Getting Your Taxes Right – Giving to God What Is God’s

I’ve decided to begin this pastor’s note on a cheerful note by reminding you that this coming Monday is April 15. I am sure you have been looking forward to this year’s tax deadline. When it comes to income tax, I am always reminded of my former supervisor at the Don Pedro Recreation Agency whose April 15^th comment was, “I wish I had to pay a million dollars in taxes!” Of course, he was also hoping to have the kind of income that would generate that size of a tax bill.

Now that you are in a good mood let me enhance it with some words of Jesus after he was asked a malicious question about paying taxes to the imperial Roman government, “Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God” Luke 20:24-25 (NLT2).

Since you are now feeling thoroughly upbeat, let me focus you on the most overlooked part of Jesus’ answer to his greedy, money-loving questioners (Luke 16:14), “give to God what belongs to God.” Be honest, is that the part you focused on, contemplated? Or, did you join the choir of the tax gripers?

If you and I are going to live in a relationship with God, be followers of Jesus, and adopt God’s word (the Bible) as our guide, we will have to learn to have a different relationship with money, possessions, wealth, and stuff. Those religious leaders, who were trying to squeeze Jesus into saying something that would make the majority of people unhappy with him, were all about themselves, about hoarding as much as they could, they had God on their lips but wanting to be rich and the love of money in their hearts (Mark 7:6-13). God got the leftovers, certainly not the first and the best.

So, what belongs to God? That’s the right starting question.

• The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it Psalm 24:1 (NASB). This truth, this fact, has some serious implications. The laptop I am composing this p-note on – God’s. The cars sitting outside my window, with Susie’s and my names on the registration – God’s. The house we hold title to – God’s. The current balance in our bank accounts – God’s. My body, skills, and know-how – God’s. Today, tomorrow, and hopefully the rest of this and many more years – God’s. This reality of God being the owner makes you and me a steward, a manager, accountable to God, which means what pleases Him, and what He wants is vastly more important than our desires and plans. Have you surrendered all that you have to God?

• Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NASB). Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way Colossians 3:17 (MSG). This requires a differently ordered heart because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also Matthew 6:21 (NASB). This is a heart that is focused on God, exalting God, continually and in everything praising and thanking God, a heart that wants to involve everything in our lives in our relationship and worship of God. This is a heart that lives out a full-time, all-of-the-time, everywhere and anywhere relationship with God. Have you surrendered all of yourself?

• If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content 1 Timothy 6:8 (NASB).  But you, … pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness 1 Timothy 6:11 (NIV). In my experience, most tax conversations reek of discontent, which is why they put the tax question to Jesus, but if you and I are going to focus on rendering the things that are God’s to God there are much more important things to pursue than tax issues, For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it 1 Timothy 6:7 (NIV). Imagine what your life would be like if you’d spend as much energy, time, and effort on pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, … than you are on discussing and paying less taxes? Are you pursuing what will transform you into Christlikeness?

To God be all glory. Happy April 15^th, Pastor Hans

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God’s Kingdom Economy

What we do in the present both affects and determines our future. What we do with what we have, especially if have more than enough, says a lot about us, our faith, and what we think life is all about.

Billionaire J.P. Getty was infamous for being a tightwad, he even installed a pay phone in his house for guests to use. He also was world famous for his vast collection of art and his failures when it came to marriage and family. “Getty was quoted as saying ‘A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure,’ and, ‘I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success.’” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Paul_Getty). He obviously had a grasp on the economy of money, but he had no understanding of the economy of God and true and eternal riches.

In God’s economy, love is the highest value, so the two supreme commands are to totally love God and to love our neighbor, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these” Mark 12:29-31 (NLT2). Jesus raises the standard of the second commandment “as yourself,” when He tells His disciples to “love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13:34). This, of course, has real-world implications regarding everything we have and how we use it.

1. If I want to keep the commandment of totally loving God then I have to manage everything in a way that pleases Him, it has to accomplish His will. John 14:15 and 1 Timothy 6:17-19 are very clear statements in this regard, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”  “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed” (NASB).

• If I want to keep the commandments of loving my neighbor, people, like Jesus, then I have to embrace a completely different lifestyle, where generosity and sharing are not just occasional but the norm. I will need a mentality that thinks of giving as better than keeping, that believes making others’ lives better is a greater aesthetic than the world’s finest art. “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich” 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NLT2).

Having settled the above I need to learn and grow in:

• Godliness and Christlikeness (1 Timothy 6:3-16). They are acquired through obedience exhibited in concrete actions, dos and don’ts. Godliness and Christlikeness refuse to manipulate God and instead live in continual surrender to God, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and the truth of the Word of God (the Bible).

• Contentment. “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
   After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content” 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (NLT2). Discontentment has a tremendous appetite, it is never satisfied, it continually hungers for more, better, and newer. It has little regard for sharing, others, and the future, not to speak of eternity. The good news is that I can learn contentment (Philippians 4:11).

• Faith. I have to trust God that living the Jesus lifestyle is the best way to live. I need to be convinced of and believe that living by His commands is both better and blessed. That giving and sharing, that doing with less in order to bless, that converting earthly treasure into heavenly riches is the right and superior way to live. I need to live in the confidence that God will supply all my needs and will enable me to do what He commanded, what He deems right, good, and best. 

So, share away. Be generous to the extent you’ll be in danger of being accused of being like Jesus.

            Love you, Pastor Hans

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Theology of Sharing

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NASB)

33, that’s the number of chocolate chip cookies I baked early this morning. Before backing this latest batch the number of chocolate chip cookies in our house was 0. Zero cookies meant there was none for me and none for me to share. Now, I no longer have a zero-cookie problem, but I do have to decide what to do with the thirty-three. Actually, the number is down to thirty-two because I already ate a taster, a quality control sacrifice.

No one needs 33 cookies for themselves, although, they do keep rather nicely in the freezer. So, what to do? I could call you, make another pot of coffee and we could shoot the breeze while we dunk a cookie or two in our coffee. This would leave me with 28, which is still too many for just one person, especially one who is trying to get back in shape and lose a few pounds.

“Hmm?”

Well, since you didn’t come over, I bagged up 18 in three Ziplock bags to share with three people I have on my mind. You’re right, that still leaves 10, which in my mind, is a legitimate number for an emergency chocolate chip cookie fund, and, I don’t want to be unprepared in case you do stop by.

“What’s my point? You sound hangry. Are you down to zero cookies too?”

The point. You can only share what you have. You can’t share what you don’t have but what you do have you can share, if you want to. God’s opinion/will on the subject is clear, share, generously share what you have. Especially if you are rich because when you are rich you have more than enough, more cookies than you need. And, share now, because cookies get stale, “after all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content”1 Timothy 6:7-8 (NLT2).

“Is God really going to check on what we did with our cookies?” Check out Matthew 25:14-46 for the answer.

“How many cookies did I bake this morning?” and, “How many do I have left?” I see you have kept track of my chocolate chip cookie inventory. But what about your sharing inventory? The truth is you didn’t wake up empty-handed this morning, with nothing to share. Broke, maybe. Out of cookies, possibly. But not empty-handed. This is especially true for every Christian because God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” Ephesians 1:3 (ESV).

So, do a sharing inventory. Make a list of everything God has given you, everything you have right now that you can share. Start with yourself – your presence, hands, time, … Include your stuff – your things, money, property, … Don’t forget about your abilities – your skills, talents, education, know-how, giftedness, … Make sure you don’t miss your capabilities – to love, care, encourage, being kind and merciful, bless, … Don’t leave out faith treasures – the Gospel, the Bible, Prayer, life-with-Jesus stories, …

Now that you peeked into your cookie jar, share, generously share, and keep on sharing, there will be more in it tomorrow.

To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans

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The Laborer Is Worthy

President Grover Cleveland signed Labor Day into law on June 28, 1894. It is the worker’s holiday. God, of course, codified into His law fair pay, just treatment of, and protections for workers thousands of years earlier:

You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. Leviticus 19:13 (NASB)

You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the LORD and it become sin in you. Deuteronomy 24:15 (NASB)

The laborer is worthy of his wages. 1 Timothy 5:18 (NASB)

Both Jesus and the Apostle Paul reiterated those scriptures because the exploitation of workers (including those in ministry positions, and in Biblical times often slaves) is not a new thing, it is as old as humankind. Human exploitation is born out of greed and the abuse of power, which are always ready to twist the human heart and mind. When President Cleveland signed off on Labor Day working conditions were squalid, and notoriously unsafe, with 12-hour days, 7 days a week being the norm, including for children.

Listen to the God-inspired words of hard-hitting, calling it as it is, James, half-brother of Jesus: “Come now, you rich people! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. Your wealth is ruined and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your silver and gold are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored up treasure in the last days! Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who reaped your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have lived luxuriously on the land and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned—you have murdered—the righteous man; he does not resist you” James 5:1-6 (HCSB). That’s more than a call for a national holiday honoring the importance and dignity of workers. That’s calling out the sin of exploitation, the immorality of greed that values self-indulgence above making people’s lives better when we are in the position to do so.

Is there anything wrong with owning a business, turning a profit, and accumulating wealth? Not at all, but that business, like everything else God entrusts to us, is meant to glorify God and bless others, and God will call every business owner and employer into account, especially regarding the treatment of their workers.

Back in the Grover Cleveland days workers had to fight long and hard for even basic workers’ rights and working conditions. Companies, their owners, their stockholders, their executives, and politicians, did not exactly run to their aid. We are beneficiaries of their willingness to struggle and sacrifice to improve conditions and compensation for all workers.

Earlier in the letter of James (chapter 2:1-7), he puts his boney prophet finger on our bad habit of treating the rich better, giving them preferential treatment, and being partial to them, even in church. In doing so, James argues, we dishonor the poor person, and we forget that it is not the poor who exploit the rich but vice versa. Then he reminds everyone, but especially the rich, that we are never at liberty to not love our neighbor, regardless of who s/he is, including employees.

Maybe some of you are wondering when I am going to say something about the workers, their responsibilities, their end of the equation? I won’t, at least not in this pastor’s note, you will have to wait until next week. This happens too often today; it is the “Yes, but …,” defense.

However, for this pastor’s note, let’s stand up for the worker, the laborer, the employee the way God would have us. Let’s remember that fair compensation, humane treatment, and safe working conditions are important to Him. Let’s not forget, that being blessed with a business that employs is an opportunity to love and take care of people as we would ourselves. Let’s treat workers like God/Jesus does, “worthy” of dignity, respect, and justice.

Have an awesome Labor Day! Love you, Pastor Hans

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Following Jesus – Means, He Is In Charge, He Determines the Direction

Somehow, by God’s wisdom and humor, I become Mel’s pastor at the ripe old age of twenty-four. I loved Mel, but it took him some time to love me. He was of the WWII generation and didn’t care much about Krauts. When his wife Aggie-Lou got sick I started to drive him to see her. One day he handed me the keys to pristine 69 Pontiac. He said he didn’t want to use my gas, but the moment we took off in his car for the first time it became clear I was no longer in charge. Mel told me where to go, where to turn, where to park, how fast to go, when to turn on the heater or a/c, what gas station to use, which pump to pull up to, and to make sure to stop pumping at the first click. Good thing I am somewhat patient, and me driving his “baby” meant that he had let this Kraut into his heart. He gave me the wheel, but not the pink-slip.

You can’t seriously follow Jesus and be the leader. The very act of following recognizes that someone else is the leader, is in charge. It is the leader, the one in charge who gets to determine the direction, the route, the stops, the agenda, the timing, and the activity. Jesus left no doubt about who’s the leader, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” John 12:26 (ESV). Even if he gives us the keys to the car, he’s still the leader.

With my hands on the steering wheel of Mel’s Pontiac, I had all kinds of thoughts running through my mind, “Let’s see what this four-barreled V-8 under the hood can do?” “Let’s lay down some rubber!” When Mel gave directions I would often think, “That’s the long way!” or, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” When he asked me to turn off the a/c on 105-degree day because he was afraid that the car might overheat, I was flat out flabbergasted, but I turned it off, it was his car I was driving. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV), the Apostle Paul reminded us followers of Jesus even while we have our hands on the steering wheel of our sexuality. Serious followers of Jesus continually acknowledge the Lord and Leadership of Jesus, the Sovereignty of God over their lives, and constantly bear in mind that, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; …” Psalm 24:1 (NIV), even while we are steering this vehicle, called our life, registered in Jesus’ name.

What do you need to change after reading this pastor’s note?

To God be all glory, Pastor Hans

 

 

 

 

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The Earth is the Lords (Ownership)

March 13 2011

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths. Psalm 24:1-2 (NLT)

It was a magnificent early spring concert rising up from the creek that crosses the back corner of our property. I had been cutting up a bull pine that went down in our horse pasture some months ago, but when the daylight waned and it got too dim to safely cut I turned off my chainsaw, sat down on a stump, took out my earplugs, and that’s when I heard it. While listening to the ebb and flow of the massive choir of frogs and crickets I was reminded of something they seem to instinctively know but we seem to quickly forget. The earth and all it contains belongs to God.

As I already told you I was on my property, I had used my chainsaw, I was sitting in my pasture, and the stump I was sitting on belonged to me as well. It is all mine, I own it fair and square. Actually we, Susie and I, own it, because a long time ago we decided to share everything and said, “I do.” Where our fence ends our neighbors’ property begins and I can’t call it mine because Jim and Marianne hold legal title to it, it is theirs. Now the singing critters don’t know this because they come and go as they please. The birds too build their nests on our property without ever once asking if that would be okay. No, all those creatures lay no permanent and legal claim, they simply live without any thought of ownership to land they did not create.

Now I have seen enough nature shows, read enough books, and spent time in personal observation to know that many animals, and even plants, are fiercely territorial. But no creature has taken ownership to the level we have as people. Thus it is a sobering, and challenging reminder, that none of us can claim ultimate ownership. Don’t misunderstand, neither I nor scripture discourages ownership. The trouble is that the more we own the more we are inclined to forget about God, the more we are inclined think that we are only accountable to ourselves when it comes to that which we own.

The reason why God is the ultimate owner of not only all that you and I own, but of us as well, is that he made it all, even our very life. Thus he can lay claim and hold us accountable as to what we do with our lives, our things, our property, and our wealth.

Those critters singing down by my creek I am sure have never contemplated any of this. In fact their singing down there is about mating not meditating on God. But you and I, because we are made in the image of God, are able to hear, see, and know God through all of creation, as well as all God entrusts to us. The reality of God’s ownership has deep, even radical implications. I would like to encourage you to go find a stump and listen to what God would have you know, contemplate, change, and live out when it comes to all that you can say to, “that’s mine.”

To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans

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