Berthold von Schenk's Kingdom Plan - A Sermon Series on "Giving"
Sermon 2: "Money and Dues"

When one speaks of giving, money seems the most natural thing to give. Modern life is unthinkable without money. Yet, very little has been written about it. Prof. Piper of Princeton wrote an essay a few years ago. The essay appeared in “Theology Today.” Bernard Laum’s study of “Sacred Money” (Heiliges Gold, Tuebingen, 1924) presents itself as a gem to be read and studied. Recently, however, (1962) Luther P. Powel wrote a book on the subject, “Money and the Church.” This story contains the account of church support through the ages – from simony to bingo. (Association Press)

There is something mysterious about money. The word, ‘money’ is derived from the Latin moneta, which was the name of the goddess of Juno’s temple. In this temple the Romans minted their coins. The goddess, Juno, also supervised and distributed property. Originally the German Geld designated the offering to the priest, destined for the sacrifice. The Latin pecunia (from pecus) points to cattle. It was not a commercial but a religious term. It means “Equivalent to cattle,” a certain weight of metal which could be substituted for the slaughtered animal at the priestly sacrifice. For this reason money changers were operating in the temple at the time when Jesus threw them out. The New Testamet too intimates the religious origin of money. Jesus speaks of the impossibility of serving God and Mammon (Matt. 6:24). Mammon (money) equaled a divine being. St. Paul identifies covetousness or greed with idolatry.

Money’s usage came with the discovery of metals and how to work them. When money was first coined, it overwhelmed men’s minds. Money was new. It could not be used for secular purposes or coined by just anyone. Since copper and gold was not generally distributed and coined by all, money, especially gold, belonged to the king. Money could not be used, therefore, except for religious purposes. Right down to the early Middle Ages, as stated before, the use of gold belonged to the king, who functioned as head of the religious community, the church. Costly metals were lifted up, and they were unique and set above all other earthly things. In ancient Babylonia gold was connected with the sun and silver with the moon and their respective deities.

Long before metals were used for the manufacture of tools, weapons, implements and ornaments, shapeless pieces of molten metal were used us currency only for religious purposes. The nature of the metal in contradistinction to that of other materials and animals made the basic difference. This accounts for its religious usage. Metal supposedly contained magic power. Some of us who stumbled through the “Iliad” will recall that when the soldiers exchanged their metal weapons it was a religious ceremony.

The most ancient coins also bear testimony to the religious regard for metal. The ancients used money exclusively for religious purposes. For this reason ancient coins bear the image or the symbol of a deity.

It would be interesting to continue with the history of money, especially, with the prophets said about money. There have been more crimes committed because of the love of money! Jesus gets right to the root of the problem of money. He points out that the wrong with all monetary systems and economic orders of this world is not the money as such, nor the modes of its acquisition, its distribution and use, but rather the wrong appraisal of its significance, and the belief that the meaning of life depends on the things that can be bought and sold with money. (Luke 12:19) Jesus told his church of the deceptiveness of money (Matt 13:22; Mark 4:19; 1 Tim 5:17).

A common belief exists that everything can be bought with money and that it is indispensible for the happiness of modern man. Modern man still treats money as a deity (Mammon) upon which his happiness depends. In Jesus Christ  we are offered all gifts which abide and make for our happiness. As giving is a grace so the possession of money is by the grace of God. Man must never be the servant of money but the master of it. Jesus’ attitude toward money was just the same as with all created things, namely, the principle that God has the first and supreme claim to our service and money. (Matt. 6:33; Luke 10:41; 12:31) It is high time that we devote more time and study not only to the subject of acquiring money but the proper use of it. Money must never possess us.

I wonder if the statement on our USA currency, “In God we Trust” does not have its roots in the sacredness of money down through history.

In returning to the main theme, the grace of giving, we will be quite practical about it. I do not believe that the average church member gives by the grace of God, nor is there a high motivation for his giving. In Protestant circles the giving of money is called the collection. In the Church of the Augsburg Confession it should be called the offering. There is a vast difference between a collection and a offering. A little boy was quite fond of his dog. When he was along he would steal some choice morsel form the refrigerator. Since he loved chicken and, when he was a little boy chicken was a treat only to be indulged in on Sundays and special festivals. One Sunday, while his mother seemed occupied, he picked out the choicest piece of chicken and wrapped it in his handkerchief. The mother saw it and scolded him asking, “What do you want to do with the piece of chicken?” The boy answered, “I want to give it to my best friend, my dog.” The mother could not see this. She said, “You can collect the scraps and give them to your dog.” So the boy did just that and he placed the dish before his dog as he mournfully cried, “I’m sorry, I wanted to give you and offering but now it’s only a collection.”

Not to anticipate a future subject in this story I will not center our thoughts on what is the offering and what it means. A collection is taken at a service which limits itself to the Word of God, but an offering can only take place in the Church, that is, in the Eucharistic community, for in it the offerer identifies himself with the great sacrifice on Calvary which is being shown forth, as St. Paul states it. Here is where Christ offers us up to the father and we become involved in it by our action, by our identifying with Him.

However, in the minds of many members the church is an organization, a religious club. A man moves with his family into a new community and visits various churches. One service pleased him especially. So he brings his letter of transfer from a former parish and joins this congregation. During the week he gets a letter from the treasurer of the congregation, welcoming him. Or, the treasurer visits him and tells him about the congregation, explains the budget to him and the future planning of parish work. The newcomer is a sensible man. He knows that the church needs money. Perhaps he has reached the understanding that only live organizations need money and more money. When a church needs money, so he things, this is a healthy sign of life. The husband later discusses the matter with his family. They discuss the income and the needs of the congregation. On Sunday morning he and his family pay their church dues. There is nothing really spiritual about this. As a member of an organization he must support the work of the congregation. He either gives the bare minimum, or he goes the middle way. He may even go beyond that. He is just doing the decent thing, not a spiritual thing involved with God. It is really quite silly, when in a church service, as the money is brought to the altar, the people sing these words:

We give Thee but Thine own, Whate’er the gift might be.

To pay your dues is just the decent thing to do. The average giving is not offering to God, but paying for services rendered.

There is nothing sacrificial about paying church dues, no more than it is sacrificial to pay dues to the golf club. You pay for being a member of the congregation. You are thankful for the blessing you receive, for when you are sick you have a pastor come and visit. When there are troubles in the family the pastor comes with counsel. The children are instructed and participate in the religious social life. Your daughter may even meet a young man in the youth group. A church member has so many advantages, so many services rendered him. A pastor who celebrated his 50^th anniversary received a letter from a man with a responsible and highly paid position as an executive. He wrote, “I met my wife in your church, a wonderful girl. We went up the ladder of success together. It was your counsel that urged me to accept the position with this firm. Next to God’s blessings I owe everything to you.” In paying our church dues we are just doing the decent thing.

There is another kind of giving beyond our regular church dues. I guess we can call it crisis giving. Calamity comes due to storms. You face the starvation of children in a foreign country. The need is real and it seems to grow. Or, lets us say, our Synod is urged by the leaders to join a special program. Why is it that our leaders don’t come right and ask for money instead of employing some gimmick life “Faith Forward.” The very name has an odor of work righteousness. What about the Ebenezer plan? The only Ebenezer that most members know is that old skinflint Ebenezer Scrooge, in Dickens’ Christmas Carol. Many of these promotion plans are an insult to the intelligence of our lay priests. When St. Paul appealed to the Macedonians he put it right on the line and they gave out of their poverty. Experienced men in the raising of large sums of money find it best to place the need and the situation on the line. You are it. I dare you to give. Instead of the many theological courses given at our seminaries it would be a good thing to teach salesmanship. Jesus was a great salesman. He was the best. This statement was made at a conclave of the top sales managers. The theme was under the heading “The Salesman of Nazareth.”

It’s just the decent thing to support your church work. You pay your dues like you pay the butcher or the grocer. Why should you not pay for services received as a member of a congregation? This is not voluntary and sacrificial giving, but just plain decent duty and obligation. It remains indecent and cheating if you permit a few intelligent members to pay your expenses as a church member. We can call this cheap and cheating. Unfortunately there are members who give a dollar a Sunday during the depression and they still bring this sum. Everything has gone up; but not the collection to carry on the work of the church.

You may object to the way I have put this on the line. But that is the way it is. Paying your church dues is usually not motivated by faith, gratitude or what have you. It’s paying for goods received. There is nothing really spiritual about this kind of giving of dues unless we note that our friend raises his contribution every year. That may also be just honesty. I know a man who joined the congregation during the depression. He was a salesman, making $25 a week. He pledged and gave $1 every Sunday. In the years following he reached the peak of his position and influence, sales manager of one of the greatest international food companies. And here is the pay-off. He still gave one dollar a Sunday in his envelopes.

When a husband plays around with some other woman and his wife comes to the pastor in her suffering and shattering experience, the pastor will no doubt speak to the husband. He must do this.

What about the church member who cheats on the Lord and makes of his contribution a blasphemy? What should he say to this man?

He could call him a deadbeat and a chisler and say to him, “For years you have been receiving the benefits of church membership. You were confirmed in this church and received instruction. Your children were baptized into Christ. When any of the family were sick they were visited by the pastor. When your kids got into trouble and your daughter wanted to run away with a no-good bum, your pastor prevented it.

Take a look at your contributions and church dues. You have been irregular in your giving and the dollar you gave thirty years ago is only worth fifty cents today. Do you know that you are a chisler and you know what God’s Word says about this? “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me…” These are the words of the prophet Malachi. (Mal. 3)

One must not confuse the giving of church dues with the offering. Church dues can be sent by check to the church office. The offering takes place in the Liturgy, in the Eucharistic community where we “show forth the death of Christ,” as St. Paul states this. In the offering we identify ourselves with the cross on Calvary. Church dues are simple obligations, payments for services rendered, like you pay a doctor or a dentist.

Of course the church dues can also become alive if you increase them beyond the sum you pledged for the budgetary needs of the congregation. In our church dues we can go the second mile and something may happen to you; something may change in your life. We should do this all the time in our various duties and obligations as church members. Jesus said, “If anyone asks you to go one mile with him go two.”

The second milers are the salt of the church. Anyway, it will be a good idea if you join the second milers in this congregation. You will never regret it.