Day 6: Increase Engagement
Read Luke 19:1-9
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
We tend to grow uncomfortable when the subject of money is talked about in a church setting. Why? Are decisions about how we live and how we use those resources unimportant? Is our faith supposed to be separate from our finances?
When you look at the teachings of Jesus, it's almost alarming how much Jesus talks about money. He discussed the topic of money more often than He spoke of faith and prayer combined
This is because Jesus knew that our treasures and our hearts are inseparably linked. For Him, talking about treasure was the primary way to grasp more completely the full allegiance of people’s hearts. Jesus knew that confronting us. To deal with our treasures is one of those critical places where the “rubber meets the road”, where the practicality of our faith is tested...where what we believe becomes tangible and real.
Remember the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19? We have no idea what happened between Jesus and Zacchaeus other than they had dinner together. But we do know that Jesus reached and dramatically changed Zacchaeus’ heart. How do we know that? Follow the money! Look at what happened with Zacchaeus’ treasure. Half of what he possessed, he gave immediately. Every wrong, he set himself to make right. Seeing where the treasure went, Jesus exclaims, “Today salvation has come to this house!”
Maybe we are uncomfortable with conversations about money because that is getting too close to the heart of our faith. Perhaps we are uncomfortable with conversations about our treasures because we are afraid that something as powerful as salvation will come very near our house today, and to embrace God’s will in our lives may mean a shift in the way we handle our finances to live God’s way.
Prayer: Lord, teach me to love You with all my heart – and with all my life. Let salvation come to my house today!
Action Item: Sketch out a simple budget of where your treasures are (of where your financial resources go).
Now write down your current giving to the ministries of the church. How does your giving to God’s work through the church compare to your investment in your other treasures? Does that level of giving represent what you believe in? What does that level of giving say about where your heart is? Where would you rather your heart be?