Stop worrying. Jesus says it four times in the Gospel today. So does the Prophet Isaiah. Today we will discuss tithing as a means to let go and let God.
It just so happens that the Gospel for today contains Christ’s famous line, “No man can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and Mammon.” Mammon is a biblical word for money. This brings to mind a Mark Twain joke, which I tell every year, but we never cease appreciating his humor. Here’s the joke: Mark Twain is arguing with a Mormon about polygamy. “Where in the Bible, Mr. Twain,” asks the Mormon, “does it say a man cannot have two wives?” “That’s easy,” replies Mr. Twain. “Jesus says clearly in Mt 6, no man can serve two masters.”
The serious point here is that, when money becomes our master, we have lost our freedom. The simple and foolproof way to declare our independence from money is to … give some of it away. That’s called tithing, and it’s a solid Christian principle (Jewish too). In fact, it’s also a Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu principle. It’s a human principle. We need to give to be human, to be free. It’s the stewardship principle. St. Paul writes in our second reading: “we are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” We are not owners, but stewards. Stewardship takes a lot of pressure off of us.
A wealthy man, who is suffering a slowdown in his business and so is a little less wealthy than he was, said to me recently: we can’t expect people to tithe in these difficult economic times. Does this make sense? Tithing is based on a percentage. The only reason one could not tithe is if one had zero income. If I have 50% less income, I tithe 50% less, but I don’t stop tithing. If I make one dollar a week, I tithe ten cents. Everyone can tithe. It’s very healthy to do so.
Friends, God wants us to be free. He wants us to be free of dependence on money, on relationships, on substances, on anything that causes us to worry. Jesus tells us four times in today’s Gospel to stop worrying. And one of the most important ways we stop worrying to let go of some of what God has entrusted to us, including money, time, talent, etc. If you want to be free of anxiety about money, begin tithing. Seriously tithing. Five dollars a week to God when we spend 20 dollars a week on movies and 40 dollars on eating out will not work. Real freedom means working towards a full ten percent.
I’m not preaching on tithing because this is BMA time, although it doesn’t hurt. I’m preaching on tithing because it’s our gospel for today. Jesus said it, not me: No man can serve two masters. He will either love the one and hate the other, or hate the one and hate the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” To be happy, to be free, we must serve God alone. Everything else, and I mean everything, must be brought into submission to His Lordship.
It just so happens that the Gospel for today contains Christ’s famous line, “No man can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and Mammon.” Mammon is a biblical word for money. This brings to mind a Mark Twain joke, which I tell every year, but we never cease appreciating his humor. Here’s the joke: Mark Twain is arguing with a Mormon about polygamy. “Where in the Bible, Mr. Twain,” asks the Mormon, “does it say a man cannot have two wives?” “That’s easy,” replies Mr. Twain. “Jesus says clearly in Mt 6, no man can serve two masters.”
The serious point here is that, when money becomes our master, we have lost our freedom. The simple and foolproof way to declare our independence from money is to … give some of it away. That’s called tithing, and it’s a solid Christian principle (Jewish too). In fact, it’s also a Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu principle. It’s a human principle. We need to give to be human, to be free. It’s the stewardship principle. St. Paul writes in our second reading: “we are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” We are not owners, but stewards. Stewardship takes a lot of pressure off of us.
A wealthy man, who is suffering a slowdown in his business and so is a little less wealthy than he was, said to me recently: we can’t expect people to tithe in these difficult economic times. Does this make sense? Tithing is based on a percentage. The only reason one could not tithe is if one had zero income. If I have 50% less income, I tithe 50% less, but I don’t stop tithing. If I make one dollar a week, I tithe ten cents. Everyone can tithe. It’s very healthy to do so.
Friends, God wants us to be free. He wants us to be free of dependence on money, on relationships, on substances, on anything that causes us to worry. Jesus tells us four times in today’s Gospel to stop worrying. And one of the most important ways we stop worrying to let go of some of what God has entrusted to us, including money, time, talent, etc. If you want to be free of anxiety about money, begin tithing. Seriously tithing. Five dollars a week to God when we spend 20 dollars a week on movies and 40 dollars on eating out will not work. Real freedom means working towards a full ten percent.
I’m not preaching on tithing because this is BMA time, although it doesn’t hurt. I’m preaching on tithing because it’s our gospel for today. Jesus said it, not me: No man can serve two masters. He will either love the one and hate the other, or hate the one and hate the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” To be happy, to be free, we must serve God alone. Everything else, and I mean everything, must be brought into submission to His Lordship.
RSS Feed