Church Is … Somewhere we serve
By Matt Watson
In this series, we’ve already touched on the necessity of serving in the church, as well as how to love the church (including how to leave well). This article is roughly a sequel to those two ideas as we explore how they are uniquely intertwined in Scripture with the use of our time, talent and treasure. For everything we have comes from the Lord (verse) and everything we do is before the face of the Lord, therefore, we should worship the Lord with everything he gives us.
These three things, time, talent, and treasure, are all precious and increasingly rare commodities in our lives. Who feels like they have the time they need to do all the things that need to get done in a day? No one. And it’s made worse by things we use to waste that time. But the Bible says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph 5:15-17).
Who feels like they are ever talented enough, or good enough, or capable enough? How many times do we compare ourselves to others, lamenting we can’t sing like her, or pray like him, or lift as many chairs as that one guy? Everyone feels this way. Yet Paul tells the Corinthians, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. … All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Cor 12: 4-6, 11).
And finally, who has ever thought they have enough money? No one. Yet if whatever we have comes from the Lord, then that includes our wealth, however big or small, and we are to worship him with it by giving. Jesus says, “‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’” (Matt 6:19-21).
Why is it so hard to worship God with these three things? Because the perceived scarcity of our time, talent, and treasure has occasioned us to sin by hoarding them; we possess them and have ownership of them, and anything demanding them is a threat. Why do some people choose to not have babies? Commonly it is because of the loss of independence coupled with daily dying to yourself for the sake of a demanding little tyrant. Why do people choose to not tip at restaurants, or give joyfully? Because money requires work to receive it, and the bills are many but the dollars are few. Why do we not step out to lead or serve when we see a need arise in our church? Too often we tell ourselves it is someone else’s responsibility to deal with. These attitudes show that God is not the center of our lives, but rather we ourselves are. It is complete self-centered, navel-gazing, rather than trusting in the God of providence and creation, the God and Father who gives us our every need.
So let’s look at ways we can repent of our tight-fistedness when it comes to time, talent, and treasure, and how we can learn to trust God and glorify him with it, particularly in the context of the church.
Time
There are only so many hours in the day. We work for at least 8 of them, sleep for another 7-8 (if we are lucky), leaving the remainder to commute, eat, do chores, and play. There is hardly any time and every tick-tock of the clock sounds (if we still had a clock, otherwise every soundless second slipping by digitally on the phone) like the evaporation of our youth. It is hard to find time for things, and it’s not easier when additional events and demands are put on you. Oh here is another Bible study, another meeting, another gathering, great. Let me just use my magic Time-Turner to manufacture more.
But as noted above, time is not only fleeting, but our days are evil, so we need to use our time wisely. That means we need to budget our time, recognizing that saying yes to some things is saying no to others, and so on. We have to prioritize what is most valuable to us, in addition to the things we cannot change and must do, and then execute. For example, you probably should not just up and quit your job, because you are obligated to pay rent and buy food. But some things we can learn to live without or decrease its use to a moderate level.
Does your child have a school function or sports competition every night of the week? We want them to do well at school, socialize well, and develop teamwork skills, certainly. But this shouldn’t be at the sacrifice of discipling them directly to love and follow Jesus. Drop what is unnecessary and prioritize the family spending time together over activities. Netflix just added the next season of my favorite hunting show. I can choose to say yes to binge-watching it all in one sitting, but then I am saying no to the work of ministry at church and at home. Alternatively, if I choose to watch it at all, it will need to be when it is appropriate to do so so that I’m saying yes to my wife and son before saying yes to what I just want to do.
This is a hard truth, but how we spend our time shows us what we value (as well as what we spend our money on and what we choose to do). However, you both love and serve your family by choosing them and bringing to gather with the church, just as you both love and serve your church by choosing to spend your time with them. Be there. Be at the worship gatherings. Be at the events specifically designed to help you make disciples of your friends, neighbors, and family. Support the mission of the church with your time, and in so doing teach your spouse and children, or your roommates, or your unbelieving sibling, that you believe in something greater than yourself, that God is worth it.
Talent
We already spent some time talking about how each person is specifically gifted per the will of God, and in the gospel community of the church, those talents and strengths are a gift to the body. Let me share just a little more.
I cannot play guitar like Jimi Hendrix, and I never will. I should not be said that I’ll never play lead guitar in a band, or be on stage leading our people in worship through song. (In fact, a few years ago I was the most musically talented person in our church and had to do this very thing. It was great sorrow and judgment.) Instead, through prayer, reading the Word on this subject, and consulting those in my church body, I can discern what my clearly God-given talents are, and then use them. When we do this, we do not feel sad we aren’t what we cannot be, we instead feel alive and unleashed because we are getting to be exactly who we are.
And when we serve the body by using our gifts for its edification (Eph 4:11-13) then we are taking responsibility to be a part of that community and be involved in maturing it, and being matured by it, through the Holy Spirit. God doesn’t just give you a gift, he makes you a gift. If we choose to glorify ourselves in this then we become snowflakes. If you choose to glorify God by serving others, then you are a son or daughter. If you do not know how you can be a gift to the body, ask someone there. Support the mission of the church with your talent, and in so doing die to yourself and believe in something greater than yourself, that God is worth it.
Treasure
Churches sometimes are mocked for only preaching on money, and for the false prophets of the prosperity heresy, that is certainly true. But when a church preaches through a book of the Bible exegetically, the sermon topic is about what the text is saying. If you therefore only hear sermons about money, take heed, God may be trying to tell you something.
There are some very important premises we need to believe in order to have the right practice. First, we need to believe that everything is created by God and thus belongs to God (Gen 1; Ps 24:1, 50:10; Col 1:16). That means anything we have, from the money in our bank accounts to the air in our lungs, comes from God (1 Chr 29:13-14; Jas 1:17). Therefore, our money is not really ours, but God’s. He gives you a job to work in which you earn wages. What we then do with that money shows us what we believe and value about God.
Recall in the verse from Matthew 6 above, Jesus says, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Because of this, he says to invest in eternal things, rather than earthly things. If you are prone to the “If only’s”, i.e. “if only I had this brand new truck,” or “if only I won the lottery,” or “if only my student loans could be paid off,” then you are too invested in earthly things. Someone will back into that brand new truck and bust a tail light. Statistically, lottery winners often end up in disastrous situations, proving Proverbs 13:11 true when it says, “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” And while it is a good thing to not be in debt to anyone (Romans 13:8), we shouldn’t let our current situation be an excuse to not do right with what we have.
Jamie Dunlop says in his booklet Why Should I Give to My Church? “So why does God care about our giving? Not because he needs our money, but because he wants our hearts. Laying up treasure in heaven is one of the Bible’s main arguments for why we should give: it protects our hearts from becoming attached to the things of this world. Every time you give, you’re making a statement that God is better than anything else you could have done with that money.” Rapper Shai Linne, says the same thing this way, “If you come to Jesus for money, then he's not your God, money is!”
At The Well, we believe the Bible when it says, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully[d] will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, ‘He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever’” (2 Cor 9:6-9).
The church doesn’t need your money more than you do, and that is beside the point. The church wants you to enjoy God through giving, storing up works in heaven, that you may abound in your giving knowing that God gives you sufficiency in all things at all times. Support the mission of the church with your treasure, and in so doing die to yourself and believe in something greater than yourself, that God is worth it.
Jesus
In all these things we model Jesus, who gave freely and joyfully of himself all things. He entered our time and space, and dwelled with the disciples, doing life with them for three years before being crucified. And he gives himself to us through his Holy Spirit who is always with us. He always has time for you. Jesus gave freely his talents and strengths, teaching, serving the poor, healing the sick, and building up the church to worship God the Father. He even gave of his treasure, ultimately through giving us the treasury of his merits and righteousness while taking our sin and depravity on the cross. Church, let us reflect the generosity of our King of kings, our big brother Jesus, our friend, Lord, and savior, by giving freely and joyfully as he did.