Rich Toward God

​Stewardship 3                                                                                                LSB #’s 783, 851, 893
Text – Luke 12:21
 
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself & is not rich toward God.
 
RICH TOWARD GOD
 
 
In the Gospel reading, a man asks Jesus to command his brother to divide the family inheritance with him.  Jesus ignores the argument & instead uses this situation to teach a vital lesson about greed: “Take care & be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  (Luke 12:15 ESV) 
Rather than being sucked into an argument, Jesus tells the story of a very successful farmer.  His fields produce abundant crops; he knows how to strike the most lucrative deals with buyers.  He loves & is energized by his work.  Everything he does seems to turn to gold! 
I don’t know what opportunities he had to develop his spiritual life, but apparently, he considered doing bigger & bigger deals to be a more valuable use of his time & energy than seeking God!   Would you say, “It’s an easy pattern to fall into”? 
The farmer’s fields continue to produce spectacularly!  His operation grows beyond his wildest dreams.  Eventually, he has to tear down his barns & build bigger ones to hold all his grain & goods!  Bursting with satisfaction, he exclaims, “I’ve got tons of money in the bank; my future is secure!  Now, I will eat, drink & be merry!”        And then God said, “You fool!” 
This is shocking!   At his funeral, everyone said, “He was a shrewd businessman, a wise investor, a genius!”  God called him a fool because he denied his Creator.  Psalm 14:1 tells us, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”  A fool believes that it’s all up to him.  A fool believes he has created who he is.  His happiness & security depend upon what he has acquired. 
By the world’s standards, this man in Luke 12 was rich, but poor by God’s standards.  The Word of God tells us that we are rich when we trust in Him for our eternal salvation.  We are rich when we believe that Yahweh has created us, redeemed us, & makes us holy.  The rich fool in Luke 12 invested his time & energy in storing up mountains of wealth, but had invested nothing in what mattered most, so he stood before God naked & empty-handed. 
He was rich in the eyes of the world, but a fool in the eyes of God.   What all human beings need to learn is this: be RICH TOWARD GOD!   What does that mean?  It simply means to invest our lives in a relationship with the Lord, Savior & Creator! 
We invest much time & money in education, work, friends, families, pleasures.  We may be rich in those things, but are we rich toward God?   Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Matthew 6:20 ESV)   A disciple, one who is learning to be more like Jesus, learns to invest his life in loving God & in meeting the needs of others. 
An important way for us to be RICH TOWARD GOD is through faithful giving.  To be RICH TOWARD GOD in our giving, we should consider: “What is God asking me to give?”  Giving one tenth was the law in the OT.  However, because of the freedom Jesus won for us through His life & death, we are no longer bound to Ceremonial Laws. 
As New Covenant Christians, what is an appropriate percentage of our income to give?  What amount will show gratitude to God for Who He is & what He has done for us through His Son?  We are not commanded to tithe, but as Jesus encouraged the Pharisees, in Matthew 23, to continue their tithing, we are encouraged to use the tithe as a guide for our giving. 
It is important to remember that the amount or percentage we give is less important than our attitude & motive for giving.  God is honored even if we give less than the tithe if we give cheerfully & faithfully.  Through the working of the Holy Spirit, we can grow in our giving so that we not only become tithers, but go beyond it. 
There are principles & truths in Scripture that help us to be RICH TOWARD GOD. 
1.         We are rich toward God when we give to Him first. 
At Exodus 23:19, Moses tells the people, “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord.”  (ESV)    In a non-agricultural society, rather than bringing crops, we give the firstfruits of our income.  We honor our commitment to God before buying the things we desire.  Our great God Who gave His best does not value leftovers. 
Our greediness can cause us to spend everything & be rich in possessions, & not have any left over to give.  Rather, first budget the money to give to God’s Kingdom.   How much should be budgeted?  To that question, as shared earlier, we understand that the tithe acts for us as a Biblical guide or benchmark. 
Though tithing is not commanded in the NT, many Christians see tithing as a healthy goal.  In 1 Corinthians 16:2 the Apostle Paul wrote: “On the first day of every week, each one of you is to put something aside & store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.”  (ESV)   The greater the income you have, the more you are able to give! 
2.         We are rich toward God when we give generously.  
In 2 Corinthians 9:11 we read: “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”  (ESV)   You might reason: “I’ve worked up to tithing, & now I can coast!”  Not really!  Ten percent is not the goal.  Giving generously   is the goal! 
In Ephesians 4:28, Paul wrote that the people are to do “honest work with [their] own hands, so that [they] may have something to share with anyone in need.”  (ESV)    The reason God gives you what you have is not simply for a higher standard of living, nor to buy a bigger house & bigger cars, but to give generously! 
God does not prosper your business only so you can buy newer furniture, but so you can
have a greater impact on spreading the Gospel!   When we get a raise, we often think, “Now I can afford that 65” TV.”   We ought to think, now I can give more!  Having a $100,000 salary does not have to be accompanied by a $100,000 lifestyle. 
We need to think as disciples & ask, “How do I honor God by my lifestyle & giving?  How can I be rich toward God?  What is a generous percentage of my income?”  If you live in poverty, 3% may be generous.  If you’re wealthy, 30% may not be generous.  If mortgage, or other payments, are so high we can’t afford to give generously, we may need to downsize! 
Now, the Bible is not teaching us not to invest or prepare for emergencies & retirement.   We are to plan wisely for the future.  Nor is the Bible teaching that we cannot have luxuries.  In order to be generous & willing to share, we need to keep a balance.  It’s not either or.  We are to enjoy the pleasures of life as gifts from God   & we are to be generous in giving. 
3.         We are rich toward God when we give cheerfully.    
When the Apostle tells us, “…for God loves a cheerful giver,” (2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV) the Greek word is hilaros.   God loves a hilarious giver!  The church should never make people feel guilty about giving.  We give under God’s grace & grace never threatens or condemns.  The principles of giving generously & cheerfully are beautifully illustrated in this story:
Two brothers shared a field & a mill.  Each night they evenly divided the grain they had ground during the day.  One brother lived alone; the other had a wife & large family.  The single brother began to think, “It isn’t really fair that we divide the grain evenly.  I only have myself to care for.  My brother has children to feed.” 
Each night he secretly took some of his grain to his brother’s granary to see that he was never without.  The married brother said to himself one day, “It isn’t really fair that we divide the grain evenly.  I have children to provide for me in my old age, but my brother has none.  What’ll he do when he is old?”   Every night he secretly took some of his grain to his brother’s granary.  As a result, both always found their supply of grain mysteriously replenished each night. 
As we generously give our firstfruits to God with a proper attitude (cheerfully), we become rich toward God.  How much should we give?  Here’s the bottom line: God is pleased when we give from loving & thankful hearts.  He wants us to give generously, faithfully & cheerfully.  The tithe is a benchmark &, if need be, an encouragement for us to grow in giving. 
Few of us give as generously as we should; I know I don’t.   None of us obey God in any area as we should: Bible study, prayer, spiritual gifts, loving others – I don’t do any of that well, yet God still loves me.   Even if you didn’t give a penny, God would not love you any less.  Christ died for all our sins, including our lack of generous giving! 
“…God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8 ESV)  Jesus effected the redemption of all mankind in that act of sacrifice.  Therefore, we now count ourselves “dead to sin & alive to God in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 6:11 ESV) & the Holy Spirit working through Word & Sacrament, continues His work of sanctifying us. 
When we grow as disciples, as we understand more & more what God has done for us in Christ, as we see the infinite love of God shown to us by the death of His Son, as we see that Jesus gave Himself,   we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to respond through sharing the resources that God has given us with those in need. 
We give as a visual expression of the depth of our relationship with God, our maturity as disciples, our understanding of what is important in life.  May the power of the Holy Spirit work in us so we are rich toward God.  Amen. 
 
Lord of glory, You have bought us with Your lifeblood as the price, never grudging for the lost ones that tremendous sacrifice;  & with that have freely given blessings countless as the sand  to the unthankful & the evil with your own unsparing hand.  Grant us hearts, dear Lord,  to give You gladly,  freely of Your own.  With the sunshine of Your goodness  melt our thankless hearts of stone  till our cold & selfish natures,  warmed by You,  at length believe  that more happy & more blessed ’Tis to give than to receive.  Amen.  LSB 851:1-2.