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Five Ways To Ruin Your Financial Faith
Brian Mashburn
January 31, 2010
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Family Meeting
It didn’t happen often, but on occasion, my family would have a “family meeting”. It was usually a little awkward, but it was always pretty important. Not always pleasant, but looking back, it was always necessary.
Occasionally, the meeting took place at the dinner table while we ate. Instead of our normal talk and rituals that took place over the meal, we would engage in some necessary family business instead. We still ate our meal and got our sustenance, but we discussed business while we did it.
We’re pausing today to have one of those family meetings to talk about our family budget. A little awkward and perhaps unpleasant for some (it sure doesn’t have to be), but pretty important and necessary.
We’ll still eat today, feasting on God’s Word and God’s Presence, but we’ll also hit on some business while we do.
I’ll confess that I get a bit backed up talking about your giving to the church from the pulpit. It’s not because I don’t like talking about money. I do. But when I do it from the pulpit, about your regular giving, I’m always afraid someone is going to pigeon hole our church family as a stereo-typical “church” that “just wants your money and talks about it all the time.”
But that is just a fear, not a reality. The elder’s goal isn’t for you to give your money over to the church, but for you to give your life over to Christ.
And for those of us who have, the Bible has some rich teaching about the blessings of giving, in the name of Christ, to the work of the church. And sustaining our regular budget plays a huge part in sustaining the Kingdom movement that we are part of here…as a family.