Some very intriguing proposals from John Piper on how to best spend the economic stimulus that most of us will be getting back from the government:
For a moment, forget the political puzzle of getting money back when the country is nine trillion dollars in debt. The more immediate question is: How will you make much of Christ with your “economic stimulus payment”? The president says it will be in the mail in time for Cinco de Mayo.
Clue: Nobody in the world will see you spend your money on yourself and conclude that Christ is your treasure. They will assume you are just like them, no matter how loudly you thank God for this boon. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend it on yourself (the way we do with most of what we earn). Not everything we do can look different from the world—eat, pay utilities, fill up the car, wear clothes (even thrift-store clothes). And yes, we hope (somehow) that spending on ourselves in some way contributes to our being more Christ-exalting people.
But do we really need this money? Very few do. We would have gotten on fine without it. If we didn’t know it was coming, we wouldn’t even be feeling the desires we are feeling right now.
May I encourage you to be radically creative and hedonistic. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). And those crazy Macedonians in a “severe test of affliction” and in “extreme poverty” had an “abundance of joy” that overflowed in a “wealth of generosity.” They even begged Paul “for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:2-4). They really believed what Jesus said. Really.
Before the check comes dream of some person or ministry which might make much of Christ because you treasured him above your next home project.
The reason God created money and enabled us to earn it is so that we could show by the way we use it that money is not our treasure, Christ is. That’s why the checks are coming. So we can make Christ look great.
“Be content with what you have, for he has said,
‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
May 4th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Todd
I appreciate Piper’s ideas and his consideration. I wonder if a number of ministries and churches are feeling the pinch as people prepare for a possible slow down. I know of a few churches that have had money dip over the past 6 months with this trend. If this is something that Piper is seeing across his ministry or church he should say so. I think that ministries being transparent about the financial impact that economic slow downs have on them is completely reasonable and would be well received. Just read your enlightening blog and thought I should comment.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
hey matt, sorry something has been up with my commenting system, so I apologize for the severe delay. I’m sure some are experiencing a slow down for sure, especially churches that are culture/man-centric in nature. But I don’t really see Piper asking people give his church their stimulus checks, just to give them away for the building of the kingdom.
I agree there needs to be transparency. I just think being transparent for Piper means you’re usually going to get something Gospel saturated, humble, and pointing to Christ.
It’s a much different story for these guys who have been called before congress and still won’t be transparent.