“If I Were a Rich Man...”
A few weeks ago I was standing at the entrance to our property surveying our little plot of land on Ridge Road. I looked at the trees we had planted and the sod that was thriving in the sun watered by the sprinkler system underneath. I looked at the concrete pad we poured a few years ago on the West side of the church, and the beautiful flowers we have adorning the front of our building and on either sides of the benches on our concrete pad. Then my eyes settled on our building. It got me thinking about how we got to this particular place and how our church has grown and what that means for our future. We have an old church that was perfect for our needs when we bought it… but now… it is stretched to its maximum. It needs renovation and we need more space. Praise God for blessing CRC with growth!
As I was considering all those things I remembered that this week's Lotto 6/49 jackpot is around 28 million dollars and I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be great if I would have that kind of money and be able to pay for everything we need! If I were a rich man I could do so much good for the Lord! If I were a rich man, I would take care of all of our building needs! Repairs, expansion, whatever… put it on my tab!” Strangely, and completely out of the blue, those thoughts triggered a line from a musical, actually the movie version, I saw as a kid. [Maybe it was because Rainbow Stage had put on this musical in the Fall and my parents had just seen it.] I was quite young when my parents showed my sister and I The Fiddler on the Roof and I don’t remember anything about the musical except for one song and the crazy, squatting, kicking dance that seemed to accompany every musical number. But I digress.
By now you may have guessed the song to which I am referring -- sung by the poor milkman Tevye as he dreams of the glories of wealth and all that it would bring him. It paints a picture of, sad to say, what we would all do if we became a “rich man.” Here is some of what he sings, please bear with me:
If I were a rich man,
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum.
If I were a wealthy man.
I wouldn't have to work hard...
I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen, Right in the middle of the town.
A fine tin roof with real wooden floors below. There would be one long staircase just going up, And one even longer coming down,
And one more leading nowhere, just for show.
I'd fill my yard with chicks and turkeys and geese and ducks For the town to see and hear.
Squawking just as noisily as they can.
With each loud “cheep” “squawk” “honk” “quack” Would land like a trumpet on the ear, As if to say "Here lives a wealthy man."
The most important men in town would come to fawn on me!
They would ask me to advise them, Like a Solomon the Wise.
“If you please, Reb Tevye...” “Pardon me, Reb Tevye...”
Posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes!
And it won't make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong.
When you're rich, they think you really know!
If I were rich, I'd have the time that I lack To sit in the synagogue and pray.
And maybe have a seat by the Eastern wall.
And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men, several hours every day.
That would be the sweetest thing of all.
Tevye identifies the problem with wealth. We tend to hoard it in order to satisfy our selfish desires. I don’t think I would fill my yard with chicks, turkeys, geese, ducks and the like, but I probably would build a big house in the country and more than likely fill my shop (I would build one of those too) with a nice man cave, a couple new vehicles, a couple of quads, a new motorcycle, and such. I probably would want people to “fawn on me” and treat me differently as well. And, if history and sociology tell us anything, my financial generosity would increase very little, if at all. In fact that is the pattern, sadly, for the overwhelming majority of people, Christian and non-Christian alike. Generally speaking, if you increase a person's wealth -- by an increase in salary, an inheritance, an unexpected gift -- they will spend more on themselves rather than give more to God’s work and often end up worse off in the future than they were before they received an increase in cash.
I think I know why this is. Generosity is a heart issue, not a wealth issue. Jesus states as much in Luke 21:1-4 when he observes the woman putting her last coins into the offering box. He praises her for her heart of giving and not for her amount. In turn, he criticizes the wealthy for their heart despite the immensity of their gifts. If I was rich I would probably not be as generous as I would think myself to be because my heart is often not where it should be. If our hearts are right, then we will honor God with our money and our giving will be worshipful and generous. If our hearts are not right then we will not honor God with our money and if we do give we will sin against the very God to whom we are giving our money. Giving is an act of worship and service to God from a heart that gives cheerfully to him (2 Corinthians 8-9). It recognizes that we are mere stewards of what God has given us. It recognizes that the grace we have received from God needs to be passed on. It recognizes that God is all-sufficient and takes care of all our needs. It recognizes what Paul says,
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully 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.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)
I don’t know where CRC will go in the future. I don’t know what will become of our current need for space. I don't know how we will find the money needed to move forward. I simply pray that we as a church are faithful in worship in all aspects of our lives… including our money. Let God sort things out after that.
Soli Deo Gloria
