Serving Bread

One of the most influential sermons in my life was delivered in 1760 by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Simply titled, “The Use of Money” this sermon expounded on Luke 16.9 where Jesus exhorts his followers to “make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations.”

The parable that Jesus just told may be one of the most difficult ones to understand and one of the most absurd when taken at face value. Wesley draws a few notable conclusions from this parable and implications for our personal finances.

Wesley observes that we (especially those of us who are Christian) need to nurture a “right use of money.” Both Jesus and Wesley remind us that the world thinks about such things more sufficiently than the “children of light.” Wesley’s critique is that Christians generally do not understand how to employ money to the greatest advantage—for money employed well can have incredible impact: care for the needy, health for the sick, and shelter for the homeless among other things.

His solution is to “gain all you can; save all you can; give all you can.” This post will observe the implications of gaining all we can.

Wesley provides some guidelines on “gaining all we can”:

1. We must not let it hurt us in any way possible—whether to deprive us of sleep or food or put our bodies in danger.
2. We should not let it hurt our mind. We should not gain by cheating or lying or lose our soul in the process.
3. We should not gain by hurting our neighbor. There are some jobs and economic activity that hurts our neighbor. For example, Wesley denounces pawnbrokers because they take advantage of another person’s misery. Wesley goes on to say that economic transactions that cause someone to engage in below market transactions are not in the realm of “loving our neighbor” and thus should be discouraged.

Wesley encourages believers to gain by “honest industry”  and by common sense. Wesley laments, “It is amazing to observe how few men (or women) run on in the same dull track with their forefathers.”

Some questions that Wesley raises for us:

1. How do we Christians consider foreclosures and distressed home sales? I tend to think of foreclosures as an unfortunate event in a family’s life. (Some of the families may have come unto unexpected hardships while others took out loans they could never really afford) Either way, how do we relate and respond to the growing market of foreclosed properties? Is it right to buy homes below market price? (I don’t have an answer, but I think these are important questions to consider)
2. How concerned are we with workoholism? The fear of and pursuit of money can cause us to put our health and our relationships in danger. I wonder if we need a better theology of honoring the Sabbath and paying attention to the necessity of rest in our lives.
3. Do we feel free to make as much money as we can? Christian teaching on money tends to come once a year on “Stewardship Sunday” where the preacher awkwardly asks the congregation to tithe (usually ten percent). I think I have heard one sermon in my life that calls me to try to make more money and increase my gains. Of course, unlike the world, we are to gain as much as we can for the purpose of advancing the purposes of the kingdom of God.

As one who is in ministry, I have struggled to know whether and how this teaching applies to me. I know it does and I have put my hand on a few entrepreneurial ideas (my Bible Study eHandbook and selling jeans on Ebay are few that I have tried). I am convinced that my primary calling is to be in ministry, but I’m also learning how to be more shrewd with my talents and ideas. The jury is still out whether one of my ideas will be the vehicle to the great gains, but I hold on to hope. (Did I mention for only $7 you can download an excellent Bible Study eHandbook?)