Bible Text: Matthew 6:19-24 | Preacher: Pastor Dorry Newcomer | “You cannot serve God and wealth.” I doubt very much that the disciples who first heard Jesus say these words felt like they were serving money. First of all, the core group of Jesus’ disciples had actually given up their jobs and homes so they could follow him around! I think that’s pretty good evidence that God was a higher priority to them than money! But just because you’re a follower of Jesus does not mean you don’t still WORRY about money. Most people in Jesus’ day were poor. They had no paid sick days, no disability insurance, no social security, no pension plans. Having enough money to survive was a constant struggle.
But God never intended our lives to orbit around making money. Over a thousand years before Jesus, God enlisted a man by the name of Moses to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. To celebrate this safe passage, our Jewish friends observe Passover every spring, and it was during this freedom celebration that Jesus gave us the sacrament of communion and then gave up his life for us. Freedom from having our lives orbit around making money and surviving is at the heart of Jesus’ ministry to us!
Of course, at this point the disciples did not know about any of that yet. But they had enough experience with God to know money was not to be our primary allegiance. After Moses led the people out of Egypt, God called him to go up Mt. Sinai and receive the Ten Commandments. Number one: I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me (including money). Number two: Do not make or worship idols (including wealth). Number three: do not take the Lord’s name in vain. And Number 4: Six days a week you shall work, and on the seventh day you shall rest. Take a Sabbath. Show with your weekly routine that you trust God to take care of you by worshipping God and taking a break from work.
The disciples knew they were supposed to trust God and not worry about money. This was not a new idea! We know we are supposed to trust God and not worry about money. But it is so hard! I mentioned last week that money is a subject that makes many people anxious. Money is the number one thing couples in America fight about, and according to a survey done by Bank of America, over half of millennials report feeling “chronic stress” about money. Older people worry about money, too. 8 out of 10 elderly people surveyed in 2018 reported being more worried about money than they were about their own deaths, or the death of their spouse. According to the internet, people worry about money a lot!
We need to be careful about believing everything we read, so let’s put this to the test a moment. I brought my wallet with me today. I don’t usually bring it to church because I walk to work, and Phil brings our offering, so as long as I have my keys, I can just leave my purse at home. But today I brought my wallet to show you, and I’m going to ask each of you to take a moment right now and get your wallet out. If it’s in your pocket or handbag, would you please take it out and hold it in your hand?
How does it feel, holding your wallet? I have had this wallet for almost 30 years. I love the feel of the leather and the snap of the change compartment. And when we open them up, they kind of tell our whole life story, don’t they? Our name, our age, where we live, photos of who we love are in there, and of course, some indication of how much money we have. Wallets are like a part of us, aren’t they?
But there’s more to life than money. As Jesus pointed out in our gospel lesson today, you can’t take it with you! So, how about we let those wallets go. Can you do that? Can you hand your wallet over to someone else in the congregation? Make a trade, and see how that feels. If there’s more money in your neighbor’s wallet than your own, it might feel good! But for most of us, the prospect of letting go of our wallets scares the pants off us! We’d rather give up just about anything else.
Okay, thank you for giving that a try. We won’t actually exchange wallets today. But before you put your wallet away, open it up and pull out one of the bills you have inside. What does our money say on it? “In God We Trust.” Isn’t ironic that money is a big source of anxiety for us, when our money says, “In God We Trust” right on it? Having more money doesn’t solve the problem of being worried about it. It seems to me, the more money you have, the more you worry it might disappear on you. Even our own money recognizes that it is a useful tool, but it is not supposed to be what we base our lives on. It is in GOD we should trust. Not our finances.
Eight years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Mexico on a mission trip with people from my church. We went for the week between Christmas and New Year’s to help build a community center that would be hurricane proof. I learned a lot about how concrete is used in construction! But there were spiritual lessons, there, too.
One of the men in our group was a native Spanish speaker, and at lunch time Ernesto and I were sent on an errand to get some supplies. As we were walking through the community, Ernesto greeted everyone we met. Buenos dias, como esta? Although I did not understand most of the responses, everyone seemed happy. But one man said, “Muy tranquilo.” You don’t have to know much Spanish to know that tranquilo means tranquil. At peace. Calm. Not worried. This man lived in a community where the houses were literally made of scraps of wood and metal, cobbled together as best they could. They were barely rainproof, let alone hurricane proof—and he was calm???? Later I asked Ernesto what else that man had said. Ernesto told me, the man thanked us for coming and helping his community. He said he is tranquilo, calm and at peace, because he knows God is with us, and God is with him.
Every once in a while, I think about that man in Mexico. He embodies for me what Christian witness is all about. God is with us, and by our ministries, we try to show others that God is with them, too. And that is the best news ever. I only understood one word—tranquilo. But his countenance was proof that God is real to him. His countenance was his witness to the world, that it is indeed in God whom he trusts. I think Jesus wishes every Christian could experience and enjoy that kind of peace.
I once heard an older man say, “Never love anything that can’t love you back.” Money can’t love us back. The houses and cars we buy with it don’t love us back. Our jobs don’t love us back. Don’t get too attached to these things! Love only that which can love you back. I think that is a good summary of what Jesus was trying to say. If you make money your master, you might have more pleasure in your life—but you will more of the things that last forever, like love, peace, and joy. God does not command us to put God first because God needs our allegiance. God commands us to put God first because that is the best way to make sure we are ordering our lives around things that last and satisfy and bless.
Have you ever heard of a watchword? A watchword is a motto or slogan, a defining principle. I first started attending a Methodist church in college, and it was right before the hymnals that we have now came out. One week we sang a song I had never heard before: Truehearted, wholehearted, faithful and loyal. I loved its upbeat music, and the words blew me away. I was so disappointed when the new hymnal came out and it wasn’t in there! The words are written by Frances Havergal, who lived in England in the mid to late 1800’s. She also wrote, “Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee.” Loyalty, dedication, and responding to God’s goodness with your whole being—those were big themes in her writing.
The chorus of this hymn says, “Peal out the watchword.” What is our watchword? How about ‘In God We Trust?” That is our guiding principle as Christians. This time of year, the squirrels are so busy! They are squirreling away every nut they can find in preparation for winter. But Jesus offers a different strategy for managing our money anxiety. Instead of basing our security on how much money we have squirreled away, we could base our security on our trust in God. We don’t have to be constantly busy. We can stop and take a rest. We can have peace, if we will make “In God we trust” our watchword!