There are times when people are strangely transparent. Unsolicited, folks will frankly confess their infidelities, petty crimes, or simply share gory details about a recent illness (of which you’d rather not have heard about and you leave the conversation feeling rather awkward), but, just ask someone how much money they make or what they currently have in the bank and they will unravel like a cheap sweater.
If you don’t believe me that asking about money is offensive, just ask the next person you talk to. We are often scolded and told, “Don’t you dare talk about religion or politics...,” when you get together, “you’ll just upset everyone!” In reality, the real lightning rod topic is money.
Similarly, consider the uproar that ensues whenever a community has to set the town’s budget or they decide to build a new structure, like a school. Divers opinions clash, people get upset, and everyone knows how best the money should/shouldn’t be spent -- everyone apparently is an instant expert.
Everyone (also) gets embarrassed when it comes to disclosing their personal finances -- the key term here is “personal.” Think of people, other than those in your own household, and try to name a few of which you know their annual income. I can’t, after all, it’s none of my business, and the point is, we don’t divulge this kind of information to each other regardless of how close we are.
On a related note, why is it that most churches have enough “Jesus” but never enough money? I rarely preach about “giving” for a few reasons. Maybe this brief vignette will help illustrate why:
I recently heard about a married person who had been trying hard for over 20 years to get their spouse to join them at church on a Sunday morning. “Well,” the other one said, “the only thing churches are really interested in is my money, so no thank you.” Over time though the “faithful” one finally wore the other one down, and the invited one acquiesced and agreed to go with. Putting on their “Sunday best” even though a non-member, the other went along. I bet you can guess what the pastor happened to preach on that Sunday. That spouse left church that Sunday, and poor excuse or not, hasn’t darkened the doors since. I doubt they will ever again, until their funeral that is.
So does this mean churches shouldn’t ever broach the subject of money? After all, Jesus talked about money and the Bible has many passages dedicated to the subject.
I think money, tithing, and how we treat our resources are spiritual matters. But, for our churches, they are probably best addressed over a cup of coffee, in a small group study, or some other informal/relaxed setting besides on a Sunday morning. Unfortunately, our congregations weekly send the message to “visitors” we are more interested in their money than any other topic every week when we pass “the plate” every Sunday and “take up” the offering, or when we dedicate an entire month of sermons to next year’s budget.
We already have enough obstacles to evangelism these days, so let’s not put up another costly roadblock when it comes to reaching people who are already (rightfully so) cynical or jaded. Yes money is a matter of spiritual maturity and we need to be honest and open about our church’s fiscal needs as well as the snares of money, but not at the expense of alienating lost souls.
