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Getting back to the basics of faith and money

Published: 11/14/2008

It is a pattern so deep in the life of our congregations that it goes unnoticed until you are in a crisis and become the recipient of the re-orientation that faith brings to fear.

I first became aware of it when a high-school girl was struck with kidney disease. I visited her in the emergency room at the local hospital at noon and then went back to see her at the regional hospital that evening. When I got to her room for the second visit, there were 20 people visiting her. The room was packed, and the crowd spilled out into the hallway. They were members of her parent’s Sunday-school class present to pray and console the family. In the midst of fear of impending death, the class affirmed faith in the God of life and support of the Christian community.

The young woman survived, and the focus shifted to helping her live a normal life. She went on a youth mission trip the next summer, and the whole group worked to help her manage the work, the fun, the worship and the dialysis. In the midst of crisis, faith countered fear and led to a Christ-centered way of life.
In United Methodist congregations, this goes on all the time. Our churches continually point people to God and his love for the world through Jesus Christ. We do that through worship, preaching, teaching, singing, serving and caring.

In the midst of fear, we proclaim hope. In the midst of death, we testify to life. In the midst of hate, we live love. In the midst of conflict, we offer peace. In the midst of moral confusion, we teach the basics of how to live abundantly.

America has just entered a time of economic turmoil and difficulty. The freezing of financial markets centered in New York, the precipitous drop in the stock market, layoffs in key industries, foreclosures on home mortgages and dropping house prices in some places all make for bad economic news. It appears that the country is headed into a recession. Some think it will be a bad one.

At the same time, not everyone is affected equally. Many small banks in Kansas are stable with plenty of money to lend. Home prices in many parts of our state are stable and rising. Key economic sectors, like agriculture and oil are doing well. When the news media are dominated by east- and west-coast realities, we here in the heartland don’t always get a balanced picture of our situation.

What I do know is this. Faith gives a different perspective of it all in four ways.

First, we know that God is in charge and has not abandoned us. We walk through the valley of the shadow of death without fear because God is with us. It is time for younger Christians to ask the senior members of our community about surviving other great challenges like the Great Depression and World War II. It is the same God who sustained them; we are going to be okay.

Second, our faith brings us together in community that supports each other. We can best get through hard times together. I hope each person reading this belongs to a Sunday-school class, a Bible study, a UMW circle, a UMM group or other place where support is offered and received.

Third, our faith reminds us to help those who are in need. We need to increase our support for food pantries, homeless ministries, retirement homes and other United Methodist ministries that serve those in greatest need.

Fourth, we need the moral message of the Gospel to remind people of the basics. Borrowing money without ability to repay is immoral. Each person should live within their means, and the best formula for that is to give 10 percent to God, save 10 percent and then live on the remaining 80 percent of one’s income. Frugality, integrity and extravagant generosity are not widely in favor in American culture today. People need to hear the Gospel’s view about money.

It is time to get back to the basics of faith and finance.

A list of stewardship resources, inlcuding the Bishop's 30-minute "Faith, Fruit & Finance" webcast" is available here.