“Shiny Gods: Money, Work, and Debt” Deut 28: 12-14

Last year, following our stewardship sermon series, a few people approached me and said that I should have went into finances. The truth is, today’s topic, while one about finances is a passion of mine, more importantly, because of its biblical basis. Today’s topic - money and debt. 

We are now in the second week of our sermon series on holistic stewardship. But it is hard to be a good steward of what God has entrusted into your care if you are always worried about debt related to bills. In 2012, the average american had 15,000 in credit card debt alone. With the interest rate on credit cards, even if you never missed a payment, that is money that will be tied up for years. Proverbs, the book of wisdom, has a lot to say about debt, but one that I find the most prudent is 22: 7 “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lenders slave.”

Far too many people in America have become enslaved to debt. Unnecessary debt. Debt that comes not because of things that they need to survive, but rather because of things they want and not knowing when enough is enough. And maybe thats the hard question that each of us needs to be asking ourselves, how much is enough? 

In the 12th chapter of the gospel of Luke we find Jesus telling a parable about a man who had a rich crop one year. The man looked around at the blessings of his fields and started to wonder what he should do with all that was left over. His first thought was not to share it with his neighbors in need. Or to give it to the orphan and the widow. Instead his first thought was to tear down his barns in order to build bigger ones in their place. Then he could relax and not worry about anything for years because of how much was stored away. But God came to him and called him a fool - saying that very night he would die and then what good would all he had stored up be?

We hear Jesus’s teaching but it doesn’t quite sink in. For as we compare ourselves to our neighbors and the people we see on the TV, we believe that we don’t have enough at all. In fact, we may never had really sat down and asked ourselves, let alone prayed to God about, how much stuff is enough? So we go each day to work in order to accumulate more stuff, most of which will be disposed of in one way or another following our death, the day God calls us home. We toil after the illusive idea of having enough when really we are already blessed with more than enough.

In this mornings scripture we find the nation of Israel, being told that they, a people with no place and very little possessions to their name, will be a nation of abundance. That God will bless them in a mighty way. That they will be the place other nations turn when they are in need and that they will be well known - if they follow God’s commandments. 

Now this scripture has been abused over the years in one of two ways. It has been the root of the prosperity gospel movement which essentially says name it and claim it and God will give you whatever you want. I’m not sure about you, but that hasn’t been had God has worked in my life in the past and its not how I expect or even want God to act in the future. I want to follow a God who is Lord, not a magical genuine who grants wishes. I want to follow a God who helps me become a more whole person as I learn to follow, not a God who gives me whatever I want just because I want it. 

Second, this scripture has been used to say that as long as we follow God’s commandments then God will bless us with riches and abundance beyond our wildest imagination. Once again, this can be a dangerous way to read this scripture because it makes it seem like following God is about getting what we want - if I follow God’s rules then I will get whatever I ask for, when the truth is our faith in Jesus Christ has an abundance of riches unto itself, simply not material possessions.

But here are the people of Israel who have been salve for countless years, owning nothing, and then wondering around the dessert for another forty. God is telling them that they will no longer be in bondage to anything or anyone because God has chosen to bless them abundantly. 

While we are surly blessed, far too many of us also live in a bondage of our choosing - debt. I could weep over the stories I have been told of people who just keep digging themselves in more and more and wake up every morning with the burden of financial worries. On a recent survey for my health insurance there were even a series of questions about financial health, because far too often the stress of financial issues can lead to health issues. 

There are two types of debt that we can have. The first is never good - consumer debt. This is credit card debt. Debt that comes from needing more things but not having enough money to buy them. Another way to state this is that consumer debt comes from living well beyond our means in a buy it now, pay for it later society. The second type of debt is investment debt - debt from mortgages and school loans. 

I am very honest with folks - I carry investment debt in the form of a school loan. By the grace of God and lots of planning, this debt will be paid off by the end of next year. It is a debt that I do not regret because it has enabled me to fulfill my call and stand before you today as a pastor. But whether it is consumer debt or investment debt we still need a plan as to how to pay it off. Rev. Mike Slaughter says this about debt, “The problem with debt is that it means I go to work tomorrow to pay for the past instead of investing in the future”. The problem with debt is that it makes us a slave to the lender as we try to pay it off, instead of a people looking towards the future.

But tied to this idea of debt, is an even bigger question - why do we work? I know a lot people who would say that they work in order to pay off their debt or pay the bills. But God sees gift as a work. Notice that God didn’t tell the Israelites that the grain would simply fall from the sky immediately becoming bread for their plates. There was still work involved, even in the blessing. Work is about more than having an easy life or simply earning money. Work is about having a purpose - a purpose to serve God and serve others. We work because we have been given the gift of life that enables us to work! 

Now this does not mean that everyone who is retired amongst us needs to go out and get a paying job. Or that if we don’t have a job that pays that we aren’t in God’s will. Certainly not! But it does mean that we need to ask ourselves if how are spending our days - working a paying job, serving tirelessly as a volunteer, or teaching others our wisdom - is a righteous use of our time that honors God. 

Brothers and sisters, may we be people who examine how we spend our time and our money to make sure it glorifies God. If we have a problem with debt, thats okay, but lets admit it and ask for Gods help in forming a plan to alleviate that debt. And above all may we be a people who work for the Kingdom of God to be proclaimed in and through us! Amen.