Although Haggai is speaking to the Israelites returning from exile, with what’s going on in our world – the attacks on and decline of civility and morality, and the rise of secularism – could we be in a sort of exile ourselves?

The Lord says through the prophet in chapter 2, verse 4, “Take courage and work.  I am with you.”

If our work is solely for the money, then how are we any better than the secularists who seem to be overtaking our society?  If our focus is on trying to re-coup the former glories we thought we had in our large investment balances and McMansion homes, does that not distract us from building God’s kingdom?

Instead, work as though all you do is for the Lord.  Seek first His kingdom and all will be given you besides.  And do not worry about the money.  It’s not yours anyway.

Why do we strive so fiercly after money?  Psalm 49 tells us plainly that though we trust in our wealth, we can in no way redeem ourselves.  That with riches you may count yourself as happy, still there is no price one can pay to God for life.

Paul tells us in 1 Tim. 6: 9-11 that if we want to be rich, we will fall into traps and many senseless and harmful temptations.  We become slaves of our desires and possessions.  Sound familiar?

We are to strive instead for righteousness, love, patience, faith, endurance and gentleness.

If we truly believe that all we have is a gift from God, then whether from abundance or from lack, we admit –

It’s Not Our Money.

In John 6: 1-13, Jesus takes five loaves and two fish and feeds 5000. So – how does this relate to financial stewardship? Look at the boy in the story.

What if the kid had said, “I made this bread. I caught the fish. They’re mine.”  Andrew even mumbled our own skepticism, “what are they among so many people?”

But instead, the boy gave what he had – his food. And, Jesus used the boy’s resources to perform a miracle!

What miracle is Jesus waiting to perform with the resources you share, however meager you may think them? Because after all, It’s Not Your Money!

What is your reaction when you hear that the DOW is down 500 points or that YTD the market is down 20%? Be careful as you accumulate in your 401k of having an attitude like that of the rich farmer in Luke 12: 18. He thought he’d store up his abundant crop and then take it easy. But God had other plans.

In what do you place your faith – the value of your investment accounts? Good stewardship uses resources for the good of the community.

And after all – It’s Not Your Money

In John 21, the apostles were out fishing all night and caught nothing. When Jesus told them to cast again they must’ve thought, “we the expert fisherman have had no success, but if you say so, we’ll give it a try.” You know how they then caught so many fish they had a hard time dragging their net ashore.

Tithing is like that. We struggle to stay afloat, much less get ahead. God tells us to tithe the first ten percent. We think, ‘that won’t work’. But if we do it in obedience, like the apostle’s re-casting the net, we’ll reap rewards and blessings so that our nets fill to overflowing.

And anyway, it’s not our money.