"Leaving A Legacy"
Rev. Alan Breems
Oasis Community Church, Moreno Valley, CA
Text: Exodus 20:1-6
We have been talking in our series of messages this month about the
road to financial freedom, God's road, and called stewardship. And the
idea behind this road is that we need to learn right away, God is the owner,
and we are the stewards or managers of the money.
Now, up until this point, the focus of our messages have dealt with
how this road to financial freedom can be of benefit to all of us individually,
but in the next couple of messages Pastor Tim and myself would like to
move to some benefits of making changes in our lives not only for us personally
but for others around us, and in particular this morning, my focus is going
to be the benefits that we will be able to bring to the next generation
behind us, our children.
What type of a financial legacy are you leaving for the generation behind
you? Do you ever stop to think about that question? You see, the question
is not are you going to leave a financial legacy or will there be a financial
legacy. Some of you may think that is the case right now because you don't
have any money to leave to your kids or grandkids behind you. And that
may very well be the case for some of you, but that doesn't mean you are
not leaving a legacy, a financial legacy to your kids or grandkids or to
the next generation right now.
The way in which you handle your money, the emotional reactions to and
attachment to your money, the way you spend or save your money, all are
part of a legacy that you and I are leaving to the generation behind us.
And that's why the much better question which needs to be asked this
morning is not whether we are leaving a legacy but what type of a legacy
are we leaving? Now, in answering that, it might be good to ask the question
what type of legacy was given to you. It was interesting in our class this
week to hear how most of us in some way were effected in our own handling
and reaction to finances by what we observed and experienced from our parents
or in the home in which we were raised. It's important to be aware of the
legacy we received because it will affect the legacy, which we are going
to give to the generation behind us.
The other question that might be good to ask is whether our words are
being backed by our actions. There is little doubt in my mind that actions
speak louder than words, and kids especially can smell that. Are we practicing
the kinds of attitudes and actions with our own finances that we are telling
kids they ought to do with theirs, or are they seeing contradictions between
what we say and what we do? Do they see generosity in our actions? Do they
see a cheerful attitude when it comes to giving? Do they see selflessness
or sacrifice when it comes to how we use our money? Do they see faith in
action in the moments of crisis?
Now the passage which we are about to read this morning will sound familiar
to some if not many of you here this morning. It is the first section of
the 10 commandments, and at first glance you might even wonder what this
has to do with the whole topic of finances. For those of you who know your
10 commandments, you know that none of them mention the word money or finances.
And yet, as I believe you will soon see, even though there is no command
that directly talks about our money, indirectly there is a whole lot for
us to learn here about God's road to financial freedom, especially when
it comes to us thinking about what type of legacy we are going to leave
to our children. So, having said that, let's read....
Now when it comes to what this passage has to say about finances, I
could on the one hand speak this morning simply about this whole issue
of idolatry today. For many people, their money or the things that they
buy with their money has become their idol, which even though they don't
always see it is something that in a sense they have turned into a god
of sorts.
But the thing that I want to focus on this morning is not the subject
of idolatry so much as the effects that God says our obedience or disobedience
to his commands is going to have on not only our children but the next
two or three generations to come. God spoke of the whole issue here of
a legacy, and the point which God was making to those people back then
as well as to us today quite simply is this. Our sins and disobedience
to God have a much more far reaching effect than simply what happens to
us personally, our sins or, on the other hand, our obedience to God will
undoubtedly leave a legacy to the generations of those who are coming behind
us. Just as we, as I mentioned earlier, have received our own legacy from
not only parents but grandparents and great grandparents, in the same way
the Bible says we are passing on a legacy to the next 3-4 generations that
are going to follow.
And this is true for a lot of areas of life. I could talk this morning
about our emotional legacy, our work-ethic legacy, our relational legacy,
or our spiritual legacy, and I am sure that when God was speaking here
about the effects of our lives on future generations, He had all those
things in mind, but I also believe that God had in mind here our financial
legacy, that through obedience to or disobedience to God with our finances
we could have an effect on generations to come.
And to highlight that that was part of what God was talking about here,
I'd like to begin by talking about the financial legacy of Israel the people
to whom God was speaking in this passage thousands of years ago.
I don't know how many of you know the historical saga of the Israelites,
it is what is outlined in the Bible beginning in this book, Exodus and
continuing throughout the whole Old Testament. It is a powerful history,
one in which God was using Israel to forever teach all of us about who
God was and how He relates to our lives.
But this morning, I'd like to talk about the history of those people
from more of financial point of view. Because you see, if you trace these
people from one generation to the next, I really believe you will see the
very patterns, financially speaking, that God spoke about here in the 10
commandments at a point where Israel was a baby nation of people, they
had, so to speak, just been born given their entire history, and I really
believe that from their financial legacy comes some important lessons for
you and me.
In the beginning of their history, financially speaking and otherwise,
the people of Israel were at one of their lowest points. They had become
slaves at the hands of the Egyptian dynasty. They were treated like dirt
and financially they were worse than poor since all they had depended on
their slavery.
The Bible tells us that for hundreds of years they lived under these
terrible conditions and cried out to God, and finally, at the appointed
time, God answered their prayers and delivered them from their slavery
by sending Moses to the Pharaoh of Egypt to let them go. And perhaps some
of you know the story of the 10 plagues that God visited upon Egypt in
order to convince Pharaoh to let them go which eventually he did.
And it was shortly after their miraculous escape that they came to this
mountain where Moses gave them the 10 commandments, but it was at this
point where their economic or financial situation had begun to improve.
They were poor at this point, they didn't own a lot, and they were on the
move through a wilderness which meant they were forced to depend heavily
on God to provide food for them every day so that they could not build
much of a savings account so to speak, they were sort of living day to
day, paycheck to paycheck if you will at this point. But God had set them
free from their bondage or slavery to the Egyptians.
It's interesting because God reminds them here in Ex. 20 and at other
key points throughout the Old Testament that even though it would be rough
for them at times they were to remember that they had been rescued from
the bondage or slavery of Egypt by God.
But their problem was at this point that even though God was taking
care of them, giving them what they needed to get by at this point in their
history, the Bible tells us that repeatedly the people complained about
their finances, and they started to say, "Yeah, well if you would have
only left us in Egypt, Moses, we had it so good there."
Then, after many years in which God made them wander in the wilderness,
God brought them to a wonder land, a land God had promised, a land God
called the "land of milk and honey." Now to them, milk and honey spoke
of one thing, financial prosperity. And I'd like you to turn ahead to Deut.
8:10 to show you the warning that God gave to the people just before they
were about to enter this land. It was given by Moses as the people
stood at the border before they were going to cross into the land. It says...
And you know what, the thing that God warned about happened. As the
people grew prosperous financially, they forgot God. They began to convince
themselves they could make it in the world without God, and they began
to run after the gods of the world around them, something which is so common
today, and guess what? They paid a huge price. They and their children
eventually lost their homes and homeland and were dragged away as slaves
to other countries.
Now, what's the point of that financial history? Well, the point was,
I believe, that their financial legacy teaches the truth of what we read
before from Ex. 20, that the sins of the fathers were visited to the 3rd
and 4th generation to follow, that the complaining and neglect of God and
His commands led the people back to the point where they started, slavery.
And I'd like us to think about how we see this very same thing going
on today right around us. Think once not just of the financial legacy of
Israel, but think once of the financial legacy of the United States. The
more prosperous we become as a nation, the farther our nation seems to
get from God, and more we begin to run after the gods of this world, greed,
materialism, sexual pleasures, drugs, alcohol, pride, selfishness. Think
once about the way in which our nation has handled its finances. Did you
know that in this century alone our national debt has gone up 1000%? Did
you know that just in the years from 1985-1990 the debt has gone from 1.5
trillion to 4.5 trillion?
In many ways, what I see happening in this decade is that we are paying
the price for the sins of the last two decades. Financially and otherwise,
the 1970's and 80's were marked by selfishness, greed, and debt. The me
generation, the yuppies, corporate merge mania all has taken its toll on
our nation, and I can't help but believe has contributed to the recession
which has hit so hard in recent years, and the sad thing is we have a long
ways to go to get out of the hole which we dug for ourselves back in the
80's.
And to me, Southern California
is the quintessential example of what happened in our nation. When my wife
and I moved out here in the late 80's, we were overwhelmed with the fixation
of the culture on the price of homes. Whenever we got together with people,
all they could talk about is how you can make x number of dollars in the
housing market.
And I remember because it threw us into a frenzy.
We thought, if we don't buy a home now, we'll never be able to afford a
home. Besides, I wanted to get in on the gravy and start to see my equity
start climbing the ladder of success. And God sure humbled me, because
as soon as I got in the market in 1990, God threw the brakes on the whole
economy, and instead of everyone talking about how their homes had gone
up, we had to listen to how homes were now going down. Southern California,
by and large, was an economy built on greed, selfishness, and the desire
to make a quick buck, and now many of us, myself included, are bearing
the burden of the sinful financial legacy of that culture. (Topic:
Greed)
The Bible says repeatedly, what you sow, in other words what you plant,
what you do now with you life including your finances, so also shall you
reap. In other words, that's going to have a direct effect on the type
of future harvest or lack thereof that is coming down the road. You can
not sow seeds of disobedience to God and expect you will reap a harvest
of his blessings. It just doesn't work that you can sow the seeds of a
weed and expect to reap a harvest of fruit and vegetables.
So, having said that, and having seen how this principle from the Bible
applied to both the nation of Israel and our own nation and state, I'd
like now for us to think about this same principle as it works in our own
personal lives, our financial legacy. As I said earlier, I would like all
of us this morning to take some time to reflect on the question, "What
type of legacy am I leaving for the generations who are going to follow
me?"
When you look at what God was saying in Ex. 20, the point was we have
a choice, and the choice is are we going to pass along financial sins or
financial blessings to our children. Let me start with the financial sins
side.
What are some common financial sins that we pass on to our children
today? Can you think of some of your own? Let me mention a few. One of
them is the thing which Pastor Tim was speaking about last week -- debt.
One of the greatest financial sins of the generation for most of us who
are adults here this morning has been a great addiction to or dependence
upon buy now, pay later. And guess who pays later, not only do we pay but
sometimes our kids and grandkids as will be the case with our national
debt.
Another common financial sin which gets passed on from one generation
to the next is living beyond our means, believing and thinking that we
need to or have to live at a certain standard of living. We were talking
about budgeting money in our classes this week, and when it came to the
line item entertainment, I caught myself because I started to say, "Well,
you have to budget at least something in this area." And then I thought,
is that true? Over half the world's population has zero dollars in their
budget for entertainment, and they get buy. But in America we convince
not only ourselves but our children that you have to live at a certain
standard to truly live. And that's where children, and some of us did this
too, think that when they start out on their own, they need to start at
a level living that Dad and Mom were living at, and they will use credit
to get there.
And when we or our children can't achieve that standard of living that
we think we need, we do the same thing as those people did in the wilderness,
we complain and get angry and throw fits and think if only we could have
this item or that item, if only we could make more money, if only my wife
would, if only my husband would, if only I would win the lottery, I would
be happy.
And we pass that on to our kids, money is the road to happiness. Money
is the road to security. Money is the road to success. You know that is
the very thing God warned against in the beginning of the 10 commandments,
the sin of Idolatry. Whether it's through spoiling our kids with a lot
of material goods or through modeling a constant malcontent complaining
attitude about our financial situation.
So what can we do to break ourselves from those sins and to leave a
God honoring and God blessed financial legacy to the generations to follow?
Well, to start with realize that when we recognize sin, be it financial
or otherwise, the law of God, the Bible tells us, is there to lead us to
Christ. One of the first things that all of us need to do this morning
is to come to Jesus and confess our financial sins not only for ourselves
but for the benefit of our children. When Jesus died on the cross, He died
to set us free from the bondage or slavery of Sin, including financial
sin.
But the other thing we need to do, according to the Bible, is when we
confess, we also need to repent, and the word repent means to turn away
from our sinfulness, to make changes in our attitudes, thoughts and behaviors.
Let me make some suggestions in closing this morning of ways in which
we can repent, make positive U turns in our finances that can leave the
blessings and love of God to the generations behind us. Look at
v. 6, God says, "But I will show love to... and keep my commandments."
Here's some advice which I think is based on things God teaches in the
Bible to teach our kids. What we can't afford; we don't buy. If you don't
have the cash, don't put it on the credit card. Either get rid of the card,
give the card to someone else, or discipline yourself to say, "I will only
charge what I already have the money in the bank to buy or pay for right
now." Teach that to your kids now, and they will be blessed.
Secondly, establish this principle in your families. In financial crises,
and we all have them, our family looks up. When the Israelites were in
the wilderness, where did they get their daily bread, from above, literally,
and that teaches us and our children. When we are in trouble, we don't
panic. We don't throw fits. We don't stress out. We to look up. We pray.
We trust God. We give thanks for our daily bread. If you have not started,
I highly recommend at each meal you sit down together with your kids to
say grace and give thanks for what God has given you. Why? Because that
will teach them that our family faces the uncertainties of this world by
looking up and giving thanks, because that will teach them that the way
to cope is not through stress or anger or complaining but through prayer
and faith that God has and will provide.
Another thing. Teach your children that because Jesus gave His life
as a sacrifice for us, we want to and willingly make sacrifices for others.
Let them in on decisions you make to give money to the Lord's work. Allow
them to have their own money, and teach them about the importance of giving
to others, sharing what God has given us with others in need. Give them
suggestions as to ways and organizations that they can begin to give sacrificially
of their own money. Teach them the importance of financial restraint, that
we don't just spend all of the money in our control on ourselves, but we
use a part of it to share with others, that we don't just buy things even
when we can afford them, but we ask whether our purchase of a thing fits
in with the bigger picture of whether we also helping others, sacrificially
with our money.
And finally, I believe one of the greatest gifts we can give to our
kids financially is this. In our home, Jesus comes first. In our home,
Jesus is Lord. He is Lord or master of all parts of our lives including
our money. And that's why we give our first fruits to Him. I am, as most
of you know personally sold on the idea of tithing. And I can't think of
a better legacy to leave to my kids, than to teach them by word and action
to put Jesus first with at least a tithe. To me, nothing will bless your
kids and make them more secure for the future, than teaching them with
money and with all of their lives to put Jesus first.
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