Reflections on Money

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."

The context of this passage in 2nd Corinthians is speaking of one group of Christians who are admonished to give to another in the hopes that each other's needs would be met by the other in a time of need. I love the implications of such an arrangement, but I really am not sure what it means for the daily management of my finances. The reason for this is that it is very rare, if ever, that you would ever see a true equality in terms of providing for one another's needs. There are needs all around and we certainly try to meet those needs when we can, but there are more and more all of the time. And this is within the church; it is not even considering the implication of the question within our material that seems to be considering those outside of the church as well.

I really don't know how close I am to living that ideal. By MY standards, it seems that we give away quite a bit of money to others. However, we do spend more money than we must to maintain our needs. When we lived in Indianapolis, we spent $300 - $400 less on rent per month versus what we pay for our house now. Am I to infer from this passage that I should sell my home, move back into an apartment and give the difference to those around me? Maybe that is exactly what the passage is saying. Can I imagine that I would ever do this just for the joy of giving that money away? I can't say so. Yet there is this problem in that the logical end of this passage seems to say that I should consider the needs of others at least to the extent that I consider mine. This seems to be the case at the end of verse 14 when the word "equality" is used. Maybe this is the case. Maybe I am just missing the point, even though it stares at me in black and white.

So again, I'm not sure how close I am to living this standard. I remember hearing someone else recently saying that they are trying to put their finances in such a place where they would be able to use half of their income and give the other half away to those in need. It seems that this would be very close to the standard set here by Paul.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

I have always held the belief that if I continued to sow as effectively and abundantly as possible, reaping would simply be a natural part of that process. One example of this is in my job. I am in sales and I normally don't even know what my goal is until the middle of the year, well past the crucial spring sales season. I work hard knowing that if I am to sow into the job, will skill and diligence, the natural result will be that I am rewarded with the harvest at the end of the season. In this case, the amount of sowing is not dependent on the goal for my sales, but is an intrinsic motivation in and of itself.

As I consider my finances and working with the poor, I have to trust that there is a harvest. Many times when giving my money, it seems that it does not make the impact that I would like to have it make. There is a black hole that the money seems to flow into, with little appreciation in return. My trust, though, is that the harvest will be the Lord's as the kindness of God is found flowing through me in my giving.

So I think that I am someone who does sow generously. I always wish I could do more with what I have been given and am actively pursuing that goal.

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

List, my dear brothers: has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Treating others equally has been something that has always been something that I felt was very important for me to do. This was a value that I felt like my parents instilled in me from very young and it has stuck with me to this day. That said, while it is a value, I am reflecting that very few - if any - of my friends are part of those that I would consider "the poor". I think in this way there is much room for improvement but in terms of showing favoritism to one person over another when making decisions, this has really been the case for me.