Wednesday, November 21, 2007
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When I travel - which seems to be most of the time - I always try to carry some quarters. I think it started when the kids were growing up. It says in the Dad's Job Description, "must have quarters at all times." Now I carry them partially because you never know when you're going to be needing a vending machine - actually, you're going to want a vending machine. I'm in a hotel, I'm working late, and I want a snack, I want a cold drink, I want today's newspaper. I go through the familiar ritual: put the quarters in, hit the selection button, something good comes out. At least it better. It's pretty annoying if you put your money in and don't get anything back. Why, I probably won't put any more money in that machine!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Unplugging the Vending Machine."
A report came out recently on the giving of American Christians, and it was very revealing. The survey discovered, the report says, that American Christians expect to get something back when they give. Sounds like that vending machine, doesn't it? For example, the survey found that when they give to their church, they expect to get it back in things like new drapes, new hymnbooks, a better choir, better parking. Put something in - get something out. And don't put any money into a machine that doesn't give you anything back. The researchers call that consumer giving. They could call it vending machine giving.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 12:41. "Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and He watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on."
So what kind of giving did Jesus honor? Sacrificial giving. He's far more interested in the size of the sacrifice than the size of the gift. And what kind of giving did Jesus model? Sacrificial giving. Aren't you glad Jesus wasn't a consumer giver? We would all still be headed for eternal death. But He gave everything with no thought of return.
So maybe consumer giving is an oxymoron. Someone might say, "OK, so we like to give to things where we get something back - where it does something for us. So what?" Maybe that's why it's taking missionaries, now, two or three years to get their support raised, while people keep dying without Christ on their mission field. Or why the missions conference is fighting for its' life in many churches. Or one reason why the American missionary force in the world dropped by 20% in five years - the lowest point since World War II. After all, what's in it for me to give to some missionary out there?
Is it any wonder that so many ministries are struggling financially as never before; especially those who are called to evangelism? After all, the lost are those people, not my people. But those people are why Jesus came! In many cases, Satan's attempts to stop Jesus' warriors have failed - so have his attempts to stop their attacks on His kingdom. But when all else fails, stop their supplies! A soldier without bullets can't wage much of a war.
It's time for each of us to examine our own priorities before the Lord, because He's the one we answer to and see if we're giving to get. The holy work of Jesus Christ is not a vending machine. It's an eternal investment that may not pay off now, but will reap incalculable dividends forever!