The Solution: Part Two

As we close the Idle Treasure series, we turn the spotlight back to the real question behind donor-advised funds. This conversation was never simply about how much money sits in charitable accounts. It's about what our money reveals about our nearness to Jesus.

We walk alongside the rich young ruler, as he holds a key to the DAF dilemma. 

From there we name three themes that consistently marked the people we interviewed throughout the series. We also share a big assumption underneath this whole project, and offer a conclusion that both challenges and inspires.

Subscribe to receive updates about the Idle Treasure series, and leave a review so more people can join the conversation.

*If you have a story to share as a result of Idle Treasure, email: courtney@financialdiscipleship.center.

Idle Treasure is sponsored by the Center for Financial Discipleship.

Transcript

A Church Rich In Rome

Courtney 0:00

There is a common story told of a thirteenth century theologian named Saint Thomas. As legend has it, a friend was admiring the riches of Rome, and he said to Saint Thomas, We Christians certainly no longer say to the world, silver and gold we have none. And Saint Thomas replied, But neither can we still say to the lame man, in the name of Jesus, rise up and walk. Now the authenticity of this story is questionable, but there's a truth to it that still resonates hundreds of years later. Without narrowing in on one specific denomination, we can look at the church in the West and recognize a shift in power. We've slowly traded our spiritual strength, one that can only come from Christ, for a materialistic one. Our buildings are beautiful and our programs are robust, but many people sitting in the pews find themselves far from God. A woman I met recently described her faith as truth without power. She said, I believe in God, but it doesn't have any real power in my life. I'm not close to him and I don't see any fruit. Now, this was someone who has attended church for most of her life. She could quote scripture and even ran a faith-based business. But for her, she recognized a strong disconnect between the God she reads about in the Bible and the God she experiences in real life. So where is the disconnect? And what does this have to do with our DAF story? Well, this entire project was based on a rather big assumption, and I'll tell you what that is in just a moment. As we conclude the Idle Treasure series, I want to once again thank you. It has been a joy to walk alongside you, and I'm honored that you joined us in the journey. Many people have asked me why I started this podcast, and the simplest answer is because I wanted to start a conversation. I have witnessed firsthand how money conversations become the battleground where God does some of his best work. And when something feels sticky and difficult to discuss, well, it's often a sign we need to face it head on. So whether you find yourself managing a DAF, a foundation, or you simply have a desire to live more generously, this conversation is for you. We need to ask ourselves some tough questions. And if you've been following along the Idol Treasure series, you should be used to that by now. So, friends, for the final time, let's get ready. I'm your host, Courtney Markley, and I'll admit, when I first heard how much money was in DAFs, I was shocked. But it led me on a journey to discover what really lies beneath this number. Some Christians say there isn't a problem. Others are frustrated by the amount of charitable assets not getting deployed. But this story isn't just about donor advice funds. It is about you and me. This is a story about how our culture has shaped the way Christians behave with money. It's a story about the goodness of wealth and the weight of responsibility we feel to steward at wealth. It's a story about the vulnerable reasons why we often keep money to ourselves. And it's about the opportunity of a moment. Journey with me as we seek the answer. How should Christians respond to this idle treasure?

The DAF Question Behind The Numbers

Courtney 4:10

There's a man in Scripture who's become my friend in recent years. His story is shared in three of the four gospels. We aren't told his name. We aren't given many details about his life. Scripture tells us that he was successful, that he followed the Jewish laws faithfully, and he pursued Jesus. We know him as the rich young ruler. Our story today will run parallel to his, as I believe he holds a key to the DAF dilemma. Throughout this podcast, we've gotten to hear many perspectives on the usage of donor advice funds. Some experts say deploy the money from your DAF as quickly as possible. Some suggest deploying funds strategically over the course of a few years. And still some feel called to manage their DAF as a vocation, which allows them to explore impact investing and strategizing how best to solve world problems. While many of these experts use staffs differently, I did notice, after spending several hours in interviews and studying their words at length, that there were three specific characteristics they all had in common. Today we're going to explore what these three characteristics are, but before we go there, I have a confession to make. Very recently I recognized the entire Idol Treasure series was based on a rather big assumption, and I probably need to share what that is. The assumption is that Christians would rather grow in Christ-likeness than increase their personal wealth, their social standing, or boost their family name. My sincere hope is that those who profess to follow Jesus want to become like him by doing what he did. If this is true, then the conversation about giving becomes fairly simple. In this posture, we can easily acknowledge that giving matters, that God cares about what we do with our wealth. So we take careful attention to seek his will, study scripture, and learn about how God would direct his followers to respond. However, if those who confess Christ as our Savior don't have a desire to become a disciple of Jesus, then the conversation around giving looks much different. And this posture most people give when it's convenient or feel safe. They give just enough to try to appease God without having to make any real sacrifice. They like to appear generous, but only because it benefits themselves or boosts their own pride. People with this heart posture won't see any issues with their current money and daffs, their private foundations, or their personal investment portfolios. Throughout this podcast, I've continued to say that this conversation is for all of us. But perhaps I need to be more specific. This conversation is for anyone who desires to grow in Christ-likeness, who would rather trade material wealth for spiritual riches, and wants to earnestly seek God's desire for the money entrusted to them, no matter how much or how little. If I'm describing you, then you are really going to enjoy today's episode. We're going to look at three key characteristics that lead to generosity. Let's begin discussing the first characteristic by turning to the story of the rich young ruler. As the narrative goes, Jesus was speaking to a crowd, and just as he was about to set off in his journey, a man kneels in front of him and asks, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus replies, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You see, leading up to this encounter, Jesus was often seen publicly debating the Pharisees about matters of the law, and word was spreading that Jesus seemed to have a higher knowledge of the law, or at least a unique way of interpreting and explaining things. So it's likely that the rich young ruler saw Jesus publicly debating the Pharisees, and he's compelled to ask him a question. But he doesn't approach Jesus as the Messiah. He approaches Jesus as a religious expert. And I think this describes how many of us approach God still. We look to the Bible as the rule book, we seek the right set of instructions, but we

The Rich Young Ruler Mirror

Courtney 8:20

miss the greater opportunity to cultivate a real relationship with God. This was true of the rich young ruler. He approaches Jesus looking for an academic conversation and perhaps another list of rules to follow. But instead he receives a direct call to action from the living God. This is often what happens when we encounter Jesus. He's not simply someone to be studied, but when you encounter Jesus, he often comes with an invitation to act. Which brings me to the first characteristic that unifies each expert we've met throughout the Idol Treasure series. Each person I interviewed had an undeniably close relationship with God. Their love for the Lord flowed out of them and could be tangibly seen and felt. So rather than trying to check off a list of religious boxes, they believe life with God is something to be experienced. That faith isn't something you think, it's something you do. And in this posture, Christianity isn't about thinking the right things, knowing the right answers, or even avoiding sin. It's about living your whole life in God's presence.

Patrick Johnson 9:45

We're not really listening. Like one of the things I've come to realize in my life is that union with God is so precious and life-giving. And a lot of times that's like a walk with God, you hear God. Like God speaks to you, He gives you opportunities to act out generosity, to live generously. But if we're not connected, if we're not living life in relationship with God on a daily basis in a life-giving way, and I'm talking about outside of like reading the Bible and praying, those are all great. And I firmly believe in those things, but I am pursuing a with God life. Like I want Jesus to be yoked to me. And I want it to be depending on him so that when he looks at me and whispers, like, go meet that need, I'm listening. Like I am so unified with God that those things become natural for me. And I think a lot of church in the West or Christians in the West, we go through motions, but we're missing union with Christ. We're missing this life with God. And I think that's I think that's a key obstacle to generosity as well. Is we're not, yeah, we don't hear his voice. We don't, we don't respond to his prompts. I talk to a lot of Christians and say basically like you hear from God, like I've never heard from God.

Courtney 11:12

The first characteristic that each expert embodied, as Patrick described it, is the with God life. The with God life isn't about checking off boxes or filling your calendar with religious activities. It's about waking up each day, attuned to God, communing with him, and allowing yourself to be shaped by his love.

Leo Sabo 11:34

The most important thing that I've learned through this journey is God's love for me. You see, when when we are exposed to the word of God and we read it as a rule book, here's what you should do, here's what you shouldn't do. Then because we want to be good people, because we want to go to heaven, because we want to be, you know, known as that, and we want all the good things that God promises in his word, then we begin to check the boxes off. So we work our way up maybe to tithing or serving, leading a group. We do all these functions in the church. And then that will lead us to if we're just doing it to check off the box, because we think these works are going to somehow make us feel uh not only make us feel like we're doing the right thing, but God will approve and God will let us into heaven. So all the promises will come true for us. And my journey has been that I began checking off the box. I saw what God wanted and I said, Great, I'm gonna do that. I want to follow Jesus. If he says do this, I'm gonna do it. But what I didn't understand, that I do understand now, is that I was doing it because I wanted to be good. And Jesus said, No one is good, not even one. So when I understood stewardship, really understood it as really God saying, I want to give you a gift, I'm gonna use

The Assumption Behind Christian Giving

Leo Sabo 12:50

everything I've put into your hands, the stuff in the world to help you understand my love for you, that I truly love you, and if you did nothing for me except said, I believe in you, I accept you, and I want a relationship with you. If God did nothing else for me, it's still enough. It's still enough. And until we get to the place where we understand that God doesn't need anything from us, but yet he's extended himself to us in the most incredible way because he wants a relationship with us. First he created us, then he redeemed us, and now he's trying to draw us completely into that relationship, deep relationship of love.

Courtney 13:27

There is a deep connection between our spiritual health and our money, which often reveals our lack of connectedness to Christ. Perhaps the first step in solving the daft dilemma is recognizing that many of us are missing the with God life. We have been taught that good Christians follow certain rules, you know, give to your church, volunteer, read your Bible, and these things certainly aren't wrong. But many of us haven't been taught how to relate to Jesus, not as the religious expert, but as the living God who invites us to experience life with him.

Patrick Johnson 14:04

If you've got a bunch of money sitting in a DAF and you're not being intentional, you're not living life with God, so you're not hearing his voice, if you're not being overwhelmed with his love, like I would look at my if I'm storing a lot of money in my daff, I would look at the underlying reasons that I don't feel the urgency to give out of that. It's because I'm not experiencing life with God. It's because I don't feel love, it's because I'm putting my ego in that DAF. Like it's it's all the stuff under the surface that is prohibiting us from gifts. But to me, the bigger issue is the the life, the reasons down deep in your soul that you're not giving out of that.

Courtney 14:46

I've said it before that money is a litmus test of the soul. If you are lonely, anxious, or stressed, if you're hungry for power, control, or recognition, if you desire a life of comfort, pleasure, and ease, all these things will reveal itself through your use of money. If you're complacent in your spiritual walk, if your love has grown stagnant or cold, money will tell your story. God desires more from us than to give out of obligation. He desires our love. Even Cain gave an offering, but sin was crouching at his door. Let's consider the call to Judah in Isaiah chapter 1. God was crying out to his people, asking how long they would rebel against him. How long would they pursue bribes and gifts and ignore the oppressed? How long would they disregard the plight of the widow and the orphan? God may be looking at us and asking these same questions. How long must he endure our wandering?

Speaker 4 15:58

How long, how long will the weight be this heavy? How long, how long? Can we learn till we break? Cause the rain isn't good till it's fall, and your grace isn't good till it's spent.

Courtney 16:29

As the rich young ruler was kneeling at Jesus' feet, I like to think that he was sincerely taking on a posture of humility. He spent his life focused on rules and religious activity, and yet he recognized in his heart that something was missing. Scripture tells us that Jesus looked at this man and loved him, and he gave him a bold invitation. You lack one thing, Jesus told him. Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow me. And famously the young ruler turns from Jesus and walks away sad. Seeing this, Jesus looks to his disciples and says three times how difficult it is for the wealthy person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Many people get bothered by this statement. We quickly brush it off and we say, Well, that was about the rich young ruler. It wasn't about me. You know, that guy had a problem with money. There's a temptation to assume that this passage doesn't apply to you, but it does. I have had thousands of conversations with people about their life and their money, and here's one thing I've learned. Very

The With God Life That Listens

Courtney 17:40

few people self-identify as wealthy. Regardless of how much money you have, there's an assumption that you're not wealthy because you could always use more money. And I promise you this spans all income levels. But here's what the statistics tell us. The average person in America is wealthier than 96% of the global population. And the average Christian in America spends 90 to 98% of that money on themselves. So while reading the story of the rich young ruler, we must recognize that many of us look a lot like he did. Morally upright, follows the rules. He would have been giving to the temple consistently, and he even sought out Jesus. So instead of brushing off Jesus' words, let's take them seriously and learn how this interaction applies to each of us. While reading this story, I started becoming curious why Jesus asked the man to give away all he had. You know, why did God care so much about this guy's money? If Jesus wanted to, he could provide food for all the poor. So why did he ask the rich young ruler to do it? Another similarity between our experts, whether they were financial professionals, ministry leaders, biblical scholars, or authors, they all expressed a deeply held belief that God transforms us through our giving.

John Rinehart 19:09

Like God needs you to give, or even the church needs you to give, or ministry needs you to give. And when we look at the Bible, we see that's actually not true at all. That God owns literally everything on the earth: the silver, the gold, all the real estate, all the animals. He owns our bodies. Like we we are his property, his possession. And so he doesn't need anything from us. I think primarily the reason that God asks us to give is because God himself is a giver. The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver. And I think God loves a cheerful giver because God is a cheerful giver. And when we give cheerfully, we look like him. When we give cheerfully, we reflect his heart. And God's goal in our lives is trans to transform us into the image of Jesus. Jesus gave his life away. An ungenerous Christian is an oxymoron. When we follow the Savior who laid his life down and gave his life away, God invites us to become like Jesus. And a huge part of that is generosity.

Courtney 20:10

Many Christians have been taught to give out of obligation, or they've been encouraged to give to make an impact. But very few have been taught the real reasons why God invites us to give.

Patrick Johnson 20:33

I'm all for that. But when you hear the word Great Commission in a modern Western context and generosity, you're thinking about giving to fund missions work or to fund church work. All of that is great. But what is the Great Commission? It's to go and make disciples and to teach them to obey everything that Jesus taught. 25% of the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount deal with provision, possessions, and generosity. The Great Commission is living generously because you are obeying the words of Jesus. It's not about the impact you make, although that happens. No, to be a disciple of Jesus is to listen to his words, to take them in, to obey them. That is the fulfillment of the Great Commission. So when we don't trust money, when we don't store our treasure on earth, then we are fulfilling the commands of Jesus and we are fulfilling the Great Commission.

Courtney 21:29

God invites us to give, not because he needs our money, because he desires to form us into his disciples. Giving is one way God actively saves us from the constant pursuit of more.

Patrick Johnson 21:43

It's not about funding ministries. It's not about the good that giving can do. Those are all great. It's not about meeting needs. That's all great. What I really think we as modern day Western Christians need to consider is this is about our spiritual health. God doesn't need Our money to fulfill the Great Commission. And God doesn't need our Western strategies to fulfill the Great Commission. I look at it in terms of it's about freeing your soul. It's about finding life that is truly life.

Courtney 22:18

What would have happened if the young man had sold everything he had and given it to the poor? Well, Jesus tells us that where your treasure is, your heart will follow. So his compassion would have grown for the poor. His love would have grown for those in need. His dependency on God would have dramatically increased. His faith would have grown stronger because perhaps for the first time in his life, he was put in a situation where faith was required. He would have become more like Jesus, and his love for God would have grown. Jesus didn't tell the young ruler to give away his money because he was trying to ruin his day. He was actively saving him.

Dr. Craig Blomberg 23:03

You asked earlier about how do we know when we love mammon and maybe when we think first in economic terms about any kind of an issue. How does this affect me? How does this affect my community? How does this affect my nation economically? If that's the first question we ask, rather than what does God want? What has he revealed in his word about this, then that may be a telltale clue that that we're actually worshiping mammon rather than God.

Courtney 23:46

If God desires to transform us through giving, but most Christians keep the bulk of their wealth to themselves, then we must recognize that we're being shaped by something other than Christ. We have been taught to first ask, how does this affect me rather than what does God want? And its effects can be damaging to our soul. Surrounded by comfort and luxury, we have slowly taken steps towards materialism and away from Jesus. Our church today might well resemble the church of Laodicea from Revelation 3. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. Not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. The church was materially wealthy, but they were living in spiritual poverty, and they were too blind to see it. You may be hearing this and assume the goal is extreme asceticism and to shun all forms of wealth or material possessions. But scripture reinforces that wealth in the hands of people who were truly living surrendered lives to God leads to human flourishing. It leads to people being reconciled to God and being healed. While wealth in the hands of materialistic people only leads to more sickness. So my aim is not to say that we should reject money, but that we should be actively combating the love of money. And we need to recognize that the pretty things of this world aren't always what they seem.

Giving That Forms Disciples

Courtney 26:15

And come follow me. So when making financial decisions, they didn't only think about the effects twenty to thirty years down the road, but they would ask themselves what will be the investment towards eternity. This way of thinking gives each of them a sense of urgency and a desire to plan well because our time on earth is short and eternity is very long. What do they have an urgency for, you might ask? Well, to cultivate a deeper love for God, to express that love to others, and to do good works. So many of us have forgotten that what we do in this life matters. Giving your life to Christ was not just a decision or a simple moment in time. It's the life that you live and the actions you take.

Randy Alcorn 27:23

God does not reward us for our good intentions. God rewards us for our choices, implemented choices, real choices in space, time, history. I have really given because people are now receiving what I have given them.

Courtney 27:44

So many ministry leaders focus on helping people become saved. So much so that we may have inadvertently created a generation of Christians who have forgotten what they're saved for. Ephesians 2 10 says that we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. A friend once told it to me like this we're not saved by serving God. We're saved to serve God. Saving grace is accompanied by good works. The two go hand in hand. Modern Christianity has fully embraced grace. Pastors love preaching about it and people love to receive it. But it appears, however, the more we lift up grace, the more we diminish good works. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this idea cheap grace, where we want Jesus without living the way of Jesus. So we create this notion that grace saves and works don't matter. But good works matter to Jesus. In the book of Revelation, as Jesus is addressing the seven churches, he begins nearly every greeting with, I know your works. He doesn't say, I know your intentions or I know your faith. He says, I know your works.

Randy Alcorn 29:23

Now, of course, the world's still under curse, and there's sin and death and suffering and all. It doesn't solve those problems, but it solves all the the need, the human need problems. Is it possible he is entrusted to us, but we're just not using it that way? I think it's not only possible, it's very likely. I think one day God may look us and say, I provided everything that needed for all world needs to be cared for, to my people, not just to the world, to my people in each generation, but for the most part they didn't use it that way. I don't want that to be said of me and to be true of me at the judgment seat of Christ.

Courtney 30:03

Our actions with money often reveal the life we are living towards. If we are to live life towards eternity with Christ, well, our use of money will look dramatically different than the people who are living towards retirement. If our hope is in Jesus and his salvation, then work is redefined from an obligation to an act of worship. And rest isn't something to earn, it's a gift to receive. If our hope is in money, work is a necessary means to an end, and rest will only come when we have accumulated enough. Christianity at its core is forward thinking, and Jesus compels people to live towards eternity and to do good works.

Brian Grasso 30:57

Sometimes there's a window of opportunity where we can actually step into another person's life, step into a non, you know, maybe working through a ministry or with a ministry. And um, if we miss that opportunity, sometimes it it's gone. And it it could have actually transformed lives, led to people coming to know Jesus, led to survivors being rescued, led to people escaping from poverty.

Peter Greer 31:27

Right now, there are opportunities around the world to show up and to break that cycle of poverty. And oftentimes, resources are the barrier to us serving more families and making a greater impact. And sometimes what's missed on that is if we don't show up today, what's the impact for the future? If we don't show up today, if we don't help change that story of a family living in poverty, what does that mean for the health impact? What does that mean for the child's education? What does that mean for future generations? And I think sometimes we can miss out on the urgency of this moment that literally stories can be changed, directions of families can be redirected. And I just long, I long for the church to be at the center of that type of lasting transformation so that people don't see an organization or people don't see just a cause, but ultimately people see Christ in the way that they are being loved and served and impacted. And so I just think there is this urgency right now to say, let's show up, let's not miss this moment to show up for families and people in places around the world.

John Rinehart 32:57

That to me is like filling up your garage with a bunch of gas tanks that are full of gas. You don't do that. The gas, gas is meant to move something. God gives us fuel to move something in his kingdom. And if we just sit on it, it would be like filling up your garage with a whole lot of gas tanks full of gas that never get emptied. My dream would be to see God's people gain a heart for generosity and gain a sense of adventure into the things God would invite us to and empty the gas tanks, unlock the safe, and let the resources out for the glory of God in the advance of the gospel.

Patrick Johnson 33:41

The urgency is like how do you break the slumber that you're in? Bishop Robert Barrington said that all of our possessions and resources should we should be vehicles of love. That's that's what every possession, everything we have, it's all a vehicle of love. That's

Urgency For Eternity And Good Works

Patrick Johnson 34:00

what I'm inviting you into. The urgency is to be loved and to love. That's the urgency. To be loved and to love. You're loved with this with God life. You you say, I'm not going to love money, I'm going to be loved by God because I'm going to live in union with him, with fellowship with him. And then out of that love, then you heal the world. Then you evangelize, you know, you use your money for all those good things that we should be using it for. But the invitation, it's not urgency for the kingdom to come because he God needs our money. It's basically to find love and to be love out in the world.

Courtney 34:43

Throughout the making of this podcast, there were a few interactions that kept replaying in my head. One of them was with Kate Gardner, the young inheritor we met in episode six. Kate told me that when her parents sat her down to give her this large sum of money, they reminded her that she was the treasure. This moment pointed me back to God and what he ultimately values. God doesn't care for money, houses, or social influence. He values people. And the conclusion I came to during this project is perhaps that we are God's idol treasure. He redeemed us. He has given us wealth to Steward for the sake of growing closer to Him and sharing His love with others. Yet we use money to build up our own power, maintain control, and live comfortably. We sit content waiting for Christ's return without ever cultivating a real relationship with God. Our enemy has cast a safety net around the church so we can go on Sundays, listen to a message, come home and stay confined within our four walls. Meanwhile, we forget that Scripture teaches that true religion is visiting the orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Mark Greaves 36:17

I've seen Jesus move through my business. I've seen him move through our foundation. It's been really, really fun to watch him do what he does. Um I wish I would have done it sooner, but I don't want to waste any more of my future time going back to the way I was before, trying to create my own control with my own money and my own fund.

Courtney 36:36

You may remember meeting Mark in episode two. For years, Mark left his faith at church on Sunday mornings, but once God took a hold of his heart, everything changed. He left a lucrative job, sold many possessions, including a second home, and started a business in sole pursuit of spreading God's message of generosity. His testimony is a reminder that it's never too late to accept the call of Christ.

Mark Greaves 37:01

The crazy thing is I I can't throw any stones because for the majority of my life I was not living generously. I wasn't, I didn't understand it. Jesus hadn't taken control of my heart yet. So the people who have money sitting in DAFs probably are far better people than me. They're so close. Like I feel like they're right there. Like they probably love Jesus. They've put the money aside, they're not using it for themselves. They're probably unbelievably great people. The only thing that I would say if I encouraging them is just when you have the money sitting on the sidelines, like we're running out of time. You've already decided to be generous. Your heart's probably already in the right place. Probably an amazing person that loves God. It's just we're running out of time, and the money needs to get deployed. Because the urgency around getting people to love Jesus, I don't think it could be any higher than right now.

Courtney 37:47

In whom do you now trust that you have rebelled against me? These words keep replaying in my head. It was a question given to Hezekiah, king of Judah, by his enemy, the king of Assyria. When Hezekiah began putting his trust in the Lord, his enemies noticed. His allegiances changed, and a massive shift occurred. In whom do you now trust? His enemies wanted to know. I want this to be the question from our enemy. When we give our lives to Christ, you should notice a change in our behavior, a change in our allegiances, and a change in where we put our trust. In whom do you now trust that you give your money away? In whom do you now trust that you no longer seek security from your bank account? In whom do you now trust that you are free from the love of mammon? In whom do you now trust that you have rebelled against me? Simply calling ourselves Christians and going to church will not bother our enemy. For generations, Judah called themselves the people of God while pledging allegiance to other kings. But the enemy didn't take notice until the rebellion occurred.

Leo Sabo 39:14

I just want to challenge all of us that call ourselves Christians to not just take Christianity as a you know garment we wear to feel comfortable. It was never meant to be that. Jesus didn't die, you know, of old age, comfortable in his bed. And neither did the disciples. So why should we think that again, I am grateful for what I have, I'm grateful that I live today. But somehow, this wealth, this position, our ability to have all this comfort should lead us to actually do more.

Courtney 39:45

Jesus invited the rich young ruler to follow him. And where was he going? Jesus was about to enter Jerusalem for the final time, where he would be delivered up for crucifixion. When Jesus invited the young ruler to follow him, he was inviting him to the cross. I recognize some hesitancy in my own heart when I think about the cross. I have often viewed the call as mainly negative. Similar to the rich young ruler, I mourn over the things I must surrender. Because I like having control. I like being comfortable. I like a lot of my stuff. And yet all of these things are in direct opposition to the cross. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, The cross is laid on every Christian, and the first Christ's suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. This is the tension many of us find ourselves in. But he continues The cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise God-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. I hope we hear this story and recognize Jesus offers the same invitation to us. He's inviting us into communion with him. He's compelling us to reorient our love, to care for those around us, and to live towards eternity. In short, he's inviting us into the rebellion.

Dr. Gary Hoag 41:19

And I could demonstrate to you that in Mark's gospel, the every time the verb went away in response to a command was obedient. When it says he went away sorrowful because he had great possessions.

Rebel Against Mammon And Comfort

Dr. Gary Hoag 42:11

This is gonna be hard. Just like it was hard for Jesus to go to the cross. And so if you're listening and you've got a lot of wealth and resources, Jesus said it'd be harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for you to enter the kingdom of heaven, because you have everything the world says you need. And you've got to choose that I'm not gonna hold on to everything the world says I need because whatever I hold on to, it's a hold on me. I'm gonna let it go and I'm gonna do it because then my hands are free to hold on to Jesus. You don't figure it out until you live it out. That Jesus is not trying to rob you, he's trying to help you. That Jesus is not wanting to leave you empty, he actually wants you to be enriched for greater generosity. And the only way to do it is to put to work what you have. Unless the seed grows into the ground and dies, it doesn't bear all this fruit. And so seeing it as seed, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, I mean, study these texts, but at the end of the day, you gotta put them to practice. We're we're adults, we learn by doing. So do it, you figure it out as you live it out. You've never had this kind of food or this restaurant, you go taste it, ooh, this is good. So you experientially know that it is good. I would encourage people to take steps in the right direction. We figure it out as we live it out, and the path of obedience is actually hard, and yet it's way easier. Way less stress, way less anxiety, way less like it seems harder because it's different from the culture. And the counterintuitive, paradoxical nature of following Jesus is it's actually way easier. And a hundred times better than the alternative.

Courtney 44:03

With all the experts we met, it is their sincere love for the Lord and their willingness to take stewardship seriously that binds them all together. When we look at the broader church body, we see a different story. We see dedicated church attenders who feel far from God and understand very little about the call to stewardship. When we look at dApps and private foundations and money stored up in our barns, we see trillions of dollars sitting on the sidelines while people in our communities and around the world suffer needlessly. I am reminded of the words by Richard Foster. The body of Christ has resources for change, but does it have the will a question in everyone's heart?

Speaker 3 45:14

It's like an ache in the chest.

Speaker 2 45:51

You conquered fate, you don't give up on love .

Courtney 46:25

If this conversation has blessed you, then share it with a friend. And if you wish to receive updates about the Idle Treasure series, you can subscribe through the link in the show notes. As I offer thanks to our interviewees, I also want to acknowledge Troy Trussell, who is responsible for editing this podcast, and Kathleen J. Loughridge, our graphic designer. And for all of you who have prayed over this project, thank you. My sincere hope is that this podcast sparks a conversation that leads people closer to Jesus and inspires generosity. If you have a story you'd like to share as a result of Idle Treasure, email me at Courtney @Financial Discipleship.Center. Alright, friend. Now I'm turning the story over to you. You get to decide what happens next.