Last year about this time Andy Hawkins, pitcher for the New York Yankees, managed a history-making feat. He pitched a complete no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox...& lost the game 4-0. Only one other major league pitcher has ever thrown 9 innings of ball without a hit & lost. That loss was by a much more respectable 1-0 score.
You ask, how can you lose a game where you allowed no hits? Well, first you walk 2 batters; walks don't count as hits. Next you have 3 teammates make errors. Errors put men on base but are not counted as hits against the pitcher's record.
The result of all this is that the pitcher's results that day in the record-book look far better than his results on the stadium scoreboard.
That bears a funny similarity to real life. Some of us look very good in our own scorebooks because we choose what things we'll judge ourselves on. We forget the walks and fielding errors and believe we're pitching no-hit games. Our record -books, however, are not the final word. God sees all things, & that affects the final score!
I'm not in the pulpit this morning with the intention of making any of us feel guilty. There is an area in the life of our church, though, where many of us are not lighting up the scoreboard as we could or should. That is in our giving.
In our lesson from Paul's 2nd letter to the Corinthians, Paul praises the generosity of the church at Macedonia. He uses their giving as an example to challenge the church at Corinth. He says gently to the Corinthians, "Now as you excel in everything- -in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all earnestness, & in your love for us--see that you excel in this gracious work also."(RSV) The gracious work of which Paul speaks is giving.
That's pretty tactful. "You're lighting up the scoreboard in every area," Paul is saying, "but one. Let's try to light it up with our giving as well." Then Paul adds, "I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love is real." Paul is not demanding that they increase their giving. He hopes that they will see that giving is a natural consequence of Christian devotion.
I hope each of us see that as well. I want to offer some reasons this morning why generous giving is critical to the devotional life of a Christian.
THE FIRST REASON CONCERNS THE SEDUCTIVE NATURE OF WEALTH.
This is not a sermon against money. In just a few moments we are going to be talking about some of the wonderful things money can do. There is something very dangerous about money, however, & that is this: THE MORE YOU HAVE, THE HARDER IT IS TO SHARE. That's true. A recent Gallup poll confirms what many of us have observed for years. Donations to charity decrease as income increases. The survey found that low & moderate-income Americans, especially churchgoers, are more generous than upper-income Americans.
The Rev. Reuben Tinker, an eloquent Presbyterian preacher, put it this way back in 1830: "The heavier the purse string hangs down, the tighter the strings." Tinker said, "If a thousand poor people were given a thousand dollars, they would give more than a rich man who was given a million dollars."
Think about it. The same person who had no difficulty tithing when his salary was $100 a week has real difficulty when his salary reaches $1000 per week--after all, 10% of $1,000 every week is a lot of money!
It should work the other way. It should get easier to give as our wealth increases, but it does not. There is something about money that hardens us.
According to Dr. Thomas J. Stanley, a recognized authority on selling to wealthy prospects & the author of MARKETING TO THE AFFLUENT, it is very difficult to get people with money to see anything else. When wealthy participants in his studies were asked if they would like the money for participating in the studies donated to their favorite charity, the response was rarely charitable. One millionaire even admitted, "I'm my favorite charity."
It is like a man who bought a baby python and played with it until he had trained it to wrap itself around his body. Then he took his act to the circus where people clapped & cheered as he showed his mastery over this fierce reptile. Until one night he gave the signal for the python to release him, & the python decided otherwise. The cheers of the crowd turned slowly to screams as the crowd began to realize that the great serpent was crushing its so-called master.
As attractive & wonderful as money is, that is its nature. No wonder Jesus talked more about money than any other subject. No wonder he warned that we could not serve God & mammon too.
So, you see, giving is a spiritual question. For some of us, our very souls are at stake.
Maxie Dunnam tells a memorable story that speaks to the very heart of this matter. First United Methodist Church of Charlotte, N.C., an old downtown church with many affluent members, extended its ministry to the city's poor & homeless.
When these domestic refugees became highly visible on church property, one well-dressed and well-educated church woman stopped minister Harold Bales in the church corridor, obviously wanting a justification for the presence of the intruders.
Rev. Bales explained that he was trying to save people from hell. The woman, hesitantly agreed that the church should make an effort to save the street people from hell.
"No, I don't mean them," Rev. Bales said, "I'm trying to save us from hell." That's powerful, but its true. Many people in our society are in danger of becoming rich fools--gaining the world, but losing their own souls. That's the 1st reason giving is an important spiritual matter--the seductive nature of wealth.
THE SECOND HAS TO DO WITH THE WONDERFUL THINGS MONEY CAN BUY.
I'm not going to be a hypocrite about it, I like having money. I can appreciate the millionaire who told a group of acquaintances, "I know you're envious of my wealth. But just remember that money is not everything. Money will not mend a broken heart or win the love of a good woman. No, my friends, money cannot brighten a home or reassemble the fragments of a broken dream. Money cannot buy happiness." He paused for a moment, then added, "Of course, I mean confederate money." At least he was being honest about his feelings.
I agree with Woody Allen: "Money is better than poverty--if only for financial reasons."
Did you hear about the biologist who crossed a pig with a giraffe? He says he's eating a lot higher on the hog. Terrible, I know.
Few of us live high on the hog. Most are in the same boat as former pro golfer Doug Sanders. He says, "I'm working as hard as I can to get my life & my cash to run out at the same time.
If I can die right after lunch Tuesday, everything will be great."
Regardless of our circumstances, we have to admit that there are some things only money can buy. Like braces for your children's teeth & a good education. Like quality health care & a worry free retirement. Like dependable transportation & a warm house on a cold night. In a society such as ours money is a very valuable commodity.
The late G.A. Studdert-Kennedy once said that the real meaning of money was brought home to him him in a powerful way. He saw a girl, living in a veritable pigsty, dying of tuberculosis. The girl could get well, but only on one condition: somebody had to find enough money to transport her to a decent place where she could have fresh air, professional care, & good food. Studdert-Kennedy went out & got the money, & then he knew, he said, what money is. "It is the power to demand a human service & to be sure that you will get it."
Our giving is a spiritual matter simply because there are some things in this world only money can do. Money can help house the homeless & feed the hungry. Money can send Bibles to new Christians in developing countries. It can provide counsellors to young people in runaway shelters. It can build a beautiful place of worship to call secular people back to God.
You probably have enough money in your wallet right now to feed a hungry child for several days. Think of the power that gives you. You can make a difference in whether or not a child survives! I wish that child could be fed with our prayers & best wishes, but without money it will not happen.
One day a boy was walking in the street carrying a basket of eggs. He tripped on the curbstone, dropping the basket, & smashing the eggs. A crowd gathered at the scene. One said, "What a pity!" Another said, "I'm sorry he is crying. Let's comfort him." Then a man stepped forward, reached into his pocket, & said, "I care a dollar. How much do you care?" That's the question. We have in our wallets the power to translate personal tragedies into triumphs.
Giving is a spiritual matter, first of all because of the seductive nature of wealth. Secondly, because there are some things only money can do.
FINALLY, IT IS A SPIRITUAL MATTER BECAUSE WE WORSHIP A GIVING GOD.
The Apostle Paul follows the 2 verses we have already read with these words: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich." We worship a giving God & He says to us there is only one way that we can become truly rich. That is by giving--all we have & all we are.
I was reading recently about Dr. Robert Cade. Dr. Cade is employed as a research physician at the University of Florida. In 1965 he did some research on why football players lose so much weight during extended practices & games. That research led Cade to develop a drink designed to replenish the fluids lost during heavy exercise. He named the drink after the nickname of the Florida football team: Gatorade!
In 1989, the Stokley-Van Camp sold more than $400 million worth of Gatorade. Dr. Cade's royalties are substantial, obviously. Yet he still lives in the same house in Gainesville. He uses his money on behalf of others. He has supported Vietnamese boat people, paid the bills of many needy patients, funded research performed by himself & others, & he currently underwrites the education of 16 medical students.
When asked about his charitable gifts, he replied, "God has blessed me in all kinds of ways--including a big income.
In the book of Deuteronomy God tells the Israelites a man should give as he is blessed. I think I am duty bound to do as He suggests."
Dr. Cade is a man who is truly rich. He has not been seduced by his wealth. Yet he understands the good things money can buy.
How about you? The Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians that they were lighting up the scoreboard in every area except one. If they wanted to really excel--if they wanted to know what rich really is--they would need to learn to give.
