledge, about whether or not you change the pledge that some of you regularly make.   I hope this sermon can be a presence in your deliberations about giving to this church.  

I want to deal with three questions.   First of all, I want to talk about the substantive and actually theological question. Why does talking about money sometimes offend?   Now I’m not talking about money in a boorish way.   If I’m crude, if I am offensive because of bad manners that’s beside the point.   But I’m talking about when it is done right and still is offensive, what’s the problem? What are we dealing with here?   And I want to deal with that question for several minutes.   First, money, I don’t think is any longer simply a medium of exchange.   Money has now come to measure us.   Frequently you will hear the question, what’s he worth?   What does she make?   Does that tell you all you want to know?   Is that all there is?   Am I simply a number?   Is that the way you describe a human being made in the image of God?   We should get a Dunn and Bradstreet report on you. What do they want to know?   What they measure is simply things that can be quantified in dollars.   But that’s not all people are.  

My daughter, while her husband was finishing his medical school, worked for SMU.   She was given a job being counselor to first and second year students in the School of Business.   She had a series of questions that she was assigned to sit with and ask each student.   A student from Mississippi was asked the question, why did you come to SMU?   The boy said, “I heard that your school of business was good.”   “Anything else?” she asked. “I understand that you can help me to make a lot of money fast.”   That’s it.   Make a lot of money fast.   There was a time when education had a larger assignment.   Now at church, this very pervasive idea of measuring people by what they have accumulated is challenged.   Jesus is supposed to be the standard at church.   He said that our notions about money are very revealing of who we are, and he set forth his own idea.   I offer five illustrations from Jesus.   “No one can serve two masters.   You cannot serve God and wealth.”   Now, a lot of things that I said about money in the previous five minutes, you could say, “Well, that’s people outside.”   But this text really is aimed at my heart.   You, Cecil, cannot serve God and wealth.   Actually, I’m more like you, you meaning most Americans, than I am proud of.   I want to be a dedicated Christian and I want to accumulate a nice chunk of change and I want to do both of these at the same time.   That’s about where you are.   What we want is to have it both ways.   Jesus said, “You can’t serve God and money.”

Second idea from Jesus – he told a story that is labeled in your Bible, ‘The parable of the rich fool.’   It’s in Luke and tells a story about a man who’s in the farming business.   He prospers, he must be smart, and he must have been hardworking and his prosperity led to more barns and finally he accumulated a sizable amount and he said, “So, take thy needs, eat, drink, and be merry.”   Then Jesus inserts, “But God decided the man should die.”   Then whose will these things be?   And when it said God decided it said, “You fool.”   Different standard of values here.   It’s not just add up the toys at the end and see who’s got the biggest, the best, and the most.   Jesus said, “God’s going to measure you by a different standard.”

Third illustration from Jesus—he told a story about Dives and Lazarus, the one was rich the other was poor.   In the story, the rich man is described as both hard-hearted, insensitive and unprepared for eternity and would not become aware of his condition until after his death.   An idea that appears several times in the New Testament, but I am particularly working from Jesus.

Fourth illustration from Jesus—he told a story, but not a parable about a man who ran to him and said, “Good master, what must I do to have eternal life?”   Jesus said, “You know the commandments, don’t do this, do this, and don’t do this, and do this.”   He said, “All that stuff I’ve done since I was small.”   Jesus said, “Well, in your case, one thing, give away all you have to the poor, and then come and follow me.”   And the fellow said, “Well, don’t you think that’s a pretty steep price?   How about fifty percent?   Let’s make a deal.   Could I follow you for forty?”   If you’re really hooked on your stuff, this text says, Jesus handcrafts salvation.   In your case, turning it loose is the only evidence that God really is Lord of your life.

Last illustration from Jesus is the widow’s mite.   She was willing to give all she had and trust God for provision.   The thing that hangs up some of us is we construct our lives to where we couldn’t do that if we wanted.   By the time we get through with our debts, our obligations – well, I couldn’t deal with the pledge, because if I dealt with the pledge it would put my livelihood in jeopardy.   Well, this is what the widow did.   She didn’t have anything, but she gave away what little bit she had and Jesus admired that no end and that’s why people at River Road who don’t have a lot, but have their lives in control are not only welcome, they are honored.   And then there are people who have a lot and do have their lives in control, think like Jesus, and they give in proportion.   Then we have a sizable number of people who are members of the church, but they must not care much about it, because Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, is where your heart is.” There’s none of their treasure here.   If you don’t think so, look at the table that was inserted in your order of worship.   Embarrassingly, the largest number of our company gives nothing at all.  

Now the reason I went at some length on why does it offend when you talk about money, it’s because there are two colliding standards here.   A human being is measured by how much he has, and then the Jesus standards that we say, “Well, that’s so otherworldly.”   Well, of course Jesus is otherworldly.   And a good part of me ought to be also.   You see, if you really get serious about being a Christian, you’re asked to break your idols and we make money larger and larger and larger and larger until it becomes our security.   It becomes the evidence of our success.   It becomes our hope in old age.   Well, of course you would be offended when I challenged these ideas.   It’s just a collision of values and you have to decide who you are.   A long time ago missionaries used to ask people to break their idols.   Pledge cards come about as close to that as anything we do.

Now the second idea I’ll deal with more quickly – why are churches beggars?   It’s not that people can’t give.   That doesn’t have anything to do with it.   You can go up and down River Road and we live in a prosperous section of our city and the churches are attractive, but if you look at some of the budgets of those churches, they’re beggars.   They’re broke.   They’ve got good causes, begging, and they don’t have the money to fund them.   The people who constituted the budget that has been offered to us, turned away good things, not extravagant things, good things, godly things, things that are consistent with our mission, but they’re not included because they did not anticipate that we would come forward with that much money.   Why are churches beggars?   Well, first, we’re afraid to ask.   Pastors are insecure, sore subjects are not addressed. The highest good is keep everybody happy.   How in the world can you keep everybody happy and keep your hand out?   So you create an impossible circumstance and so lots of preachers just dampen down, they just close, don’t talk about that.   I’ve had full-grown, mature, pastors say, “I don’t deal with this subject.”   Well, that’s a crying shame, because the idolatry I described in the first point is a spiritual thing.   That’s why I said it’s theological.   It’s a spiritual illness when you think that way.   The object of being a Christian is to think more and more and more and more and more like Jesus.   Which is hard to do.   We have not because we ask not.

The second reason we don’t have is because we don’t teach stewardship, nor expect it.   Look at that table.   The largest number of people give nothing.   The next three sections, 270 something, the next four sections about half that, and the last four sections about half of half.   Translated: we have not done a good job teaching or expecting stewardship.   And of course you have what you ask for.   You have what you teach, you have what you create, and we’ve not taught it.   The Bible in the Old Testament asked people for a title – ten percent.   Hardly mentioned in the New Testament.   I’ve heard people say, “Don’t give me that Old Testament and don’t give me legalism.”   Folks, if legalism were a problem at River Road, George would carry money to the bank in a wheelbarrow.   Legalism isn’t our problem.   That’s like somebody worrying about getting to the parking lot because of the saber toothed tigers.   They’re gone folks.   Legalism is not a problem.   Preachers talking about giving…not often enough.   Our problem is we have not created the reasonable expectation that if take part in this enterprise you’re expected to give.   That’s right.   So some people say, “Well, give us New Testament giving.”   Are you really ready to give like Barnabus?   So I’ll make a deal with you.   Let’s go back to the Old Testament.   New Testament giving is steep stuff made for full-grown Christians.

Finally, churches are beggars because they’ve stopped competing for the charity dollar.   We don’t ask much, we don’t say much, but did you know that the University of Richmond has a department and they people who work in that department whose job it is to keep track of folk who care about the University of Richmond and may give a lot of money to it.   My Alma Mater has a whole fleet of people who work in what they call ‘external affairs.’   Translated:   they raise money for Baylor University.   That’s what they do full time.   Well, they keep up with folks.   They care about folks.   They chase folks.   They take people to lunch, they court people; we don’t do much of that stuff.   Actually, the church created the University of Richmond and Baylor University and some of you take care of the kids better than you take care of mother.   Now, this isn’t an anti-children statement.   Dot and I have given to the children of the church all our lives.   But do you mind taking care of mother while you take care of the kids?   Some of you are exceedingly generous, but the church is a recipient of but little of your generosity.   I want you to reconsider that.   Look at what the church does and make up your mind.

Last idea – what are we to do?   Next Sunday we’re to bring pledge cards.   I have some suggestions for you and at this point. I would be bold enough to ask you to use the order of worship to jot down two or three ideas.   Now if you don’t like this, just leave it in the car after church.   But I want to make some suggestions.   First, I want you to give this subject some thought.   Too many people in our church have not given giving a very serious thought.   I’d like you to look at the budget and I’d like you to think about your part in it.   This is something that I’ve had to do this year.   I bumped into expenses this year I’ve never had before.   I’ve had to think about this budget and my part in it and I’m not going to stand up in front of these people and ask them to make a pledge if I’m not committed to it.   I’ve had to think about it.   I want you to think about it.   Your circumstance is different from mine; mine’s different from yours.   This year, will you give this a thought and I will trust where your thoughts take you.   Just think about it.   Don’t flip that thing over there and just either ignore it or do what I’ve always done and that’s the second thing.   Break out of your giving rut.   The table that I have referred to a couple of times in this sermon is designed to pry you out of a giving rut.

A guy in Ashville named Robert Lewis who was a mortician and owned a cemetery and all this kind of stuff.   He had been very active in the church.   He was on the committee that built that church in 1927.   When I met him he was an elderly man.   One day he said, “I give a lot of money to that church.   I always have.”   We were riding out to a cemetery, a funeral.   I said, “Uncle Bob, what do you give?”   He said, “I give $50 a month.”   I said, “Are you serious?”   He said, “Sure I’m serious, I’ve been giving $50 a month since the depression.”   I said, “In the depression, that was a big gift Uncle Bob.   Right now it’s peanuts.”     I said, “Rethink what you give.   You’ve sold cemetery lots all over this place.   You’re sitting on a pile of money and you can’t take it with you.   You’re not getting any younger.   I’m doing you a favor.   Rethink what you’re giving.”   About ten funerals later we were riding out there and he said, “You know I’ve been thinking about what you said.”   I said, “Good.   Where ever it turns out it’ll be good.”   I’m serious.   Wherever it turns out Uncle Bob’s a good guy.   He just hadn’t had anybody get his attention.   That’s what preachers are for.   I’m serious.   I get no points for being offensive.   I get points when I get you to think in the direction that your own thoughts will take you if I can get you to think about the subject and reconsider where you are.

Next idea – some of you need to start making a pledge.   That’s right.   Start making a pledge.   Now, a pledge is not ironclad and it’s not legally binding.   But a pledge at this church is kept.   On the first pledge campaign this church gave 101% of the amount of money you pledged.   Pledges are kept around here if we can get you to pledge.   Not half the families in this church pledge.   That’s not to our credit.   So many things are good here.   Some things aren’t so good here and that’s one of them.   You need to make a pledge because that sort of nails your feet to the floor and you’ll do what you’ll say you’ll do.   Some of you don’t do it and by not doing it you fudge.   Well, I didn’t make a pledge, don’t have to do that, just give whatever I want to, so you wind up being a token giver.   Pledge givers rise to their own expectations.   It does you good.   It locks you in and also it helps the finance committee.   It’s a good thing around here to live by faith, but you can take that off the charts too.

The fourth thing – if you’re tithing you’re unusual.   Keep it up and if you aren’t, start working toward it.   I’m not asking you to go from giving nothing to tithing.   I’m asking you to go from giving 2 or 3 percent of your income to 5 percent with a point of view next year to 6.   Take a step in the right direction.

The last idea – move toward cheerful giving.   That’s right.   Get to where you can talk about this and smile.   You know some people think that when you talk about this, if you don’t have lines in your face and your mouths not all screwed up like you’re sucking a lemon, you must not understand the situation.   Paul told the Corinthians, “God loves a cheerful giver.”   You see, when you give, nearly everybody starts off grudging and moves toward enjoy.   The oldest people around here enjoy their gifts more than the youngest people, but when we were young, we didn’t enjoy it either.   It’s growth.   You get to where you can talk about this and see that it may be the most enduring, the most hopeful, of all the monies I spend and are invested in God’s house, Christ’s church, mission work, as this church extends herself.   That’s the best money I spend.   Now, I found out electricity’s important a few weeks ago.   That was a lesson we all learned.   But hey folks, this is important too if the values of Jesus are kept in view.   I’m not asking you to do anything I’m not doing myself.   This is something we need to attend to.   Now, why in the world sing a hymn and invite people to join the church after a sermon like this?  

Because from the getgo you understand that this is not a cheap outfit and being a Christian is not a freebie and it never has been. And if it’s been presented to you that way, it’s been misrepresented.   We ask a whole lot less than Jesus did. That’s not necessarily to our credit and this has been a step in the right direction. So when we sing, some of you might say, “Well, I’m not sure I want to join.   I’ll way until next year.”   You wait until next year the chances of hearing a sermon like this are 1 in 100, make that 1 in 1,000.   It’s not likely.   This is the only time you’re likely to meet this one, right in the middle of the row.   This is what ought to be expected around here, now let’s step up and do the right thing, today, and next week.   Let us stand.

CES; Lisa King, mt