10 Common Misconceptions about Money – January 13th

Opening

10 Common Misconceptions About Money ( by Stacey Johnson from Money Talk News)

1. The more money I have, the happier I’ll be.

Let’s ask Howard Hughes, Anna Nicole Smith, John Belushi, Chris Farley, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Elvis about this one. OK, guys, show of hands… did fame and fortune make them happy?

When you’re on your death-bed, will you be thinking about money? If so, your contribution to the gene pool was negligible. Rather than obsessing about money, think about what really makes you happy. Then make only enough money to take part in those activities. Making more is a waste of the only non-renewable resource you have: your time on the planet.

2. A big income will keep me out of debt.

What’s the difference between someone who makes $50,000 a year with a $100,000 mortgage and someone who makes $500,000 a year with a $1 million mortgage? Answer: nothing. Unless they have money set aside for emergencies, they’re both a paycheck away from disaster.

Debt often rises with income. What keeps you out of debt isn’t a high income or net worth. It’s not borrowing money.

3. Millionaires drive fancy cars, wear fancy clothes, and live in fancy houses.

Not according to the folks who did a bunch of research and wrote The Millionaire Next Door. According to their studies, the average American millionaire drives an unexciting American car, lives in the same nondescript house they’ve owned for years, and avoids designer labels. That’s how they became millionaires.

4. The more money I have, the less worries I’ll have.

Balderdash. Money doesn’t end anxiety. It gives you something else to be anxious about: losing your money. Granted, those without enough money to eat or keep a roof over their heads have lots to worry about. But once you have enough money for all your needs and a reasonable number of your desires, the excess will add to your concerns, not alleviate them.

5. Money will help me find love.

In my experience with women, they’re not attracted to money. They are, however, attracted to ambition and intelligence, especially when it presents as humor. Everyone’s attracted to people who are self-confident, non-needy, and able to laugh at themselves.

Like a peacock, wealthy people can easily attract attention. But attention isn’t the same as admiration or affection. And even if it works, do you really want to spend your life with someone so shallow and insecure they were attracted to your money?

6. I’ll have more fun if I have more money.

When I was young, I didn’t have two nickels to rub together, but I had a ton of fun. Today I have lots of nickels – and am happy to report, still having a riot.

There’s no doubt that money can furnish the elements of a good time. But if you need money to have fun, you’re boring. And should you become a billionaire, you’ll still be boring.

7. Money means security.

When you boil it down, a primary purpose of money is to make life more predictable. It allows you to control your environment by being prepared for the unexpected.

While that’s partly true, there’s not enough money in the world to completely control everything.

8. Money will enable me to meet interesting people.

Overcoming adversity is what makes people interesting, not how much money they have. People without at least a few skeletons in the closet are often shallow as a puddle.

9. I need money to travel, and travel is important.

The world is an interesting place, and being well-traveled makes you interesting. But travel comes in many forms, including the budget variety. If you want to see faraway places, you’ll find a way.

10. Money will buy friends.

This is not only untrue, it’s the opposite of what money actually does. People with vast wealth or fame can’t trust the motives of those surrounding them (see No. 5 above). That’s why the people they count as true friends are normally either people they knew before they were rich and famous, or people who are equally rich and famous.

What is disturbing about these top ten misconceptions is there are many followers of Christ who believe these are true! There are people out there (Christians included) who really believe that money can buy happiness, money can buy peace, money can satisfy the longings of our heart.

The only thing that money can buy is things.

Jesus talked a lot about money.  Jesus knows that our heart is attached to our money.

God is interested in your money. Not because He needs your money…for He certainly does not!…but because YOU need it! Since you are imp’t to God, your money is imp’t to God.

God is interested in how you secure it/spend it/save it/share it. Immediately, some people say…don’t talk about money, preacher, talk about something spiritual.

Nothing is more spiritual than how you handle your money. It is the supreme test of where our heart is.

Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Money is something we use everyday, it’s our medium of exchange, our very survival depends on it. How can Jesus Christ be Lord, and not be Lord over our money? How can he care about us, and not care about that which is so intrinsically tied to our very survival?

“Don’t talk about money, preacher, talk about something spiritual…wait just a minute! The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil! If all the evil in this world is directly or indirectly traced back to a love of money, then that means there is nothing more spiritual that we can talk about today, than our attitude toward money.

Eccles. 10:19  New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁹ A party gives laughter,
wine gives happiness,
and money gives everything!

Money is everything to us – God knows our heart.

“But, it’s uncomfortable…I don’t like it when the preacher talks about money.” If that’s true, you would not have liked the preaching of Jesus Christ. When He walked this earth, he gave 36 parables, and 16 of them had to do with our attitude toward money! 1 out of every 10 verses in the NT deals  with our attitude toward money!

Verses about faith…about 500

Verses about prayer—500

Verses about money—over 2,000
Remember the story Jesus told about the widow’s mites? The Pharisees were giving their large offerings, and the little lady gave her 2 mites. That whole story has to do with our attitude toward money.

Look at Lk. 16…at the end of the story Jesus said, if you have not been faithful w/ your money, who do you expect to commit to you the true riches? That whole story has to do w/ our attitude toward money.

Rich Young Ruler—came to Jesus and asked what he had to do to be His follower…Jesus said, sell all you have, come and follow me. But he couldn’t do it, he went away sorrowful, because he didn’t own his possessions…they owned him!

There are 3 groups in this room right now and each group has one of these attitudes when it comes towards their  money and possessions.

1. It’s all mine. I worked for it. I earned it. I deserve it. I can do what I want to with it …and when offering plate goes by, they say, I can give if I want to, but I don’t have to. If I feel led to give a dollar, If I feel like $20, I will give it.   …but it’s all mine, I can do what I want with it.

This attitude is I am the owner and I will do what I want or give how I feel.

You are right – you can do what you want with it.  You can give whatever percentage you like. You don’t have to give anything at all! There is nowhere in scripture that says you HAVE to give anything.  But the scriptures do challenge us to give everything.  He wants are time, talent and all.

Look at the story of the woman and her two mites. She didn’t have to give her last two mites away. She could have saved them for a rainy day but Jesus used this woman to teach his disciples about having a willing heart.

2. Tithe belongs to God, and the rest is mine (90%). In obedience I give Him 10%, and with the rest, I’ll do what I want to with the rest.

This attitude says that, “ I am the owner and I share with God.”  Do you hear the error in that line of thinking! We are basically saying I have what I have because I earned it. And because I am a nice person, a good person I will share some with God.

When you at the story of the Rich Young ruler, Jesus asked him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. The rich young ruler chose not to and he walked away sad. What we learn is that his stuff controlled him instead of God controlling him. He simply thought if I give a little of myself to God – God would be pleased.  God doesn’t want us to share our resources he wants to own our resources.

3. It all belongs to God…the tithe/the rest of it. I return to Him what He has commanded, and He entrusts me with the rest of His money. Just because I return the tithe, that doesn’t give me the right to do whatever I want with the rest of it. I still have to pray about every expenditure and my lifestyle…and be a good steward of ALL of His money. I will be judged someday for what I do with this…and with this…. and …..

This attitude says that, “It all belongs to God and I am called to be good steward.”

Luke 16: ¹⁰ “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. ¹¹ And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? ¹² And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

If we are faithful in the little things we will be faithful in larger.  – and one of those little things is tithing.

Tithing is simply this  – giving 10% of your income.

This idea of tithing and giving an offering was not instituted by man. If you look at the scriptures closely you will discover that God called all the tribes of Israel to give a portion (sometimes up to 22% of their resources) to the tribe of Levi. The tribe of Levi served the church as priest and servants who took care of the church.

Since the beginning of time, tithing has been God’s method to provide for the church. God’s people thru out all history have maintained the practice of returning to God the first 10%.

“That’s the old testament law!” we no longer live under OT law.
No, God put that in the heart of His people long before the law was ever given.
Gen 14 – Abraham willingly gave 10% of his of all the goods he had recovered from his victory to Melchizidek.

Abraham wasn’t forced to give anything to Melchezidek. He willingly gave to him.

So Abraham started it ….

A few hundred years later, Malachi confirmed it,  by saying  in 3^rd chapter of his Book

¹⁰ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

Then a few years later – Jesus commended it. (Matthew 23)

²³ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. ²⁴ Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

If Jesus, himself, commended it; who are we to cancel it?

Who are we to say I will give what I want, when I want, how I want?

A lot of followers are convinced that they can’t afford to tithe.

Gas prices are up. They are taking more payroll tax out of my check. Things are more expensive.

And some people have the attitude that “ it’s my money and I will do what I want with it.”

God is ushering us a challenge in Malachi 3:10 – ¹⁰ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

God is telling us to TEST HIM! See if it is true.

A very good friend of mine who keeps track of every penny he spends. He was anal when it came to budgeting. When he shared, he said there was no way he could give 10%. Every dollar was accounted for. Every penny has it’s place.

But he was challenged ….. he took a step of faith and said he would try it for a year. He literally, financially, and spiritually put God to the test.

He shared a year later that God did a work in his heart that year. Til this day he still can’t explain why he comes out ahead every year. In his mathematical, budget-minded mind in make no sense.

The bottom line is that he took on the challenge. He put God to the test!

God passed!

Are you willing to take on the challenge and put him to the test?

The 3:10 challenge

Give 10% of  your money for 3 months – it will change your attitude toward your money and possessions.