Faulty Measuring Causes Bad Outcomes Take a minute and read Luke 6. It is a radical chapter and records some of Jesus’ most radical teachings. 6:38 may be the most radical of all. “For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Most of you know that I make pancakes every year for the Santa Breakfast. I have worked for years to hone my pancake recipe and people seem to like them (although Neal’s wife, Lauren, who is a baker, is quick to point out that they are not pancakes. They are hotcakes. I never knew there was a difference but as men with daughters-in-law often do, I stand corrected). At any rate, we usually have a test run before the Santa Breakfast and I make my pancakes (or Hotcakes if Lauren is reading this), for the youth group on a Wednesday night. I always have to convert the recipe from one for 12 pancakes (hotcakes Lauren), to whatever number I need – in this case, we usually have around 15 high schoolers on Wednesday night, so I figured I would need between 30 and 45 pancakes/hotcakes. Sadly, I messed up when converting the recipe and instead of putting in 3 teaspoons each of baking powder and baking soda, I put in 3 tablespoons. This made for some very salty, metallic tasting pan/hotcakes. Because I limit my carbs, I had not tasted them but those kids knew that I took some pride in my recipe so they choked down every bite without saying a word to me. We have great kids at Trinity. Judy, however, let me know that something was desperately wrong. Faulty measuring causes bad outcomes in cooking and every other realm of life. Luke 6 is all about how we measure our lives. In essence, Jesus says that God has expressed His limitless mercy to us in forgiveness and generosity. The forgiveness from God for all our sins spills over into generosity that provides for all of our needs in this world. We struggle with remembering that everything we have…everything…is a gift from God. Nothing is ours. It is all given for our use by God. You did not earn that income, that home, those grades, that relationship. It was all God’s gift to you. That makes more sense when we grasp that Christ’s death on the cross is the source of every blessing. That ultimate gift overflows to every other gift. Jesus finished this section with the statement, “For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” That’s stewardship. God clearly states that He will use your measure to measure it back to you. Do you want God to use an eyedropper for your blessings? Then you use an eyedropper in your generosity toward Him and others. Would you prefer Him to use a 10-gallon bucket for your blessings? Then you use a 10-gallon bucket in your generosity toward Him and others. Some of the practical implications of this teaching are these: - We have to teach children early because generosity is not a norm of sinful human nature. From the moment a child receives a blessing, we teach him to be generous with that blessing. We send him to Sunday School with an offering. We encourage him to share toys with others. We remind him that his successes are to the glory of God not himself and pride cometh before the fall. We never cease reminding him that whatever his possessions or abilities, they are there to give away for the glory of God and when you do that, God will pour more than you gave back into you. Why? Because He promises to use the measure you use to bless you.
- When we are asked to serve the Church whether that is the local congregation, the District or the greater Church on earth, we say yes if we can. I have not served as Vice-President of the English District for the past 11 years because of the fabulous pay. It is a volunteer position. I believed that God had blessed me with skills that I could use to serve Him in that role. And I believed that He expected me to use those skills for His glory. And He has blessed me far more than I have given.
- We constantly monitor our giving because it is human nature to think of reasons that we cannot give or that we already give enough. Only through vigilance against our sinful human nature can we give honestly and faithfully. That is why God gave us the rule of 10%. That is a marker to help us identify the minimum. It is not a law because God promises that He will use the measure that you use to bless you. So, if you want your blessings given with an eye dropper, keep throwing in that $10 bill when the plate comes by. And if you are receiving $100 a week, you’re doing great. But I suspect that the vast majority of Christians are receiving far more than $100 a week. That is why God gives us that 10% marker. $10 seems like a nice gift to God, until you realize that He gave you $1,000 that week. 1%? Is that the measure you want Him to use for you? Vigilant monitoring of the gifts received and vigilant generosity of those gifts is what will ensure that you don’t lapse into being selfish Christians who are always scaping by and bitterly complaining that God has not blessed you enough.
- Finally, remember the 1st Commandment and put God first. Whatever you are doing, saying, or thinking, put God first. When we do that, everything else falls into place because everything else flows from God’s love and mercy towards us. This does not happen by itself because our sinful human nature will always seek to put God somewhere further down the line. It will always consider our wants and needs before God but there’s the rub. The only way our wants and needs really come first is when we put God first. That’s what He means when He said that the first shall be last and the last first. When God is first, abundance in our lives flows from His love and mercy. How much abundance? That depends on what you want to use to measure. Pastor Rogers |
