The love of money is the root of all evil.    1 Timothy 6:6-19           September 30, 2007 PM

In this scripture, we have one of the most famous verses. The love of money is the root of all evil. Tonight, I want tot talk about money.

Let’s be honest. We all love money. Money gives us identity. It gives us power. So how can money the root of the evils that ravage our society?

It used to be that owning a home and a fat stock portfolio was the way to go. It used to be that we could depend on job security. If we worked hard and were loyal to our company, we would be rewarded. These days, however, we can't predict when the hatchet comes down and we become victims of layoffs due to downsizing and/or corporate bankruptcy. An unpredictable market and skyrocketing prices add to our gloomy picture.

The American dream includes a house, a car, lots of clothes, home furnishings, and high end entertainment products. The trouble is, that American dream has been built on a mountain of debt. There are many stories about the plight of people who have lived above their means and are now paying the price.

I found this chilling statistic that on average, total household debt (not including real property like mortgages) has topped a 120% our disposable annual income. That means that on average, we owe 20% more than we take home in one year.

How did things get so out of hand? That’s a great question! Perhaps it's our misguided hope for a better life than that of generations before us. I wonder if our problems with money springs out a desire to be something we are not. An article by (Tahira Hira) a professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University, explains it for us this way: "Our money behavior is actually a big expression of who we are inside. It shows how much we are willing to accept reality and how much we want to be something that we are not." This is classic narcissism.

I’ve listened to financial advisors like Suze Orman. Their main message is to get out of debt first, especially credit card debt. The second is use a designated part of your money invest and save. Pay yourself first! I agree!

At a recent stewardship class, I learned that on average, American families spend 4% of their income just to pay the interest on their credit card debt. That’s really astounding because we know Lutheran, on average give 1.7% of income. Let me say it this way. On average, Americans spend twice as much to service credit card debt as the average of Lutheran families give to charities.

There’s plenty of references to money in scripture that can help us with the issue of money.. Jesus told a story about a rich man who lived a charmed life. Luke tells us that he dressed in expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day. Outside his house was a poor and sickly man, Lazarus. His only means of survival were the crumbs that fell off the rich man's table. One day death met both men. The rich man, tormented and in great pain, looked up from hell to see Lazarus sitting very near Abraham. Now the rich man, who had never had a thought for Lazarus while on earth, begs to have his afflictions soothed by Lazarus.

"Remember...that in your life time you were given all good things," Abraham answers, "while Lazarus had bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here while you are in pain."

Do we ever give eternity a thought? Nothing in life is promised to us except this day, this moment. Nothing in life is more certain than death. The sin that took the rich man to hell was not his wealth. The sin that took him there was his indifference to the sufferings of Lazarus.

The proper use of money is found in the Great Commandment. It calls us to love God with all our heat mind, and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. 1 John reminds us that if we say we love God and not our brother or sister, we are liars. "For we cannot love God whom we have not seen, if we do not love others whom we have seen." 1 John 5:20.

Now I’m assuming that everyone here loves God. We have no trouble with that. But, it's quite another story when it comes to loving our neighbor. Out of love, God gave us Christ Jesus who, stripping himself of all wealth and glory, walked in to the cross on Calvary. The only way the people in the world will see God’s love is through us. Our purpose at Grace is to reach out to others to plant the seeds of Christ’s love.

Here’s my point. Our money issues and our spiritual issues go hand in hand. I have found that if you think you also have a spiritual problem, you probably have a money problem. If you have a problem with money, you also have spiritual problem. Let’s explore that further.

Personally, many years ago before seminary, I remember when it felt like we never had enough. Credit card debt was high. We felt like we couldn’t give more to work of the church. What I discovered was while I thought we were in financial trouble, we were really in spiritual trouble which led to our financial trouble.

Over time, we’ve learned to solve the money problem by addressing the spiritual problem first. I’ve learned love God more than we love money. We give thanks for the blessings God has given me. I enjoy good health, have a wonderful wife, a nice house and food in the refrigerator. I drive a car to work, enjoy the company of good friends, and have plenty of things to wear. We give thanks to God for all that we have. God gives all that we need, not all that we might want.

Now let me say this plainly. God does not hate rich people. Some of God’s chosen people were very wealthy: Abraham, David, Solomon, Job. Throughout the scriptures we read how God promises his people that he will multiply, bless, and increase what they have been given. Paul does not tell us that money is the root of all evil, but the love of it is!

In our scripture reading, we hear these words. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life. Deeper for us than the pursuit of money, is the eternal life that Jesus has given us. Our goal is to know Christ’s love today and forever, even beyond our death, into eternity. For us, the good race of the faith is run in pursuit of treasures in heaven. It is there, this reading assures us, that we win the life which is the true life.