Creekside Church Sermon of October 27, 2002 "The Motivation for Giving" Matthew 25:29	Rev. David Bibbee
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There was a man whose mom was on his mind, so he gave her a call. " Hi, mom. How are you? How is everything in Florida?" " Not too good." "What's wrong?" he asked. "I've been very weak," she said. "Why are you so weak?" "It's nothing," she replied. "Mom, what's wrong?" "Never mind," she quipped. "I'm ok." "Look mom, if you were ok you wouldn't be so weak. What's the problem?" She answered, "I haven't eaten in thirty-eight days." "What?" he exclaimed. "That's terrible. Why haven't you eaten in thirty-eight days?" She replied, "Because I didn't want my mouth to be filled with food in case my son should call."

I once heard Bill Swigert say, "Some mothers are travel agents for guilt trips." Churches use guilt to achieve desired ends. It's easier to hook the guilt than appeal to people's positive motivations.

I do not like stewardship drives. It is not asking for money that bugs me, but how it's done. I do not like stewardship gimmicks, dog and pony shows, or creative appeals because in most people's minds, it all boils down to one message…we want your money.

It will be a great day when special stewardship efforts won't be necessary to fund ministry. It will be a great day when we give with grateful hearts simply because giving is an intregal aspect of being a Christian. There are churches that do not have stewardship drives because they have instilled in their member's minds that giving, and more specifically tithing, is the norm for dedicated discipleship. No arm-twisting, or guilt trips, no collection of dues, no appeals to self-serving interests like, "Be generous with God and God will be generous with you." Let me put it personally - I've had it with appeals and drives and pleading for money, and though you probably wouldn't admit it, you've had it, too!

Today's gospel is short and sharp. It is a summary statement of Jesus' parable of the talents. A parable we shall explore in detail in three weeks. "For everyone who has will more be given, and they will have abundance; but from those who have not, even what they have will be taken away." (Matt. 2: 29) It doesn't seem a "Christ-like" thing for Christ to say. Isn't this precisely the problem with world…the rich get richer and the poor, poorer? The wealthy minority has more than enough while the majority never have enough? This is the way the influential have heard the text…a proof text to support the accumulation of wealth. But this isn't the intended message. So what does Jesus mean?

First, no one is empty handed. We don't usually think this way. In our minds, Pavarotti is gifted and we aren't. Michael Jordan has it…we don't. Robert Redford has it. We don't. The people who lead worship have it. We don't. But God leaves no one giftless. To each a task is assigned with the tools to do it. God has entrusted to you something that has not been given to anyone else.

Have you ever seen the film "My Left Foot"? It's about a poor Irish kid who seemed to have three strikes against him. He was deformed, drooled, and was branded an idiot. The only way he got around was to be hauled everywhere in a coal wagon. Eventually he learned to write…with his left foot. Then they discovered that this seemingly helpless, hapless person, had the mind of a genius. He, too, was gifted.

I have not missed any high school or college reunions. I enjoy them and I also go to see how time has treated my peers and take solace from knowing I do not look as old as some of my other classmates. Last Saturday was my twenty-fifth college reunion from Manchester. One of our classmates returned from the first time since graduation. When we were students, he was known as "Air Force George." The only coat he ever wore was a flight jacket. George was rather eccentric. Peculiar or different would also describe him. George marched to the beat of a different drum.

I recognized him immediately. The give away was the flight jacket…one much nicer than the one he wore in college. "What have you been up to, George?" I asked. His answer took me back. "Oh, I've done some different things. I retired from the Air Force in 1995. I was on the White House staff in the Carter administration and traveled with the Carter family on overseas trips. I could tell you some stories about Amy. I was an official photographer for Reagan's administration." "What are you doing now?" I asked. "I worked with Governor Pitaki as the coordinator for the New York State legislature." Twenty-five years ago we couldn't see past the flight jacket and the eccentricities to know George's ample gifts.

In Corinthians 12 Paul wrote: "There are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit; varieties of service but the same Lord; varieties of working, but it is God who inspires them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good," (12: 4-7). No exclusions. No exemptions. We are all gifted.

I came across some questions by Barry Johnson which comprised a "blessings inventory". Listen and ask how would you answer these questions;

• Are you free to invest your energies wherever you see fit?
  
  
• Are there government restrictions denying you the right to stretch your mind and soul?
  
  
• Do you have to worry about the source of your next meal?
  
  
• What about your wardrobe? Does it change with the seasons? Do you have closets to protect what has fallen out of fashion or is seasonally inappropriate?
  
  
• Have you ever made it a point to chart the luxury of fun? What percentage of your income goes to good times? How easy is it to go out to dinner? Or go to a movie? Or play a round of golf? Or go on vacation?

I challenge any of you to answer these questions and claim you are not gifted. How can you answer these questions and say you do not have enough. We are blessed beyond our deserving. But it doesn't stop here. Being God's chosen people carries with it a deep responsibility. Jesus put it this way, "To whom much is given, will much be required."

First, no one is empty handed. All are gifted. No exceptions. The crux of the matter is how we will use them, which brings us to a second observation…the circumstances we face, and the decisions we make, reveal the values we embrace.

There is a new book out called, "Teaching the Dead Bird to Sing." It was written by a Trappist Monk who has spent most of his life in silence. He was interviewed on National Public Radio last week and in the course of the interview said, "Very often what we THINK is our God doesn't FUNCTION as our God." What we do day by day is an accurate indicator of who our God really is. As Jesus said, "Where you treasure is, is where your heart is."

In 1845 Sir John Franklin and 138 officers and men left England in search of the Northwest Passage across the Canadian Arctic to the Pacific Ocean. They sailed in two boats. Each boat had an auxiliary steam engine and a twelve day supply of coal, even though the expedition was expected to take at least two to three years. Instead of loading more coal, each ship had a 1,200 volume library, an organ, one hundred and thirty-eight china place settings, cut-glass wine goblets, and sterling silver flatware. The ornate silver knives were engraved with each officer's initials and family crest. "Sailing with Martha Stewart", I would call it. They had no clothing to protect them from the brutal cold, except their standard Navy uniforms.

The expedition departed and was never heard from again. Years later, stories about the Franklin expedition circulated. The boats became locked in pack ice. Eskimos reported seeing living and dead members of the party. They had seen men pushing and pulling a wooden boat over the ice. They found a tent containing thirty frozen corpses.

Over a span of twenty years, search parties found skeletons spread over a wide area. When the supplies were exhausted, those who were left carried the provisions that remained and went walking for help. A cluster of their bodies was found. There was evidence of cannibalism. Here is what they took with them. Stuffed into their coats were settings of sterling flatware. They carried a backgammon board. A lone skeleton was found far from the ships. It was that of an officer adorned in his dress blues uniform edged with silk braid. Over the uniform he wore a blue greatcoat, and around his neck a black silk handkerchief.

The circumstances we face, and the decisions we make reveal the values we embrace. Your home is on fire. You have only three minutes to retrieve a handfull of your belongings. What will you take? Family pictures or the television? The Bible that has been handed down six generations, or jewelry, rods and reels, or golf clubs? How would you conduct yourselves if you had but one year to live? "Where your treasure is, is where your heart is."

We are blessed by God in ways we seldom see. We are stewards, each one. We have been entrusted with talents and abilities from God given to be expressed for the glory of God, and the growth of the church, and the betterment of the people in the sphere of our influence. We are all free to use the gifts as we please, and as such, we reveal what we truly value.

So we come to one of life's unalterable laws…What we do not use, we lose. Gifts from God are not to be displayed in a trophy case, locked in a vault, nor worn as a badge of honor. What's the use of a beautiful voice if you don't sing? What's the use of great athletic ability if you don't play the game? What's the use of the ability to help others if you sit on your gift? God's gifts do not keep well. If they are to do some good, they must be put to work.

In the parable of the talents, the first two servants received five and two talents respectively. The third servant got one. Servants one and two took chances and doubled their investments. The little guy didn't have the nerve. He buried his talent and gave it back when the master returned. "I didn't make anything, boss, but I didn't lose anything, either." The little guy wasn't about to risk it, yet that is what the master wanted him to do. Since he had nothing to show, his talent was taken away and divided with the other servants. It seems unfair, but this guy is not an object of sympathy.

I only saw my grandmother angry one time. Grandpa didn't trust the bank with all his money. One evening we pulled into the driveway, and there he was holding a shovel. A pile of dirt was at his feet. There were other piles around the yard. "What are you doing, Grandpa?" "I'm looking for something," he said. Grandpa had turned the yard into a bank. He stashed cash in glass jars and buried them where no one could find them…even him. Somewhere was a jar with three hundred dollars in it…three hundred dollars which my grandparents needed. We didn't stay long that evening. Though it was a warm July day, Grandma's mood made the house very cold. That was forty years ago. For all I know, the jar remains buried at 229 Pennsylvania Ave.

"To everyone that has, more will be given. From those who have not, even what they have will be taken away." A musician stops practicing. As time goes by she can still play the music in their head, but when the bow meets the strings, or the fingers strike the keys, the music isn't there. I used to play lots of golf. But that was twenty-five years ago. I don't play much any more, and now the gap is wide between what I used to do and what I can do. The gifts God has given to this church have been put to good use over the years. This still is a gifted church. The resources necessary for making an impact on people's lives are present, but not indefinitely. We need to draw out our gifts and challenge each to get to work as the disciples of Jesus we promised we would be at our baptism. If we sit too long, the gift will be gone.

The pastor stood before his congregation and said, "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay this year's budget and the new building program. The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets."

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