Provide for your family

Good morning everyone…I am so happy to see you all this morning! We all made it another week and get to join together in worship and fellowship…what a great gift we have, Amen? Well, right now is that time that we get to welcome our kids back to go hang out with their amazing teachers and learn some really cool stuff…Mom and dad, grandma, grandpa…be sure to ask them about what they are learning. I bet they would love to share with you all of the cool things they are learning about God. Then of course I cannot forget those of you that are joining us online this morning. We are blessed and honored to have you as a part of our extended Spiritual family this week. We would love to see you whenever you are able to join us in person for worship.

Last weekend was such a good weekend, wasn’t it. I mean we were together and we had some amazing food…we welcomed some new members into the family…there were conversations about how we are called, as Christians, to use our finances and how to manage our debt…I know, talking about debt isn’t all that great, especially when we are talking about our debt with a debt collector, right. Although I guess thats one of the things we talked about. you see, we are in this series called Not Ours. In this series we are talking about the Biblical concept of stewardship and what it looks like to be faithful stewards of God’s property. Of coarse if we are going to talk about God’s property we really need to understand what is God’s property, right? So, after looking at Scripture a few weeks ago we saw that God owns everything…and I own nothing. Then once we understood that God owns everything and I own nothing, we needed to understand what this concept of stewardship means. So, in order to make sure we are all on the same page, I gave this definition of stewardship.

Stewardship: “The process of being responsible with someone else's property while it is entrusted (to you).”

That gave us all on the same vocabulary as we then looked at what it looks like to tithe, or give back to God what is already God’s. Well this week I want us to talk about something else that fits into the concept of using God’s resources in a way that is responsible and honors God. This is also something that is sometimes kind of glossed over, but I wanted to spend a few minutes this morning talking about this concept of

Providing for your family

Yeah, providing for your family. You should remember that I actually believe that Scripture answers every single question we might have, every single struggle we might come across, and every single situation that we will deal with. Well, if that is true, then Scripture must address the idea of providing for your family, right? Now, there are various stages of providing for your family, isn’t there? So this morning, what I would like to do is to look at a passage, and then apply it to various stages of life for each of us. Remember we are looking at how to build a budget, and be financial stewards in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. Ok, turn with me over to

1 Timothy 5:8 (ESV)

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Ok, let’s be honest…this verse is a bit intense, isn’t it? I mean…really Paul! Now, just so we understand what we are looking at, let me tell you what is going on right here, ok. Paul, who is a missionary in the 1st century during the time of the Roman Empire. Well, Paul wrote to a guy named Timothy. Timothy was a disciple, or someone he was mentoring. Well, Paul wrote about some things that were going on in the church that Paul had left Timothy in. Now, Paul wrote this letter when he was traveling, but after the first time he has been in prison, and beaten already, but we see what Pauls concern truly is as he writes this letter. You see, Timothy was in a place called Ephesus and he was dealing with some things that were difficult for him, as he was still new to all of this. Mostly, what Paul was writing to Timothy about was how to deal with false teachers that were running all over Ephesus confusing people…Think of it as our modern day, “progressive christianity”. You see, there was false teaching coming into the church and Timothy needed to stop it.

Anyway, that is the basic context of why Paul wrote this letter. Now, once we are inside of the letter we come to this section in Tim. 5. In this section we see that Paul is talking about taking care of widows and how families have responsibilities to take care of any widows in their family. Specifically Paul is teaching how Timothy need to instruct those that are Christians to take care of the widows in their own families. You see, there were some that were in the practice of taking advantage of the church and allowing the church to take over their responsibility. Well, The person who “does not provide for his family,” is “worse than an unbeliever” because he has proven his lack of love and insincerity of faith. He is like those in the church who “claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.” You see, Paul is making this an important topic. However, does this topic only apply once we have elderly parents....or is there something we can learn from all stages of life from this passage, and others? This morning we are going to look at

Four stages of providing for your family

These four stages are just based on four main life-stages that most people experience to some degree. Now their could be some pushback on the stages that I have seen, but keep in mind that these stages we are going to talk about are more of an example of application than that are hard and fast catagories…In other words, don’t get to hung up on the stages I have chosen, keep focused on the truths that we learn through Scripture this morning. The stages of life are largely meant as an example for us as we look at Scripture. So, the first stage that I would like to look at this morning is that of

— Children

OK, so this stage is talking about everyone from newborns to teenage, and maybe college age children. Now first of all, I am not saying that all children that fit into this category are the same…Teenage kids, I am not saying you whine all the time…Your parents might say that, but I am not saying that. What I am referring to in this category is a person that is living at home as a dependent of their parents. You see, we read in

Ephesians 6:1–3 (ESV)

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

You see, as children we are called to obey and honor parents. That means that as small children when we are challenging to figure out what we can get away with, we are called to obey our parents. That means as teenagers when mom and dad tell you to do something…I don’t care how stupid it sounds…we are called to obey our parents. That also means as older children, we are called to honor our parents.

I can remember a time in my life when i had a conversation with dad. I was an adult son (19) living with mom and dad. You see, becuase I was an adult, there was a shift in how dad and mom would talk to me, and there was a shift in my response as well. You see, as an older child, I was called to give honor to my parents. I think for the most part we actually all instinctively do this. We do this becuase it is in our character to give honor to our parents. When a child (obeys) honors a parent, they are providing for their family. This is actually important, becuase Paul says if you do not, then you are worse than an unbeliever…let that sink in next time you want to yell at mom or dad…Now that we have looked at children, what about adult

— Single Adults

OK, so this is a very specific group of people right here isn’t it? This is a group of people that are older, so they have maybe started their career. They are not married yet, so they do not have divided financial loyalties. They are focused on growing in their career and getting started in life. However, this is still a person that has financial responsibilities, right? I mean, look maybe you have debts you are paying off, maybe you are just building up your bank account so that you can buy a house, or a car or whatever it is that you are focused on financially. You don’t have kids yet so you don’t have that financial burden.You know many times when we are in that situation we can be seen as a resource to our friends, as well as potentially our family.

You see, as single adults, many times we have the potential of being seen as a person that can loan money to family of friends. Well, we talked about debt last week, didn’t we. I told you my theory on loaning money. If I have it to give, and you need it…its yours. However, I don’t loan money. Why is that? Well, look at what we see in

Proverbs 22:7 (ESV)

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

Thats it right there. When you loan someone money, your relationship instantly changes…Whenever a loan is set up within a family, the relationship between the two parties changes. You move from a family relationship to a borrower-lender dynamic. You may not intend that, but it changes. For instance, if you loaned your family money, how would you feel if they took an expensive vacation before paying you back? Or maybe they never paid you back?

Now, let me be clear, I’m not saying that you should never help your family financially. Actually I am saying the opposite. If a situation arises in which someone needs help, and you have the means to do so, you just give them the money or resource. In other words…If you can give…you give. You see, this is the type of thing that Paul was talking about when he wrote Timothy. When a single adult gives to family, they are providing for their family. Now what about an adult that is in the stage having their own

— Family

We see this stage in Scripture as well…Actually this is one of the easier stages that we see. You see, there are multiple places in Scripture where we read about parents and what parents should or should not be doing. For instance, look at

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

What does it mean to train up a child? Well, honestly that can have many meanings. When you are training up a child in the way he should go, you are paying attention to the temperament of your child and helping them learn to be what God has called them to be. When you train up a child in the way he should go you are paying attention to the culture around the child and helping the child navigate that culture. When you train up a child in the way he should go, you are teaching him about financial principles in order to help him succeed in life. When you train up a child you are training him to work hard and not be lazy so that they are able to financially provide for their family as they move into that stage. In other words, when you train up a child in the way he should go, you will train him to live a life pleasing to the Lord. Now, this is not something you can do if you are not modeling this yourself. Just like, you cannot provide for your family if you are not seeking the Lord yourself. You see, when you train a child to live a life pleasing to the Lord, you are providing for them. There are other stages in life though…what about those of you that are

— Adult Children

Ok, so this is where is all come back to…being an adult child of an aging parent. If you are in this stage of life, then Scripture is pretty clear with you. As a matter of fact, we can look back to the original verse from this morning.

1 Timothy 5:8 (ESV)

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

If you are an adult child of an aging parent, then we have a Biblical mandate to care for and provide for our aging parents. That doesn’t mean that we necessarily have to pay for their needs, but we do need to, within our ability, assist and provide when there is a need. Is that a glamorous life? Not always, but it is a life that is pleasing to the Lord. Are you allowing your aging parents to think they are alone trying to manage the difficulties of life? Are you allowing your church to take care of your aging parents becuase you don’t want to? Listen, its one thing if you don’t live in the area…its another thing if you are simply unwilling to care for your family.

Now, briefly let me speak to the family member that is not being provided for…I do not want you to listen to this message today and hear that your family is evil and they are doing everything wrong and so you can blame them for everything that is going on in your life…That is not what I said. If you are here this morning, or joining us online and you feel that your family is not providing for you, here is what you need to now. Your family doesn’t hate you…your family isn’t ignoring you…your family isn’t sinning against you…they are sinning against God. I know that sounds harsh, but didn’t you just hear the harshness in Pauls writing to Timothy? “If anyone does not provide for his relatives…he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever”. That is not soft talk from Paul…Now, how in the world do I

Make all that make sense...

OK, as you are taking time to create your budget, no matter what life stage you are in…don’t forget to take care of your family. Listen, God comes first in your budget, and after that family comes next. Look, in this very passage we see Paul writing to Timothy about how even non-believers will care for their families. If you are here this morning , or joining us online and you are not providing for your family in the way that we see in Scripture, then you need to take a look and evaluate whether you are stewarding your resources properly. That means your finances, your time, your abilities, your resources, or if you have taken from God what is God’s and making it your own. Repent of that sin and begin stewarding what God has given to you properly.

I know that there may be some here this morning that do not have a relationship with God…you may be here, or joining us online and you are wondering what a relationship with God even looks like, or what it is. If that is you, first of all, let me encourage you that you are not alone. Maybe you grew up in church or maybe you are just now trying to figure out church for the first time...You are not alone. Take a moment this morning and reach out on the connect card. If you are joining us online then reach out through messenger, or email and let’s connect to talk about what you are struggling with. Whatever you are facing…you are not alone this morning, let me encourage you right now to make sure that you are providing for your family, whether that is financially, or with your time/abilities…whatever it is. As you prepare your budget and look at your bills…make sure that right after the Lord, is your families expenses and needs…If you need help figuring that out, reach out and lets meet and talk about your situation and how you can get to a place of stewarding God’s resources appropriately becuase…God owns everything…and I own....nothing

Let’s pray...