Serving Bread

I was flipping through the channels today when I saw an interview on TBN with Deion Sanders, former professional baseball and football player. Though I’m not a regular viewer of the station, I was intrigued to hear this interview. At one point during the interview, Sanders told the host that he came to a point a few months ago that he didn’t have any income to tithe, so he asked God for a job. And of course, God honored that prayer by giving him a commentator job with CBS.

Sanders was probably the best cornerback in the league during the 1990s. And the salary that he was getting for his talents on the field matched his mad skills: In 1994, he left the 49ers for the Dallas Cowboys for a 7 year, $35 million contract with a $12.99 million signing bonus. This, of course, is in addition to the contracts with the Ravens, the Redskins and the Falcons. This, of course, is also in addition to the royalties he made off of his rap album, baseball career and the countless endorsements for commercial products.

But because all of those are in the past and are just part of his wealth, (rather than income, after all, he was unemployed), Sanders shared on TBN that he wanted and would enjoy giving, but that he needed income in order to give, which is when CBS called and offered him a job. So now Sanders has a job, and the Church can rest assured that they will receive a cut of that income.

I don’t doubt Sanders’ sincerity in regards to his faith (he became a believer in 1997), but for a man who is worth millions, he has fallen far short of understanding how to be generous with his wealth and finances. Jesus invests time and energy to disciple people about how to use their money. Jesus’ teaching is not normative in our churches and cultures, and Sanders’ theology and financial practice is unfortunately a lot more prevalent than not.