Who's Your Master?

Luke 16

There Jesus goes talking about money again.  He sure makes things personal sometimes doesn’t He?  Allow me to skip past the parable of the dishonest manager and get straight to verse 13.  No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money.  Notice how it says cannot as opposed to should not.  In other words serving both God and money is not even an option.  It’s an impossibility.  As a disciple of Jesus you have to make a choice.  Either Jesus is God or money is God.  This gives weight to the potential money can have as an idolatrous place in our lives.

I can sum up how not to commit idolatry with our money in one word; tithe.  For those reading who may not be familiar with the concept of a tithe it’s simply giving 10% of your income back to the church and the work of God’s Kingdom.  When you tithe you are supposed to give that ten percent right up front as opposed to giving what’s left over.  Of course if you wait to give what’s left over you probably won’t have a full ten percent available.  When I tithe it’s a way of acknowledging all that I have is Gods, and I’m giving ten percent back to him as an act of worship and thankfulness.  For some of you tithing ten percent may seem impossible because your finances are way too tight.  If that’s the case then I recommend regular percentage giving.  Find a percentage that hurts a little and tests your faith by giving it regularly off the top of your paycheck before you pay any other bills.  If you do it I know you’ll be blessed.  Even if you are not a church goer, and you’re not so sure about this whole Christianity thing, my recommendation for you is to find a charity you like and start giving regularly to it.  It helps to get your priorities straight when it comes to money. 

Tithing is fresh on my mind today because I just finished adding up our charitable giving for 2012 (April 15^th will be here before we know it).  Between tithing to our church and a number of other missions and charitable organizations that we regularly give to I get caught off guard by the amount of our total giving.  I hope that doesn’t sound like bragging.  I’m sure there are plenty of people who give a higher percentage of their income than we do.  My point is, I see that number and it makes me thankful for God’s provisions and blessings in my life, and it makes me excited to keep on giving.    

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father I thank you for all Your provisions; for food on the table, for a warm home, for jobs, for family, for everything.  Help me to remember that all good things come from You, and to keep on giving joyfully and sacrificially, knowing the ultimate sacrifice of Your Son Jesus Christ on my behalf.  Amen.