“The Fear of Poverty” Pastor Jay Pruim Matthew 6:19-34 (31-34) A few weeks ago I mentioned I discovered on the Internet a list of the top 14 fears in America before 9/11. On that list number 4 is financial problems. In a Feb. 2005 publication of Consumer Reports I discovered a quick poll that asked the question, “What’s your ONE biggest financial worry?” What do you think it is? The number one financial worry is “outliving my savings.” 42% said it is their biggest financial worry. A tie for Number 2 at 12% is “spending all my savings on nursing home care.” I think that is closely related to number 1. When you add those two together 54% are afraid of running out of savings. The other fear that is tied for number 2 is “a stock market crash.” Readers over 65 were more likely to be concerned about nursing home expenses and younger people were more worried about long-term unemployment. They have a disclaimer in the fine print that says the survey was done of their readers and not of the general population. There are lots of fears about the economy. The president’s State of the Union Address had a lot in it about needing to fix Social Security. He was in Michigan this past week promoting a change in Social Security. There is a fear it will go bankrupt. In addition, there are fears about being able to afford health care. There is fear about the size of the national debt. There are fears about unemployment. Jobs were a big issue in the last election. If you lost your job how would you provide health care and pay the mortgage, etc.? Words that strike the fear of poverty into the hearts of all of us are words like collapse and bankrupt. The words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount tell us we ought to do three things to overcome the fear of poverty. FIRST, DO NOT WORRY. There is quite a contrast between the subject matter of vs. 19-24 and vs. 25-34. Both deal with the subject of money. In vs. 19-24 Jesus spoke of the dangers of storing up treasures on earth. Jesus spoke about the problem of greedily amassing and hoarding wealth. Yet most Christian financial advisors recommend that we do save money to prepare for emergencies and for retirement. Our Minister’s Pension Committee recommends that pastors have a retirement savings plan in addition to Social Security and Minister’s Pension. They speak of needing a 3-legged stool. The number one fear that people have is that their money will run out. I am not preaching this morning that it is a sin to have a 401 K retirement plan. The government provides tax incentives for us to have such a plan. That is not living to amass or hoard wealth. It is setting aside for future needs. But as we do that we need to be good stewards of our income and we certainly need to return the firstfruits to the Lord. The words of Jesus would certainly speak to those who only save money in their personal accounts and give nothing to the church and kingdom of God. It seems like the bigger problem in our society is not that people are saving too much, but they are spending too much. It is easy to accumulate credit card debt that has high interest and it can be very difficult to get out of that kind of debt. I read about a young couple who had been married for about a year and they were struggling financially so they decided to do something about it. They sat down to talk about the problem and after much analysis they developed a strategy. The wife said to her husband, “If we miss two payments on the refrigerator and one payment on the washing machine, we’ll have enough money to make a down payment on a new television set.” By contrast, in vs. 25-34 Jesus is not concerned with storing up treasures. Rather, he is concerned with worrying about them. He is speaking about the fear of poverty. These two concerns are quite different. In general, the danger of storing up treasures may be greater for those who have more than enough to make ends meet. But when the Lord talks about worrying about finances, he is probably speaking to everyone, but especially to those who are struggling to make ends meet with little or nothing to spare. But there are lots of exceptions. It isn’t just the wealthy that store up treasures on earth. In a previous church I had a member who passed away in his 70’s. He and his wife always lived very frugally. They rented an upstairs apartment for many years. They drove an old car. When he died his wife thought she could not even afford to receive the newspaper. Her son asked me to try and convince his mother she had nothing to worry about. Her son told me his father had accumulated a considerable amount of money and she could live in a Christian retirement home on just the interest. Jesus said, “do not worry” three times in our Scripture. Vs. 25, 31, 34. What does that mean? The KJV translated this imperative as “take no thought.” Take no thought about your life and what you will eat or drink or wear. That can lead to great misunderstanding. Someone may get the idea that they should not even think about the future and make no provision at all. They may think all they should do is pray to God and trust him to provide with little effort or work on their part. There is an old Latin expression “ora et labora” that means pray and work. We should trust and think. Jesus appealed to the example of the birds. However, even the birds busily search for their food. We are not just birds. Man was created in the image of God to be more than a food gatherer. Man builds machines and plows the earth and plants the seed and cultivates it and reaps the harvest. Birds do not do that. I do not believe God intends to say, “take no thought about life and food and clothing.” After the fall God said man must live by the sweat of his brow. In the church at Thessalonica there were some people who were not working while they waited for the Lord’s return. Paul rebuked them and said, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” (II Thess. 3:10) The NIV says, “Do not worry.” We ought to think and work but we should not be anxious about food and clothing. Why not? Jesus gives two reasons. 1) Jesus said life is more than food and clothing. Vs. 25, “Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothing?” The obvious answer is yes. According to the principles of logic, this is an argument from the greater to the lesser. Luke 12:15, “Then he said unto them, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Many people suffer from “affluenza.” Life is a precious gift of God. Not only does God create life, he sustains life. He provides what we need physically and spiritually. By our work we should develop wisely the resources God has entrusted to our care. But what about the poor and hungry? Around the world there are people who are starving. In the US there are senior citizens who have very little and it seems they have less every year as medical expenses rise faster than Social Security. What about the people whose spiritual needs are not being met? What about people who have never heard the gospel? We need to generously give to help them through CRWRC and Love for Children and other organizations. We need to send out the missionaries and be witnesses ourselves. The Bible is full of examples of God’s provisions. He miraculously provided manna and water from a rock in the wilderness and then he provided food and drink in the Promised Land by natural means. It was a land flowing with milk and honey. Worry is assuming responsibility God did not intend you to have. In a time of economic anxiety, Jesus said, “Do not worry.” God will take care of us by means of our work and by means of our sharing with one another in times of need. 2) Jesus said you are more valuable than the birds. Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the fields. Aren’t you of greater value than the birds?” The obvious answer is yes. Look how the heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of greater value than the lilies? Of course you are. Look how the heavenly Father clothes them. Not even Solomon was dressed like a lily of the field. This is a logical argument from the lesser to the greater. No normal sane person would feed their pets and let their children go hungry. If you food is limited, you feed the children first, then the pets. You are more than a sparrow or a lily. As Christians you are a child of the heavenly Father bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. People value what they pay a lot of money for. God paid a dear price to purchase your and my redemption. We are valuable and precious in his sight. Vs. 27, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” All the worry in the world will not add a single hour to your life. SECOND, EXERCISE FAITH. Vs. 30, “O you of little faith.” Their problem was not that they had a total lack of faith. Their problem was the inadequacy of their faith. The Bible says all we need is faith like a tiny mustard seed if it is the right kind of faith – true saving faith in Jesus. The problem Jesus was addressing is they believed the gospel but they were worried about food and clothing. They embraced the gospel but their faith did not extend to the whole of their lives. To be of little faith is to fail to trust God in all his promises, including the promise to provide food, clothing and shelter. The Bible often instructs us to do difficult things. God tells us to react to things in ways that are opposite of natural inclination. In times of economic problems God tells us not to worry. In times of tribulation God tells us to rejoice. The only way we can do that is if we exercise faith in the one to whom we belong and we trust that God will take care of us. Jesus said to worry is to do what the pagans do. The unbeliever worries about food and clothing because he doesn’t know God. He doesn’t know about God’s promises. He doesn’t know that life is more than food and clothing. So he works to store up treasures and he worries about material things. Why don’t we need to fear poverty? Because “In God We Trust” as our money says. THIRD, SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD. This principle applies to all of life, not just money. In our relationships we should put our relationship with God first. However, the context of this great principle is that Jesus was talking about money. Seek first the kingdom of God and trust that all the rest that you need will be added unto you. Vs. 32 says God knows what you need. For three years I lived on what was my grandfather’s farm in Justice Park, IL. There was a handpump out in the field. There was always a cup of water next to it to prime the pump. You had to put a little water in first before you could get water out. When you finished using the pump you had to refill the cup for the next person to use. Life is like that. You have to prime the pump. You have to put something in before you can take anything out. First you plant the seed, and then you reap the harvest. If you went to your employer and said, “Give me a raise and I’ll do better work” what do you think he would say? He would probably say, “You do better work first and then I’ll give you a raise.” I am not trying to suggest that we can bribe God. We should not give to the church so that we will receive more in return. That doesn’t seem like the right motive. However, that is the way it is. If you give with the right motive you will receive physical and spiritual blessings. Luke 6:38, “Give and it will be given to you.” Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw upon the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” You have to prime the pump. If you say to God, “Bless me first with food, clothing and shelter and then I will give, what will happen? You will always want more food, better clothing and shelter and you will never give. There have been rich people who were not satisfied and died trying to make more money. A young man once went to his pastor and committed to tithe for God’s work. He was making $10 a week. So the tithe was $1. As he grew more prosperous, his tithe went to $7 a week and then to $10. Then prosperity really struck, and the tithe went to $100 a week, then to $200 and then to $500 a week. So he went to his pastor again and asked if he could be released from his commitment to tithe what he made. The pastor was surprised because he had become wealthy and asked why he would want to do that. The man said, “When I made the promise I only had to give a dollar a week. Now it is $500. I can’t really afford that much. So the pastor thought a moment and said, “I’m afraid you cannot be released from your promise. There is something I can do. Let’s kneel again in prayer and ask God to shrink your income so you need to only give a dollar.” An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a tiny boat with just one fisherman docked. In the boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The businessman complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican said, “Only a little while.’ The American asked why he didn’t stay out there and catch more fish. The Mexican said he had enough for his family’s immediate needs. The American asked, “What do you do with the rest of your time?” The Mexican said, “I sleep late, I fish a little, I play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life Senor.” The American said, “I have a Harvard MBA. I could help you. If you spend more time fishing you would have the proceeds to buy a bigger boat, and with those proceeds buy more boats, eventually you could own your own fleet. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you could sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You could leave his little village and move to Mexico City and then Los Angeles and eventually New York City to run your expanding empire.” The fisherman asked, “How long would this take, Senor?” The American said, “15 or 20 years.” The Mexican said, “Then what?” The American said, “That is the best part. When the time is right you could sell your company stock to the public and become rich and make millions.” The Mexican said, “Millions senor? Then what?” The American said, “Then you could retire. Move to a small coastal village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your grandchildren, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the village in the evening and play guitar with your amigos.” So when financial stress comes for one reason or another, Jesus says you don’t have to be afraid if you do three things: 1) do not worry, 2) exercise faith in God, 3) seek first the kingdom of God. THE FEAR OF POVERTY Matthew 6:19-34 (31-34) The words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount tell us we ought to do three things to overcome the fear of poverty. FIRST, DO NOT WORRY. In vs. 19-24 Jesus spoke of the dangers of storing up treasures on earth. It seems like the bigger problem in our society is not that people are saving too much, but they are spending too much. By contrast, in vs. 25-34 Jesus is not concerning with storing up treasures. Rather, he is concerned with worrying about them. He is speaking about the fear of poverty. Jesus said, “do not worry” three times in our Scripture. Vs. 25, 31, 34. Why not? Jesus gives two reasons. First, Jesus said life is more than food and clothing. Vs. 25, “Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothing?” Luke 12:15, “Then he said unto them, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Many people suffer from “affluenza.” But what about the poor and hungry? Second, Jesus said you are more valuable than the birds. People value what they pay a lot of money for. God paid a dear price to purchase your and my redemption. We are valuable and precious in his sight. Vs. 27, “Worry cannot add a single hour to your life. SECOND, EXERCISE FAITH. Vs. 30, “O you of little faith.” Their problem was not that they had a total lack of faith. Their problem was the inadequacy of their faith. The Bible often instructs us to do difficult things. God tells us to react to things in ways that are opposite of natural inclination. In times of economic problems God tells us not to worry. In times of tribulation God tells us to rejoice. Jesus said to worry is to do what the pagans do. Why don’t we need to fear poverty? Because “In God We Trust” as our money says. THIRD, SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD. You have to prime the pump. Luke 6:38, “Give and it will be given to you.” Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw upon the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” A young man once went to his pastor and committed to tithe for God’s work. A story about the American businessman and the Mexican fisherman.