Money

I'm sure this is an issue that I'll revisit on a later date, and that's okay, because we need to be reminded frequently about the wise use and management of the money with which we are entrusted. The Bible says more about money than almost any other subject. John Wesley, being an homo unius libri (man of one book), naturally also had a lot to say about money. He talked and wrote about it again and again and again. I don't plan to cover his entire corpus in this post, but, according to my pattern of reading his sermons in reverse chronological order, will focus on how this theme hits at the heart of two of his later sermons, 'Causes of the Inefficacy of Christianity' and 'The More Excellent Way.'

I won't rehash everything he says but in 'Causes...' Wesley says plainly that the root of Christianity ineffectiveness has to do with the unwillingness of so-called Christians to daily take up our cross and follow Jesus. It is a failure of genuine discipleship. And, to bring the matter of money into the equation, this is most evidenced by an awareness that "Christianity, scriptural Christianity, has a tendency in process of time to undermine and destroy itself." This seems like a strange statement, but Wesley's reasoning behind this observation makes sense: "Wherever true Christianity spreads, it must cause diligence and frugality, which, in the natural course of things, must beget riches - and riches naturally beget pride, love of the world, and every temper that is destructive of Christianity." This demonstrates why we must understand discipleship (including the management of finances) as a lifelong process and not a one-time transaction. Wesley had three rules for how to manage money: "Gain all you can, Save all you can, Give all you can." The spelling out of these "rules" were given in an earlier sermon, to which I may return sometime later, but in this sermon ('Causes...') Wesley indicates that this process is cyclical and what happens more times than not is that people obey the first two rules and not the third. Here's what he says about that: "And yet nothing can be more plain than that all who observe the two first rules without the third will be twofold more the children of hell than ever they were before...Many of your brethren, beloved of God, have not food to eat; they have not raiment to put on; they have not a place where to lay their head. And why are they thus distressed? Because you impiously, unjustly, and cruelly detain from them what your Master and theirs lodges in your hands on purpose to supply their wants!" So...as long as we gain and save, we must...we MUST give... "Otherwise I can have no more hope of your salvation than for that of Judas Iscariot." Wesley's message to the Methodists here can be no clearer. How much of the inefficacy of Christianity today has to do with our failure in living according to this?

A couple of years prior to this sermon, Wesley wrote 'The More Excellent Way,' which isn't wholly about the use of money (I'll likely post more about the overall tenor of this sermon in another post as it should be read in comparison with Wesley's early sermon, 'The Almost Christian'), but the last section is devoted to the same issue as explained above. In this sermon, though, Wesley gives a specific example how one living in accordance with the more 'excellent way.' Today, a typical ethical exhortation I hear given to Christians is "live within your means," a fancy way of saying budget according to your income. While this is certainly more generous and favorable than some of the prosperity junk out there, it is still a far cry from the practice of the early Methodists, who went by the rule that after providing for the needs (and that rather strictly understood...not confused at all with "wants") of yourself and your immediate family to "give away all that remains." Wesley cites one example: "One of them had thirty pounds a year. He lived on twenty-eight and gave away forty shillings. The next year receiving sixty pounds, he still lived on twenty-eight, and gave away two and thirty. The third year he received ninety pounds, and gave away sixty-two. The fourth year he received a hundred and twenty pounds. Still he lived as before on twenty-eight, and gave to the poor ninety-two. Was not this a more excellent way? ... Fix your purpose to 'gain no more'. I charge you in the name of God, do not increase your substance! As it comes daily or yearly, so let it go; otherwise you 'lay up treasures upon earth'." This man didn't get a bigger house because his income increased. He didn't get a healthier horse. He didn't increase the size of his library anymore than normal. That's discipline! In bringing his argument to a close, Wesley asks a question that we would do well to ponder before going to purchase something that we don't need but really just want in order to follow the pattern of the world. How often have I thought, "I really don't need this and perhaps I shouldn't buy it, but God will forgive me"? Wesley suggests this piercing thought: "How can you on principles of reason spend your money in a way which God may possibly forgive, instead of spending it in a manner which he will certainly reward?" May we remember this thought, and live accordingly, as we seek to embody the gospel in this "rich" culture.

By the way, for a really great blog post on the lost emphasis of caring for the poor in the worship & liturgy of the Church and a longing to recover it, check out this post by Jonathan Powers.