Monopoly: Playing with Money

left to our own devices, and left with only the influence of our culture and world- we will desire more and more and more and more. We will look at life like a giant monopoly board- we will want to own the board and crush the competition. We will leverage all our assets and every opportunity to get more money! We love money! We are like scrooge McDuck- we want to swim in a pool filled with bills and coins. But there is an antidote. There is another way to play the game of money. To play the game of wealth and stuff. And you already know what it is. We all know what it is. But like most things in life, it’s not a matter of knowing, it’s a matter of application, or practice.

I’m going to tell you where we’re going, then I’m going to start over and tell you how we get there. Here is how to play the game of money correctly- give a minimum of 10%, save a minimum of 10%, enjoy the rest. It’s the most simple and sound financial and spiritual advice in the world. It sounds good to everyone. But the world has convinced us, and we have convinced ourselves, that is unrealistic, even impossible. But the truth is, and each and every one of you knows this- it’s not. You choice where every dollar you make goes. You make that choice. You make the choices that free you to live this way. You’ve made the choices that don’t allow you to live that way. You can make the choices that would bring you back to this way.

In this Game of Life series we are talking about areas of life in which we play around. But unlike a game that we finish playing, put the pieces away, and move on with our day, these games effect everything. These games are not zero-sum-total outcomes. These games have implications for every area of life. We started with the pursuit of meaning in life. Life is not a trivial pursuit, but a passionate pursuit of God, of his purpose, plans will and way in our lives and in the world. And getting right with God gets meaning into our lives. We talked about sex and how the way we play with game will effect everything health- our health, our happiness, our relationships, our souls. Sex, perhaps more than any other game, has the power to bring pleasure, or pain, into our lives and the lives of others we play with. So we said, very plainly, very matter-of-factly, how to play the game- one man, one woman, become husband and wife, and start playing with game with the knowledge that this is how babies are made, this is how a couple is bonded together.

Today we have a likewise simple game plan, but one that few are following. And because they are not following it, they are losing. So we are going to look at how we are doing as a people in the game of money. In Canada personal bankruptcies are at an all-time high. In 2003 Canada passed a major landmark in how people live with, understand and spend money, and it will have implications for all of us and our economy. In 2003 for the first time, the average Canadian, meaning the majority of Canadians, spent more than he or she made. As a society we moved past equilibrium, and into debt.
At 22 years of age, the average student now graduates with $25,000 of debt. $1500 in credit card debt. That is not student loans- that’s credit card debt- translated, that’s $1500 worth or pizza, video games and clothing.

My daughter asked for a credit card. She’s been watching her mother and I. We go to the store. We get stuff. We go to the register, we run the card through. We walk away. It’s like magic! She wants a card. Think of all the stuff she could get. I’m like why do you want a card- because I want more stuff. Why do you want more stuff- stuff makes me happy. How are you going to pay for the stuff? With the credit card. She doesn’t get it. I say your mother and I have never missed paying off our balance in full ever. She has no idea what that means. I say, we use a credit card like a bank card. She has no idea what that means. We know how much we have, we never go over our checking account. I tell her I’ve never paid a penny of interest on credit cards because I don’t see it as a credit card, it’s a checking account card with air miles. She doesn’t get it. And many people don’t get it until it’s too late.

Any way you slice it, credit card debt is bad debt. And it gets worse after college once people are earning money. The average consumer owes $3,184 of credit card debt, or $8,299 per household. Most of you have credit card debt, 30% of you are only making minimum payments. And only 41% of you know what interest you are being charged on that credit card. So I’m going to tell you- and trust me, I’m not yet preaching the good news. This is bad news. You should be shocked at this- Upwards of 20%. Here’s what all of you should be thinking right now. If someone offered me an investment opportunity (not a spending opportunity) that guaranteed me that I would make a 20% profit rate on my money, do you know what I would do- I would do this and all of you would do this. I would liquidate every asset I could, even if liquidating that asset involved some penalties, I’d pull out of my pension plan, out of my IRA’s out of my RRSP’s, out of everything I had in the market, and I would put all of that money in that investment. Because if I could invest at 20% annually on my initial investment, I would be extremely wealthy extremely fast. I’d double my money in 5 years. In 20 years that $10,000 would be $50,000. That’s without adding anything else to that investment. Just letting it sit. And guess what, if you make that compound interest, meaning, you earn interest on the money as it continues to role over, then your 10,000 would be $383,376.00 in 20 years.

Here’s the thing, you are playing the game opposite. You are spending money at an 20% interest rate. If you charge $10,000 on a credit card and make the minimum payment it will take you 23 years to pay that off, and you will have paid nearly $10,000 in interest. When you buy on a credit card and start making minimum payments you double what you pay for anything. Those shoes don’t cost $50. They cost you $100.

Here’s why this matters- We are playing with money like it’s a game, but it’s not. Some of you are one move away from financial disaster. Some of you are already in financial disaster. Some of you are managing your fiancés where you are not prepared for any financial surprises. But you know what I‘ve learned about unexpected expense? Expect them. You car will break down. Your refrigerator will need replaced. Your kid will need braces. I can guarantee you numerous unexpected expenses. And you are still playing with you money like a game. It costs us our time, our energy, our work. It creates stress, worry and anxiety. Couples argue about money more than anything else, anything else! They fight about money. Can you believe that couples fight over this! I know, most of you find that hard to believe because you’ve never fought over something so petty as money and spending. You would never let it hold that much power in your life or come between you and you spouse. But it’s true- couples argue and fight and resent each other. They belittle and undermine each other. They stop to trust each other. They get mad and don’t have sex with each other. That would just never be worth it for me!

They start to nag and nit pick about every little thing because they don’t know where the money is going, but they do know this- more money is going out than is coming in, and that can’t help but create an incredible amount of internal stress. That can’t help but become a giant wedge, an impasse in a household and in a relationship. Money has effectively become the unwanted god of their household because they now serve debt. It’s that simple- if you own money, if you are in debt, you are not the master of your life. The one who you owe money to owns you.

Some of you have heard this before, and it’s true- Jesus says more about money than any other topic apart from his mission. As a subject of life and conversation, Jesus says more about money than anything else. What you might be interested to know is that in all his talking about money that we have recorded, he never once asks for money. Maybe he did, because the disciples had money. They had an account of money that they must have used for things like food, shelter and serving others. We don’t know anything about that money really, except that it must have come from people who wanted to support the ministry of Jesus. And maybe Jesus did ask them for money, but none of that is recorded. What is recorded for us is that Jesus instructed people to give to the temple (the church), to give to the poor and needy, and to pay their taxes.

Some people he tells to sell everything they have. Others he simply invited to generousity. But most of all, he warns people of the dangers of the love of money. We know that Jesus was not anti-money. He was not against money and was not calling for a revolution where we burn down the banks and abolish all financial institutions. But he was radically against and on guard against the love of money. He knew that of all the temptations in the world, of all the false gods that people would functionally give their lives to, it was money. I say functionally because Jesus was always concerned most with what was happening inside of us. He knew that few people would outwardly worship money. They aren’t going to put on the monacle and swim in a pool of cash. But more and more I’d argue folks do want to live like this. But he knew that inwardly they would be slaves to money, lovers of money, obsessed with money, consumed with the debts they owed or their desire for more. He talks about money because we obsess about money. We love to play monopoly! We love money!

I want to go to what is perhaps Jesus’ most famous and most often quoted passage on money. Matthew Chapter 6:19-24

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

When Jesus talks about treasure, he is not using the word for money. He’s using the word for treasure. What this means is that he’s referring to anything we treasure. Thing we truly love. Things of great value to us. And what he is telling us is that what we should be most invested in, what we should value the most, are things of eternal value. That’s just good wisdom and life advice. Care most about, invest in, treasure up in the areas of life that matter most. Don’t waste your treasure on temporary, passing stuff. Stuff that will rust and fade away. Because where you treasure things is where your heart will be. And your heart, above all things, should be guarded and treasured. Sometime we are shocked at what we realize we value. And there is sometimes a huge variance in what we think matters to us, and what actually matters to us. We say we value a relationship, but the relationship falls apart, and we never give it a passing thought. We say our stuff doesn’t matter, then we lose something, and suddenly we realize how much this thing, that stuff, mattered to us. Because careful, Jesus says, about where your treasure is located- it is located in temporary things, or is it beigin built up in eternal things.

Then he says some weird stuff about eyes and light. This sis o deep, but we’ll keep it simple- what do your eyes desire? The eyes they say are like the window to the soul. He saying the things your eyes look at and long for and examine closely are a reflection of your heart. And it’s a two way street- the things you continually look at and long for will shed light on you heart. You start looking at and longing for more stuff, and more stuff, and more stuff. We know this.

Do you know when I want the most stuff? When I look at stuff. I’ll be perfectly happy and content. Then I’ll turn on the TV and the commercial will tell me that I deserve a new car. Then I look out my window, and I say hey, you’re right, I’m way too cool to drive a Taurus! They tell me I need a new iphone. Then I look at my old cell phone, and I say hey, you’re right, I can’t play games when I’m supposed to be working, I need that. I go the mall, I’m dressed, warm, and happy. Then I realize that my members only jacket has come full circle, so I’m cool again! But then I look at my bootleg jeans, and I realize I need skinny jeans, or I’m an old, out of touch dad, and I’m not happy anymore. (Actually, I’m really happy being an old dad who has way more important things to worry about than the jeans I wear).

They eye is the lamp of the body- the stuff we look at illuminates our hearts, and if we look at stuff, we’ll only start to want more and more and more and more. So Jesus says this- you can’t serve two masters. You can’t multi-task, and you can’t multi-master. You’re gonna love one and hate the other. Then he hits us right in the heart- you can’t serve both God and money.

As you play the game of life you will have to play the game of monopoly- you will have to. Money is a reality of our world. So you must learn to play, you must learn to play well. Because if you don’t, the game of monopoly will master you. And you can very well end up spending the better part of your life, or even all of your life, serving money. And God doesn’t want you to come to the end of your life and realize you served the wrong master the whole time. God does not want you to waste your life- to waste your life- serving money and not serving Him. And you do not want to waste your life that way either. Money is a waste of a God to worship. He will promise you the world, and in the end, give you nothing in return. He will ask everything of you, he will placate you with shiny, bright and colorful things, then in the end you will realize you really got nothing back.

But our God is a great God. And serving Him is not a waste. Giving to Him is not a waste. It is the best thing you can do with your life and it is the best thing you can do with your money and it is the best way to play this game of monopoly.

And so here is where the rubber meets the road. The old saying goes, show me your checkbook, or credit card bill, or the bottom line, and I’ll show you your values. I will know, just by looking at the bottom line, what’s important to you, what you value, how you have prioritized your life, and where you stand. And a lot of you, a lot of you, would not like the picture painted of you by your bottom line (that sounded funny!) You would say that’s not me, that’s not what I value, that’s not what I believe, that’s not where my treasure is. And I would have to say to you, the numbers don’t lie. The numbers never lie. But if you don’t like what the numbers say- then you can make a choice, and you can change your life, you can serve a better master.

And this is how you do it- you start to give money away. You give money away. You will never be free from the love of money until you give it away. You will never be safe or be free from the worship of money until you give it away because when you give it away you are telling money- I own you. I own you, and you don’t own me. You are just coins and paper. You are just a figure in an account. You are just symbolic of value as gauged by our economy. But you, money, are not symbolic of my net worth. You are not symbolic of my value. You are just a part of life in this world. You are a reality of society that has moved beyond bartar and exchange. You are a tool. And I will be your master, you will not master me.

And the best way to master money is to give it away. When you give it away you are free… There are few things as empowering and joyful as giving money away! Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about because you are already generous, giving people who have mastered your money. Others here have no clue what I’m talking about and you don’t understand this, and you are not really convinced yet because you’ve never experienced this, but I’m telling you, there is nothing more freeing than giving away money, there are few things that have the potential to give us more happiness and joy, and it’s not in spending more money, it’s in giving money.

It’s what author Randy Alcorn calls the treasure principle: I will not be robbed of the joy of giving. That by the grace of God I will never earn so little, or so much, or so middle, that I will be robbed of the joy of giving and saving first, then enjoying the rest. It’s about making the decision that it doesn’t matter if I live below the poverty level- money, or the lack of money, will never be my master, so I will give the first percentage to God. I will never live so far above the poverty level that money is my master. I will give a percentage away.

And when you give it to the church, you are actually telling God, you are the owner. You are the master. I belong to you, and my money belongs to you. I’m actually not my own, and this money is not my own, but it is yours, and I will show by giving you the first cut off the top.

Some of you right now are thinking that this is all very self serving for you, the pastor of a church. So let me be clear on this- God does not need your money. God doesn’t need your money, but he wants you. And he knows that the best way to get you, is to free you from serving money, and the way to free you from serving money, is, again, to give it away.

So let me be very clear about what I’m saying to you- I want you to give a percentage of your money. If you don’t like me, if you don’t trust our church, fine- give your money to something else. Give it to another church, give it to missions, give it to charity, give it to disaster relief, give it to a needy neighbor. But give it away.

But if you ask me, do I want your money? Absolutely. Yeah, I love our church, I want our church to grow. I think our church is an awesome place to be giving your money. But I also know this, where you treasure is, your heart goes also. So if you give to God, your heart starts to go towards God. And if you give to God through this church, you start to store up treasure in this church.

Now I know nothing about the individual giving of any person in this church. That is by design. We have a treasurer who handles the money and a stewardship committee that oversees this area. But if they showed me the numbers, I guarantee you I’d see this correlation- the biggest percentage givers, that is the ones making the biggest sacrifice to give to this church, are also our best volunteers, our best helper, our most faithful volunteers. And I know this because I am human and I know that I only invest in things that matter to me. And when I invest in something, I also give it my time, my energy, by service.

So do I want your giving? Yes, because I also want your heart. Because I want God to have your heart, and because I want Connections to be blessed through you, and I want you to be blest through Connections.

If you are in debt:
So what to do if you are in the hole? Let me tweak the instructions. Give first to God, get on a plan to get out of debt, and live on the bare minimum required to survive. Here’s where you will have to get some help. If you are in debt you are in the place where you need help, you need sound financial advice, and you need a plan to get out of that debt. Here is where I can’t tell you what the percentages are, but I will stick with the first rule- give. Give to God. Do not let money or now the debt of money you owe be your master. Give to God first. It will be significantly less. But do not rob yourself of the freedom and joy that comes with saying Money, you don’t own me- I am in control of you, and I choose to give first to God. Then follow your plan to get out of debt as fast as you can! Get on a plan so you know exactly how and when you will be out of debt. Mark it on your calendar, make it a reality, then celebrate like crazy when it comes to pass. Because then you will know what it’s like to live without that weight on your shoulders. You will, for the first time maybe, know what it’s like to be free from the god of money and from being slave to your debt. Celebrate that freedom.

And here’s the thing- then you can move towards the joy of giving. Because there’s something even greater than being free from debt, it’s being free to give. It’s being free to share, to be generous, to be a blessing to others. And there is nothing quite so thrilling as this.

Some of you are at a different place than us. You have more than you need. You are saving like crazy. But money is still your master because you don’t give any of it away. You live with only your needs in mind, and you do not know the joy of giving money away.

But for all of us, here is the deal. Here is the minimum- give 10, save 10, live off the rest. Get there. Stay there. Then go beyond. Then go to a place where you can give more, save more, and enjoy more what is left over. I’m telling you, the most freeing, the most empowering, the most exhilarating thing you can do is to give your money away! Honestly, it’s a rush. It’s an adrenaline high. Be careful when you start giving, because you might become and addict! You might get so excited about giving money away, you’ll find yourself always thinking about your next fix. You’ll start to plan and budget for your next big give. You’ll start to rework your personal finances, you’ll start to re-prioritize your life and living, all so you can give a little more. You’ll start to hide things from you spouse. They’ll look at the finances, and they’ll be like, honey, there’s a thousand dollars unaccounted for in our checking? Where did that go? And you’ll have to tell him, or you’ll have to tell her, honey, I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself, I gave it away! Then you’ll get all defensive and you’ll say, and you know what, I’m happy that I gave money away. I’m happy it did it, and I’d do it again, in fact, I’m already thinking about doing it again. Then your wife will just start to cry and say, oh God, where did I go right with this man?

It’s true folks. Once you break free of god of money, once you master it, and give it to God, and say God you get the first portion, and you get it all really- it all belongs to you. Once you experience the joy of generosity, the security of saving, you will spend responsibly and enjoy the game of money more than you thought possible.