The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1931, Page 50

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50 THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

Money and Missions.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke in their gospels tell
us an interesting incident concerning a young man.
This young man was rich and the ruler in the
synagog. As we read the narratives of the evan-
gelists, we learn to like the young man, for he im-
presses us as a frank, sincere, and most amiable
person. Besides possessing these winning qualities,
he was a moral young man, a strict observer of the
Law, and much interested in religion. Jesus tells
us that he was not far from the kingdom of God.
The manner in which he approached the Lord must
predispose us in his favor, for he comes running and
bears every mark of sincerity and earnestness. His
motives in coming to Jesus are apparently high; he
feels the need of something more than he has, some-
thing higher and better. His wealth with all that
it brought him did not satisfy him. As we examine
the young man’s words and actions, we realize that
he was alive to the value of his immortal soul and
that he set the attainment of life eternal above
everything else. We get the impression that his
question “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
was not put to the Lord out of pure curiosity and
that it was not a cold or careless inquiry; we in-
stinctively feel that the matter concerning which he
asks is a serious and most important thing for him,
a matter of life and death. Getting this impression
of the young man, we are greatly disappointed when
the young man is not able to bear the Lord’s ques-
tioning and when, advised to give up all his posses-
sions and follow the Savior, he goes away sorrowful.

Jesus’ Program.

Jesus has outlined a program to be carried out
by His people which involves money that must come
from His people. He has given us the commission:
“Go ye into all the world,” and: “Ye shall be My
witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Prior
to giving his people these orders He had said: “If
ye love Me, keep My commandments.” But how
can we show our love, as He thus demands by keep-
ing the commandments to preach and teach in our
community, in our country, and in the uttermost
part of the earth, except by doing so in person or by
sharing liberally our incomes — yes, and many of us
a part of our capital —to meet this all-important
duty? ‘To bring the Gospel to every nation means
the adequate support of the enterprise from all and
each of us. The prosperous Jew paid a tithe to the
‘Church of his day, and he. gave another ten per

cent., and possibly more, for charity and other
benevolent purposes. ‘To carry out the program
which Christ has mapped out for His kingdom,
which is vastly beyond anything the Jews ever
dreamed of, every follower of Christ should he
willing to contribute at least as liberally as did the
Jew of old to his Church.

All Is the Lord’s!

While here on earth, Jesus emphasized the truth
that man is not absolute owner of what is in his
possession, but merely a steward. The world is the
Lord’s vineyard. God, the Owner, has let it out to
us as His husbandmen. He sent His Son and still
sends His servants to claim the Owner’s share. We
cannot get away from the fact that we are all
tenants and stewards of our ability to get wealth
with either muscle or mind. Every thoughtful per-
son will have to admit that God has an owner’s
right, a landlord’s claim, on our incomes and pos-
sessions. But if such is the case, then it is clear
that we should set aside a fair share of our incomes
and possessions, to be invested for our Lord’s pro-
gram of world service and evangelism.

When the young ruler came to Jesus with his
question concerning inheriting eternal life and at the
same time declared that he had kept all the com-
mandments, Jesus, we are told, loved him at first
sight; something, by the way, said of no one else.
Why, then, did Jesus say to this rich young man:
“Sell that thou hast and give to the poor”? Why
did Jesus say that it is hard for a rich man to enter
into the kingdom of heaven? Was it not that He
might warn people against the spiritual dangers of
misunderstood and misused wealth? Was is not be-
cause He understood better than we do that magic
power within wealth which constitutes a most
solemn danger? Was it not because He knew that
wealth engenders in unconcerned owners such a
false sense of power and security as to undermine
their sense of dependence upon God? Was it not
because Jesus knew that money awakens in the spir-
itually careless rich a sinful feeling of superiority,
which blights humility and destroys the sense of
interdependence among men?

The Supreme Needs of Man.

The supreme needs to which Christ’s disciples
are to minister are the needs of the soul. Hunger
and thirst and nakedness are bad indeed, but sin
and superstition and heathenism are much worse.
To furnish suppers to the hungry and health to the
ill is noble, but to bring eternal salvation to the lost