Larry Burkett - Giving and Tithing: Includes Serving and Stewardship

M OODY P UBLISHERS
CHICAGO

1991, 1998 by
M OODY B IBLE I NSTITUTE
OF C HICAGO

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Compiled from material originally published by Christian Financial Concepts, Inc. Released by Moody Publishers in booklet format in 1991.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

ISBN: 0-8024-3737-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-8024-3737-2

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L arry Burkett was a well-known authority on business and personal finance and wrote more than seventy books, including nonfiction bestsellers like The Family Financial Workbook, Debt-Free Living, The Worlds Easiest Guide to Finances, and How to Manage Your Money. His four radio programs were carried on more than 2,000 radio outlets worldwide. Larry founded Christian Financial Concepts, which later merged to become Crown Financial Ministries.

N othing interferes more with our ability to serve God than our need to earn a living. An observer from one hundred years ago would be awestruck by the improvement in our living standard and by the amount of leisure time our technology now provides us. Few North Americans regularly work more than a fifty-hour week; most work forty-four hours or less. In addition, we now live an average of eighteen years longer than we did one hundred years ago and have at least one-third more disposable income per family. When all of those factors are weighed, together with the fact that in America alone there are perhaps twenty million Christians, it seems clear that we ought to be getting out the message of Jesus Christ much better than we are.

The simple truth is that most Americans are too busy to serve God. We have grown complacent and comfortable in Gods blessing and have forgotten the first commandment. In the meantime, immorality and cults have grown to alarming proportions because their advocates are more zealous in their support than we are. Since God asks for obedience rather than demands it, many Christians simply ignore the very reason for their existence: to glorify God. Without exception, God has a unique and meaningful plan for every believer that does not depend on age, income, or ability.

It is also clear that God calls each of us to fill this gap. Like Esther, every believer must decide either to be used by God or to be bypassed and allow another to be chosen instead. What a loss that we allow temporary comforts and laziness to rob us of true riches, both immediate and eternal!

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness (2 Peter 3:11).

Most Christians would never refuse to do Gods will; its just that the timing is not right. When God calls us, He wants obedience first and worldly wisdom last. We allow the urgent things of our society to overshadow the important things, but that is not unique to our generation. In fact, Christ experienced it in His walk on Earth and predicted it. He told a parable about God calling men to follow Him. They were invited to a dinner, but most were too busy to attend. They wanted to be part of what was happening but had too many responsibilities.

Service to Jesus Christ is demanding. It may actually mean that we have to work as hard for Gods kingdom as we do for earthly riches. Few salespeople consider it a great imposition on their time to talk about their product line. Being a success at anything requires dedication, training, and perseverance. It would be a hungry company that trained its salespeople to expect perfect success on every call. Just one turndown and they would all give up, considering themselves failures. Instead, the key to successful sales starts long before the product is seen; in fact, it starts at the job interview. A good sales manager knows that not everybody can be a good salesperson, and many dont even want to be. Christ knew that not everybody would serve God and most might not even want to.

Some want to have a foot in both worlds. They are willing to be called Christians, provided they can pick the times and places to serve. Jesus said to him, No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).

These people are actually worse off as Christians than they were as nonbelievers. They are content to know about God but are fruitless fakers who generate false blessings. They are poorly nourished spiritually and quickly waste away until there is real doubt in their minds about their salvation. Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture (Luke 8:6). They truly fall prey to every wind of doctrine because they are too busy to grow firm roots.

The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity (Luke 8:14).

In the parable of the sower, Christ defines the thorns as worries, riches, and pleasures of this world. At first glance, one could assume that committed service to God would yield peace, but judging from the way Christians avoid total service to God, the peace is bland.

Yet Jesus Christ said that total service to God yields peace and blessings within His will: For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you (Luke 12:30-31).

Each of us has experienced the thorns of this world. Everything around us is moving at a frantic pace. A family can hardly get one car paid off before another is needed. Only twenty-five years ago our goal was a high school education to get a good job; now its a college degree. Family life is degraded because it now takes both spouses working to hang on to the good life.

Just as misguided are Christians who apply themselves to fruitless effort in the name of the Lord. They busy themselves to the point of exhaustion, going to conferences and countless church activities and serving on committees. They rarely, if ever, quiet themselves enough for the Lord to direct them. They are irritable and often envious of others. They are working at Gods work but not in it. Even those who walked with Christ suffered from this busy malady from time to time.

Once when Jesus was visiting Marthas home, she complained that she was stuck doing all the work while Mary just sat and listened to Jesus. Jesus told Martha,