The Last Place of Conversion

Luke 12:22-34

Where do you place your trust? Do you trust yourself more than anyone? Is there anyone you are completely dependent on?

I have heard it said that the wallet is the last place of conversion for a Christian. In my experience as a pastor, I have known this to be true in some cases. People who are otherwise faithful in serving others, developing a devotional life, etc. are just not able to become generous givers. I have seen this. But far more frequently, the inability to be a generous giver is more broadly linked to a fundamental lack of trust in God. I would like to suggest that the wallet may be the first place of conversion. Without trusting God financially, we are really just trusting ourselves.

Jesus offers insight into the nature of trusting God when he links anxiety about our material needs to a lack of trust. "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing." (Luke 12:22-23) Many of us spend a great deal of time worrying about whether will be able to provide for the needs of ourselves and our families. We worry about our finances, our future, our health, our children, and many other important issues of life. In fact this anxiety can become so prevalent that it inhibits our ability to function effectively.

Anxiety at a spiritual level is the opposite of trust. If we truly believed God would provide for our needs, if we truly trusted that God will continue to bless us, then what is there to worry about? Worry is connected to a deep need to be in control. We want to control the outcomes, we want to control our future. In reality, there is very little that we actually control in life. We cannot protect our children from all harm. We cannot prevent a financial crisis or world events or whether or not we get sick. Most of what we worry about is beyond our control and yet we literally worry ourselves sick. Jesus sums it up nicely: "And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?" (Luke 12:25)

The spiritual antidote to anxiety is trust and trust is based upon our depending on God. One of the most effective ways to build trust in God is to become a generous person. If I give my money away generously then I have less for myself. If I give in a sacrificial way (the bible talks about 10%) then by saying "yes" to God by being generous, I must say "no" to some of the things I want. I can no longer strive for the empty high of material possessions but must learn to be content with what I have. Being generous requires that I trust that God will continue to provide for my needs and actually produces trust and contentment. A generous person then begins to function out of a mentality of abundance, believing that God has and will bless our lives. Instead, if I believe that I must only depend on myself, I will hold back and not be generous. Holding back produces anxiety because a person is operating out of a mentality of scarcity.

Generous financial giving is a spiritual issue. How we spend our money is directly connected to our relationship with God. Jesus understood this in his day and it remains true today. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:34) Where is your treasure? Do you trust God enough to be generous?