“It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” - Matthew 21:13
One of the abuses we've seen in the church through the years has been the overemphasis and misuse of money. Televangelists have built huge empires with the financial support of their viewers. Some of these televangelists have been exposed for their extravagant lifestyles and large mansions. They have become multimillionaires at the expense of naive, hard-working viewers. In some cases, poor widows have depleted their bank accounts to give to these men. When I think of this, I am angered by such greed and selfishness, perpetrated in the name of religion.
There's no doubt why many are weary of sermons about money. Some have gone to the extreme of thinking that money and ministry don't mix. To them, faith and finances are two separate issues. This degree of reaction is understandable under the circumstances, but is still wrong. God has called believers to be generous and caring.
Although money is required to do the work of ministry, this money should be utilized with great integrity. A church or ministry needs to be transparent about finances. Furthermore, ministers need to focus on the ministry of the Word, not the handling of money. At a small church, finances are typically very limited, so financial improprieties are rather rare in such situations. Still there is a need for financial integrity regardless of the size of the church or ministry.
Personally, it is my belief that the pastor should delegate business and financial tasks to a capable person. Even then, the person responsible needs to be honest and accountable for this work.
The abuse of ministry finances is rather modern problem. Of course, the early church had limited resources, so embezzlement and financial abuse was not an issue for that day. But it is an issue for our day.
Our Lord addressed financial abuse when he drove the money changers from the temple. Their abuse of power and money had turned the house of God into an unholy mess. In a strong response, our Lord took a whip and ran the crooks out of the house of God.
If our Lord were to physically visit churches today, I have no doubt that he would take a whip and run some scoundrels out of the pulpit.
I believe that financial integrity is an important pillar of church health. In an age of consumerism, the church should stand alone as a place where money is treated with care. For those in full-time ministry, their salary should not be outrageous. They are not called to be multimillionaires. They are called to be ministers … followers of Jesus who serve a local body of believers. Their salary should not be a distraction or scandalous.
The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Although churches need money to function properly each week, money is not to be the main focus of our ministry. As someone has once said, money is a great slave but a poor master.
Let me be candid for a moment. There is another extreme to financial integrity. Stinginess can be an abuse of money. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and challenged them to be more diligent in their giving. Just think how much could be accomplished in the Lord's Name, if churches and believers were more generous in their giving. The Bible says that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. That should motivate us to be bountiful with our giving.
Financial integrity is not just a pillar of a healthy church, it should be a reality in the life of every believer. We should not be sidetracked by money or ruined by greed. Money is just one of many ways that we can make eternal investments in the Kingdom of God.
In Jesus' day, the temple had become a den of thieves because of their financial abuse. We need to avoid this sin today.
No comments:
Post a Comment