In Matthew 25 we see a king going off to a far away land and leaving a very large sum of money in the possession of three stewards.  A steward is the one given the responsibility to manage a household. The Greek word translated into English literally is economy. In God’s economy he owns everything and entrusts us to manage what he gives us. No it is not biblical for our government to own everything and distribute it evenly but they think it is. ( I digress)

God gives to each of us and you are in charge of your portion, and whether it is handled wisely or poorly is strictly up to you. We see this played out in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13). First the seeds are people who either accept the gospel of Christ or deny the gospel of Christ. Those who accept the Gospel of Christ will produce either 30, 60, or 100 fold. But what ever you produce you will be held accountable for.

The Talents here are money not talents like we think of.  A talent is said to equal about 6000 denari and a denari is a days wage.  We work about 260 days per year so this would be equal to 23 years of wages.  In those days the man with 5 denari would have at least 2 1/2 life times worth of money.  But he did not use it unwisely, nor did the second man.  They both used what they were given to get more.  They multiplied their gifts for the kingdom.

I retrieved the following quote from Preaching Today.com:

In his Books & Culture article “A Lot of Lattés,” Ron Sider reviews Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money
, a book “about the pitifully small charitable donations of the richest Christians in history.” Sider offers a synopsis of some of the authors’ findings:

Twenty percent of American Christians (19 percent of Protestants; 28 percent of Catholics) give nothing to the church. Among Protestants, 10 percent of evangelicals, 28 percent of mainliners, 33 percent of fundamentalists, and 40 percent of liberal Protestants give nothing. The vast majority of American Christians give very little—the mean average is 2.9 percent. Only 12 percent of Protestants and 4 percent of Catholics tithe.

A small minority of American Christians give most of the total donated. Twenty percent of all Christians give 86.4 percent of the total. The most generous five percent give well over half (59.6 percent) of all contributions. But higher-income American Christians give less as a percentage of household income than poorer American Christians. In the course of the 20th century, as our personal disposable income quadrupled, the percentage donated by American Christians actually declined.

If just the “committed Christians” (defined as those who attend church at least a few times a month or profess to be “strong” or “very strong” Christians) would tithe, there would be an extra 46 billion dollars a year available for kingdom work. To make that figure more concrete, the authors suggest dozens of different things that $46 billion would fund each year: for example, 150,000 new indigenous missionaries; 50,000 additional theological students in the developing world; 5 million more micro loans to poor entrepreneurs; the food, clothing and shelter for all 6,500,000 current refugees in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East; all the money for a global campaign to prevent and treat malaria; resources to sponsor 20 million needy children worldwide. [The conclusion of the authors] is surely right: “Reasonably generous financial giving of ordinary American Christians would generate staggering amounts of money that could literally change the world.”

That is all total if you did not get it. Those things and more could be done if just the committed Christians would start giving.   Take care of what you have by being faithful with it.  It is not about success it is not about the big  house or car.  If you focus on those things they will end up letting you down.  It is o.k. to have money and be a Christian but you need to remember where it came from.  Every good gift is a gift from God.

If you go to a church that is not  at least tithing what they bring in.  Find a church that is and support them with all you have.

You have different talents from mine. The body of Christ is made up of many parts. You have a function. One of my talents is not understanding complex things. I just don’t. I am not willing to put the time in to learn because I am busy building up my gifts. When we understand that building up what we can do instead of trying to work on what we can’t do will increase our contribution to the kingdom. If you work on what you can’t do you will spend hours just spinning your wheels. But if you build on your gifts you will see fruit quicker and better because that is something you are good at.

I was a copier tech for twelve years and I could never troubleshoot what was wrong with a machine. I had to call someone every time I had a major problem. I never forgot the symptom and the fix after I was told what it was but I could not just troubleshoot a problem. The KISS principle is my motto. Keep it Simple Stupid. I work on what I do best to make it better. Look at Michael Jordan. He was the greatest basketball player of all time. He was one of the worst baseball players of all time. He should have never tried to play baseball because that was not what he was gifted in.

What you bring to the table is like what no one else brings. We need each and every person here to use what God has given them and it will bring glory back to Him who has given it.

Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi is an axiom of ancient Christianity, meaning, the rule of worship is the rule of belief is the rule of life. That is, the way we are oriented in worship (whatever it might be that we focus on most devotedly) orients the way we believe and the way we live.(1) I don’t know latin but I do know a good thing when I see it.

We are told through the Old Testament that the Israelites always went back to the idols of the cultures around them.  As American Christians we sometimes are no different.  We are emerged in a culture that tells us to beautify the gospel, don’t mention sin, don’t remind people how far they are from God.  We need to be aware of where we are in our walk with Christ.  As for me I get off track.  I love politics I get caught up in the conservative vs liberal debates.  I actually agree with both sides on some issues, but that is a different blog.  We can so easily get lost and focus our worship on a cult of personality, or the t.v., or a new car that we just have to get because ours is three years old.

We can worship; worship, no joke if you have been in church over ten years you have probably seen your churches worship service change.  Both sides of that argument are worshiping something other than God when they go into those sanctuaries.

My point is this.  What ever you focus your worship on is what is going to set the way you see yourself, others, and the church.  Are you studying your bible daily, are you praying and memorizing scripture, or are you putting junk into your mind?  This week turn off the t.v., turn off the computer and fill your mind with a little more scripture.  Get some 3×5 index cards and start memorizing it as well.

(1) Jill Carattini, A Slice of Infinity daily email Newsletter January 23, 2009.  Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Eighteen hundred years or so of Hebrew history, capped by a full exposition in Jesus Christ, tell us that God’s revelation of himself is rejected far more often than it is accepted, is dismissed by far more people than embrace it, and has been either attacked or ignored by every major culture or civilization in which it has given its witness: magnificent Egypt, fierce Assyria, beautiful Babylon, artistic Greece, political Rome, Enlightenment France, Nazi Germany, Renaissance Italy, Marxist Russia, Maoist China, and pursuit-of-happiness America. The community of God’s people has survived in all of these cultures and civilizations but always as a minority, always marginal to the mainstream, never statistically significant.
—Author and pastor, Eugene Peterson

When you read that do you think wait just a minute,  America is a Christian country.  Maybe!  I tend to agree with Pastor Peterson more than I don’t.  Look around you.   How many Christians do you know that are just like they were 10 or 20 or even 30 years ago? I know people who have never become disciples of Christ.  They have never learned one thing from him.  They are hate filled and angry because they have never let go of the hurt caused them twenty years ago or more.

Look at the sheep and the goats.  Jesus said you will say Lord, Lord but I will not know you (Matthew 25).  I read that and look at our Christian culture and think how many are really going in.  God’s grace is bigger than me so I know I can be wrong.  I’m just saying look and think.

Look at the big churches today.  Pastors with private jets and chauffeured cars if not chauffeured then high dollar.  Jesus did not have a home.  Do you wonder why the church is laughed at,  why we have no witness, or why people think we just want their money.  We have done no discipleship and told people just say a prayer and you’re in.  In Romans where it says believe in your heart.  That actually means believe, not say a prayer and your in, in case your wondering.

The water from the well of Jesus is sweet and refreshing and it gives so much more than the world can (John 4).  Take time this week to set at the feet of Jesus and learn from him.  Let him change you and make you into a man or woman after his heart.  Will life get easier?  No, all the same trials will be there but when you  start giving your life to him and want to know only him and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2) the turn around in your perspective will happen.  It has taken me twelve years to get to a point where I look at life through the lens of Christ.  It is a wonderful lens not at all rose-colored but truth colored with the right perspective on the trials of life.

As Christ followers we are supposed to learn from him.  There is no such thing as a carnal Christian,  either you are in or you are out (James 1).  Get into the word and take a big drink from the well of Jesus and I think you will like what you taste.  Stop being a bully with your family or church.  Stop lying on your taxes.  Stop trying to get an edge on the others at your work.  Be an example, be a Christian.