Ecclesiastes 12:10

  For a rather obscure figure, the New Testament mentions Balaam a lot.   Jude 1:11, 2 nd Peter 2:15-16, and Revelation 2:14 all make mention of the prophet son of Beor, yet not in a good way. He is held up as the example of what not to be. His desire for wealth causes him to accept what was clearly wrong. It took a dumb donkey to make him see the error of his ways. And even then, he still used his influence to drive the people of God into error, all for his own gain. “ They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness .” --2 nd Peter 2:15-16   Maybe it does because his type is still common. Even in the early church, we see those more concerned about their pocketbook than the Good Book. Teachers who will say whatever as long as it fills their bank account. People who convince themselves that evil isn’t ...

  There is an interesting observation in Ecclesiastes 5:13-15: There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt. When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him. As he had come naked from his mother's womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand.   Most of the finical advice you hear from Solomon revolves around hard work, saving, and being wise in what you spend (Proverbs 10:4-5,13:22,20:13, 21-20). Yet here he talks about the tragedy of wealth unused. His point is simple; money isn’t for having it, it is for using it. We think of it as the ultimate safety net but it isn’t. Inflation can eat it away, markets can collapse and we can pass away.   Years ago, a lady approached an elder in the church and told him she was planning to leave a large part of her sizable estate ...

  Hetty Green had money problems.   She would wear the same black dress till it was worn out. Her daughter was sent to a convent to be raised and provided by nuns and her son lost his leg because of the cost of treating an infection. She separated from her husband because he spent too much and he eventually died bankrupt. She ate cold oatmeal, onions, and eggs since she hadn’t paid for fuel to heat it. She sold newspapers she had read to others for half price for extra cash. She used a ragtag trunk as a desk and set on the floor rather than have proper office furniture.   You may be tempted to feel sorry for a woman so broke, but don’t. She wasn’t broke. Heddy Green was the daughter of a shipping magnate that had inherited 10 million dollars. When she died in 1916, she had over 100 million dollars. She had money, she just didn’t ever use it.   Maybe we should feel sorry for her to have such a warped perceptive on what money was good for.   We m...

  Andrew Jackson hated debt.   So when he became president, He worked hard to make sure the United States would be in the black. By 1835, he had reduced what the country owed from around $58 million to zero. For the first time in its history, the country was debt free.   It lasted for a whole year.      Since there was no national bank to store the excess money (because Jackson had done away with it) the surplus couldn't be placed there. It was decided that the money would be given back to the states to be split between them. Like a kid getting a big, fat check from grandma at birthday time, the states went on a spending spree and began printing money—lots of money.   Jackson tried to stop the runaway train, but it was too late. The states were buying up land and spending like mad. This misspending resulted in a long depression, and the government found themselves borrowing money, again. The glory days of a debt-free America l...

  Jesus often demanded people give up something to follow him. For the rich young ruler, it was money. For another man, it was his comfortable lifestyle. For another, it was his family. For another, it was his perceived responsibilities. For others, it was their possessions.   The ‘what’ didn’t seem to be the issue as much as the ‘what it meant to the person’. Think about the thing that feels most important to you and that was probably what Jesus was going to ask you to give up. It wasn’t a mean streak in him, rather he wanted to consider what you were getting into (Luke 14:26-33).   It is easy to think that it wouldn’t be a problem for you to give up whatever until the moment it happens. Yet time and time again, people walk away saddened since they just can’t give up it up.   For some it is an experience, for others, it is a place. For some it is friends, for others it is family. Yet the question is still the same. Can we leave it behind to foll...

  Why not let someone else pay for it all?    That seems to be the new thinking.   You see the hints of it everywhere.   Friends reposting just in case Mark Zuckerberg is giving away millions on Facebook.   Email forwards that might get you a piece of Bill Gates’ fortune.   People lined up at the convenience store to buy a worthless piece of paper that might turn into a windfall. Folks feeding nickels into a machine hoping it will turn them into millionaires.   Links to group funding sites to have someone else pay for my desires.     What they all have in common is the desire to gain wealth without work.  Let someone else who has more give it to me. I deserve simply because I desire.  It seems the American work ethic has changed quite a bit in the last several years.   That should not surprise us since the American worth ethic used to be a Christian work ethic .  I think many have forgotten that th...

   How are you supposed to deal with the awkward situation of a friend that asks to borrow money?  Can you say no?  Does it matter what it is for?  What if they can’t pay you back? What if they won’t pay you back?  What if you are the one in need, is it wrong to ask for help from a friend?   Many a relationship has come to an awkward end when money becomes involved.  So what wisdom does the Bible have for us when it comes to these types of situations? Let break them down into two categories: When you are asked to be a lender:     If at all possible, don’t be a personal lender ( Proverbs 22:26-27 ).  As one person wisely told me never lend a friend money that you are not willing to give them.  If you can’t afford to give them money, you can’t afford to lend them money as well.   If you can help someone out do so (Proverbs 3:27-28), but make sure things stay between you and them.  Don’t cosign a lo...

   Every so often I will get a call from a marketing firm telling me about the latest and greatest fundraising gimmick for the church.  I’ll politely listen and the first chance I get I will inform them we don’t do fundraisers.  I’ve had a few doubt my claim.  If I can, I say we follow the biblical pattern of willful giving by members on the first day of the week to provide funds for church work.  People give as they can and no effort is made to “guilt” them into doing it (2nd  Corinthians 9:6-7, 1st Corinthians 16:1-2).       I can see why they get confused.  Drive down the street, walk into the Wal-Mart or flip thru the channels, and you will see various religious groups asking, selling, and begging anyone and everyone for money.  Bake sales, carwashes, concerts, donate buttons on the website, raffles, entry fees for church functions, are all bits I've seen in just the last few months.  It see...

  Did you know that in 2010 the United States government burned away 2.6 billion one dollar bills! You may think this article is about government waste or excessive spending but it is not. You see money doesn’t last forever. The currency we use is very susceptible to wearing out. On average, a bill will last maybe 5 years. For the more used denomination like ones and twenties, it is closer to 3. So what do you do with the cash that is worn out? The old money is exchanged for newly printed cash. Since the old money is still usable, it must be destroyed.  While there are some creative ways of using that old cash, it is still mostly burned.  Can you imagine being the person to light fire to a pallet full of cash?  To know that many dollars is going up in smoke?    The truth is however cash really isn’t worth anything. It is just sheets of linen (not paper as is commonly believed) dyed and painted a certain way. Its value only comes in our belief in ...

There is an old joke about a man who was determined to take it all with him. So before his death, he converted his entire estate to gold and found a contraption that would transport it all with him to the afterlife. Somehow he arrived at the pearly gates trying to drag in his suitcase full of gold. The angel at the gates stopped him since he had never seen someone with luggage. After some thought and investigation, he let the man pass.  His entrance caused quite a stir, so his higher ups called the angel up to see why he had let the man in.  He responded; "Well, I didn’t think it would be such a big deal, if he wants to haul around a suitcase full of road pavement, who was I to stop him. "    You know, earthly wealth will be absolutely meaningless in the life to come .  Proverbs 11:4 tells us:   “ Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death. ”    No matter how much treasure we amass it's not going to be ...

   Investment can be tricky things. Do you put your money in stocks or bonds, real estate, or hide it under your mattress. Even the most seemingly stable places to put you money can turn south in a heartbeat. Lots of people have experience the phenomena of thinking they are invested well only to learn that all the money is gone. So where should you invest ?      Ben Franklin said, “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. ” Proverbs 4:5-7 tells us “ Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth  "Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you.  " The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom ; And with all your acquiring, get understanding .”     Investing in wisdom is always a great investment.  Trying to grow and learn in wisdom will not only increase yo...

Monday morning scattershooting while wondering, if Walker Texas Ranger was the first reality television show?     My friend Monte Ginnings often would say to me, “ there is no right way to do the wrong thing; however there is a wrong way to do the right thing” .  That axiom is very true when it comes to church work.  I see a lot of us trying to do the right thing but the wrong way.  When we attempt to spread the Gospel but do it harsh and disrespectful way.  When we try to correct error but rather that teaching in a patient way we grow angry and lash out.  When we let personal attacks hit us in such a way that we feel justified in returning “fire with fire”.  Our cause is just but our methods are anything but. Paul mentions that “wrong way right thing” mindset in Philippians 1:15-17. “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am a...

Monday morning scatter shooting while thinking, no matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery     I did a sermon recently on the “ The Danger of Debt ”.  I really think it’s something preachers need to talk about.  Look at the stats.  In 2009, roughly 1 in 4 (24.8%) of American households had zero or negative net worth. That means if you’ve no debts and have $10 in your pocket you have more wealth than 25% of Americans.  Americans owe $2.6 trillion dollars and based on the latest Census statistics, that works out to be nearly $8,500 in debt for every man, woman and child that lives here in the US.  The average credit card debt among undergraduate college students is about $2,748   Debt can be dangerous for churches, (can’t do the work of the church because we are trapped paying off excessive mortgages) saints, (we can’t give as we are prospered, since most of our money is tied up in our debt), preachers (chan...

Monday morning scattershooting while wondering why I thought style of article was a good idea.   I love freebies. You know those trinkets you can pick up at conventions and trade shows.  A couple of years ago I picked up a little tube of hand sanitizer that is about the size of a pen from the Duke consulting table at Polishing the Pulpit. I still carry that around because it is so handy.  Most freebies are like that, they don’t cost a lot but the people that get them really like them.  We should give spiritual freebies to strangers. Things like compliments, congratulation, credit. Those don’t cost us much but can make a big difference to other.  I did a sermon series on a book called “ Try Giving Yourself Away” by David Dunn . The book has several great ideas along those lines.    I saw in my news feed another celebrity had a “wardrobe malfunction”.  I really hate that term. Most “wardrobe malfunctions” could be solved if people woul...

  The Oklahoma lottery celebrated its one year anniversary with the announcement that the revenue that the proponents had promised it would generate fell well short of expectations. It's not surprising. The lottery usually fails to deliver what it promises.    Take Mack and Virginia Metcalf. These two blue collar workers saw their winning Powerball lottery ticket back in 2000 as the greatest thing that could happen to them. They took the instant payout and started their new life with a divorce. Still each walked away with over 13 million dollars. But Mack found himself in court quickly again owing $31,000 in back child support and was forced to use $800,000 to set up a trust fund for his child's future. He didn’t stay out of court too long because of a series of drunk driving arrest. In 2003, Mack Metcalf died of complication resulting form his drinking.    His wife Virginia started her new life with a new husband, and a brand new house. But in 2004, tha...

  The old proverb says that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” but I think it also holds to be true for wealth as well. Take for example the statement of Alexis du Pont de Bie Sr., a descendant   of the powerful and wealth du Pont family, about his 3,000 dollar a month allowance from his inherited trust. He said that amount had made him " literally destitute and homeless ." He still has 2 million dollars in the account but feels he is now indigent.     As Ecclesiastes 5:10 says, “ He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. ” True wealth does not come in abundance but in contentment.    In 1 Timothy 6:6-10, Paul writes “ But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptati...

“Words of the Preacher: A study of the wisdom of Ecclesiastes” One of the biggest mistakes most young people make in their earlier lives is not saving money.   Their expenses seem to grow with their income and when the unexpected happens they have nothing to fall back on. A good savings account can help avoid some pain and misery.   But we have to be wise about how we view our savings. The Preacher tells us in Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 “ There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt.   When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him .” No matter how much we have in the bank, we can’t think we are fully protected. This lesson is like the parable Jesus tells us in Luke 12:15-21. We shouldn’t be so foolish to think that the only thing we should be investing in is monetary gain. A large bank account won’t get us into heaven, or train our children to ...