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  Some of you will remember the comedian Jack Benny, whose stinginess with money was well-known...

God's ATM: Keeping the Faith in Tough Financial Times: A - Genesis 1: 20-25; Luke 5: 1-11 - August 17, 2008 - Cicero United Methodist Church - Everett J. Bassett

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            Some of you will remember the comedian Jack Benny, whose stinginess with money was well-known. In one famous skit, he is walking down the sidewalk when out jumps a masked man with a gun. "Your money or your life!" said the robber. And there was no answer. So, after a couple moments, the impatient gunman said again, "Your money or your life!" And Benny said, "I'm thinking! I'm thinking!"

            A lot of people are thinking about money these days, and how could we not? Gasoline prices have more than doubled in the last few months; the cost of most everything else is rising too; retirement funds are taking a hit as the stock market goes through a down phase; college costs go up as available financial aid goes down; health care costs; uncertain job situations, housing market - all major issues today.

            Are we depressed yet? With all that going on, we think about money, and we feel pinched. And one of the things we might forget as we focus on these troubling financial problems - is that money is a spiritual issue. It always has been. We don't tend to think that way. Finances and bottom lines and economic realities - those are over here in the hard currency side of life. And prayer and God and faith and such - they're over here in the touchy-feely side of life. But that's a deception. Money has always been a spiritual issue. It is about who you are at the deepest level. And so, almost half of the parables of Jesus are about money; at least one out of every ten verses in the New Testament is about money. Jesus talked over twice as often about money as he did about prayer - because he understood that faith and money are intertwined. And the good news is, if money is a spiritual issue, then there are spiritual answers to financial problems.

            So, with that in mind, I'd like to spend the next three sermons talking about "Keeping the Faith During Tough Financial Times." Very few preachers can resist a letter scheme, so here's mine -- I'm going to talk about how faith can help us through tough financial times, because we can go to God's ATM. Today, I'll talk about four As. Next week, I'll talk about three T's. Then I'll talk about M's (I haven't figured out how many yet.).

            Here is A number one: the first thing we can do, when finances get tough, may seem counter-intuitive - but it is essential. Acknowledge abundance. You might say, "But I have less than ever. It takes sixty dollars to fill my tank with gas. My portfolio is shrinking. My discretionary cash is less. How can I acknowledge abundance now?" I believe it is more important to consider the abundance of the world now than ever. Because in many cases that will restore some sense of perspective in our minds.

            We're probably lucky that there are no higher life forms on Mars - because if Martians were observing Americans today - and the cars we drive, and the toys we buy, and the houses we live in, and the amount of food and other things we throwaway - and then could hear us talk about how concerned we are about money - they would wonder if we've gone out of our minds. We live in a society of abundance. We have a standard of living higher than anything the world has ever seen. The fact that we feel poor is not so much a factor of our lacking essential things in life; it's a factor of how much we have

come to desire and expect. There were generations before us who wondered if enough food would come in the harvest; we wonder whether 75 stations will be enough.

            Of course, there are exceptions; there is hunger and poverty in our community, and there are many down and out people in the world. But even there we could talk: about the effect of having a prosperous class of people whose desires for toys and gadgets are so high, that it impacts the distribution of basic things like food and clothing to others.

The fact is, the testimony of the Bible is that God created an abundant world. The word used in the creation story in Genesis is 'swarms.' God created swarms of things. And that abundance is in evidence throughout the Bible. The first humans were invited into a garden that surrounded then with every kind of beautiful food. The children of Israel were led to a land "flowing" with milk and honey. Jesus fed a crowd of five thousand, and there were baskets and baskets left over. And in the story from scripture we read today, the nets were so full that the fishermen had to go get help to bring it all in.

            Most of us are living with resources earlier generations could only imagine. And it is important for us to keep that perspective as we agonize over a smaller piece of the pie. The first assurance of our faith in tough economic times is profound good news - our God is a God of abundant grace. There is enough in this world God made. We just have to learn how to preserve it and share it.

            To that end, A number 2 is very important: when finances get tough, Appreciate your Assets. I think there is a real opportunity for that in this present economic situation. The fact is, we don't always appreciate what we have when things are going great. We have such assets in our own backyard, and this might be our opportunity to rediscover them. For example, gas prices being what they are, this may not be the summer to take a road trip to the Grand Canyon, or to Yosemite. But we live between the Thousand Islands and the Finger Lakes; between the Adirondacks and the Catskills; between Niagara Falls and Howe's Caverns. Within two hours of driving in any direction, there is more beauty than you can find anywhere else on earth. Maybe this is our chance to appreciate it.

On a more personal level, consider your assets: I heard once that the things that make you wealthy are the things you would never sell for money. So let's say somebody says, "How much would you take for that?" And you say, "Oh, I could never sell that." That means you've found something of real value in your life. And most likely you're talking about priceless things like beauty, love, family, friendship.

            What a shame that we can lose track of those things of infinite value because of the material desires that take over our thinking. Friendships ruined over money; families neglected for material pursuits; beauty missed because of material priorities. Nobody asks for an economic recession - we hope it will be over soon. But while it's here, maybe we can realize the other things that make life rich with beauty and love - the things that money can't buy; the things you wouldn't sell for ten billion dollars. Put those things together with whatever portion of health you have, and your God-given talents, and your roots and experiences, and your faith - you are truly wealthy in the things that matter. And a financial cloud shouldn't cause you to miss out on those gifts. The latest Newsweek magazine has an article by a suburban woman who challenged her family to see how long they could go between fill-ups of their SUV's gas tank - and how they discovered changes they could make in everything they do - and here's the thing: every change brought them closer together. So much so that she concludes the article by saying, "The high cost of gas has been nothing but good for our family." You don't hear that too much these days. But that family is discovering their true assets.

            Now here's a third A: Alter at the altar. This is my play on words to say, Pray about changes you need to make. When the economy was flying high, we may have picked up some habits that now need alteration. Maybe we got pretty free with the credit card. Maybe we got used to buying more than you need. Maybe we got seduced into the idea that our security is in our portfolios, instead of in God.

            You might think that you will just change your spending ways and financial attitudes by your own will power. Will power is a wonderful thing, and some people have a lot of it. But we should never underestimate the hold that money has over us. One of the famous things that Jesus said was, "You cannot serve two masters." Well ... that can mean a lot of things. You cannot serve God and Satan. You cannot serve God and the government. You cannot serve God and yourself, or sin, or evil, or jealousy. But we don't have to guess what Jesus had in mind. He immediately goes on to say, You cannot serve both God and money. Jesus understood that money could be our master; that we could be possessed by our possessions; and then, just to make clear we get it, in another place Jesus said that the love of money is the root of all evil. These are serious teachings.

Jesus was describing a deep, deep addiction to material things. Money is how we measure most everything in this world. It is everywhere we turn - earn more money, save more money, win more money, manage your money, spend more money. It is nothing short of an obsession. Of course, we have to have it to live. It buys the food, clothing and shelter that sustain us. But, like any master, like any addiction, it grabs hold of us and tells us the basics are not enough. The bar keeps raising, and before we know it, there is never enough. Why is it that most of the richest people in this world spend so much of their time trying to get more money? It's because money is an addiction, and it convinces you that you can never have enough.

            But we cannot have two masters. At some point in life, if we want spiritual health, peace of mind, healthy relationships, real joy - we have to break the addiction of money. And anyone who is wrestling with a serious addiction will tell you that will power is not enough. You have to turn to a higher power - someone with the strength to fight a spiritual battle. We believe that higher power for us is Jesus, and so we turn to the altar, and ask for God to alter our addiction to money.

            One other A I'll mention quickly: Advocate for All. As I mentioned before, we live in a world of abundance - a world where there are enough resources to care for the needs of all humanity. God made sure of that - He did His part. But unfortunately, greed and politics, war and violence - all the worst side of human nature - have created systems

where billions of people are deprived of those basic resources. The rich will always be able to buy the best food, the best health care, the best education, the best opportunities. But God didn't intend the blessings of this life only for a few rich people. And economic justice is one of the things Jesus was talking about when he invited us to be part of a new kingdom - a place where the poor are blessed, and rulers are just and fair.

            When we feel squeezed economically, it is easy to just pay attention to our own wellbeing, and forget that there are people who are much worse off than we are - people who really can't find food, can't get clean water, can't get health care. When we address the financial questions of our lives, we need to advocate for all God's children, and for the social and economic justice Jesus came to teach about.

So, here are some of the A's in God's ATM: Acknowledge the abundance God has given us; appreciate the assets we have right around us and within us; alter bad habits and attitudes at the altar of prayer; and advocate for fairness for all God's people, especially the most vulnerable.

            These are spiritual teachings from a Savior named Jesus who, for all appearance, gave up everything material in order to gain spiritual wealth for you and for me. Certainly his death on the cross was the re-prioritizing of all the resources of the world - an invitation to embrace something far more precious than material wealth.

            The first task for surviving tough financial times is to put yourself in the mind of Christ, who taught that if we seek God's kingdom above all else, we need not have another worry in the world. It really does come down to 'Your money or your life.' You can't serve both God and money. And peace of mind and salvation and spiritual health are what God offers. Why would you choose any other master? More on this next week.