The Love of Money/The Money of Love

The Love of Money / The Money of Love


Rev. Ann Marie Alderman, March 7, 2010



I Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19 NRSV


“...for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs.”....17-19 “As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches .... They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous, thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life which is life indeed.”



Have you heard about the new trend in pre-marital counseling courses? These courses are usually multi-session events. During the session when this new requirement is introduced it has been reported that the happy couples suddenly become very solemn, or they giggle excessively, or they start rolling their eyes. Later, some individuals have reported that they found it very difficult to suppress an overwhelming desire to get up and run. Those who lead these courses are saying that they often hear participants turn to each other and say; “You REALLY love me, don’t you?”

So what is this new requirement that’s causing all this anxious behavior?

The couples are being asked to share their credit reports!

Scary!

You know what they say! It is the lack of communication, honest communication about money that is the number one reason that relationships fail.

Perhaps these couples have believed the popular misquote that “money is the root of all evil” and their initial response to is to “hear no evil”, “see no evil”...

I don’t have access to your individual credit reports! But I do know your history with money and I can promise you there are no scary surprises that should cause you to run!

I don’t need to see your credit report to see the facts about what your financial history reveals about you and money.

It’s clear that the love of money has not pierced your hearts with many pangs! You are rich! Yet, you have not been haughty nor have you set your hopes on uncertainties. You have done good deeds, have been liberal and generous, you have laid up for yourselves a good foundation for the future. You have been faithful to the money of love.

So relax!

Since the early 1950’s you have provided for the “food and clothing” that first Unitarian, then Unitarian Universalism needed to exist here in Eastern North Carolina. You decided what it would take to finance a presence in this community. You spent the money you raised wisely for that “food and clothing” for many, many years. In the late 1990’s you had a big dream to add an adequate shelter. You contributed enough cash and you took on a mortgage to buy this building and make that dream come true. And you paid off that mortgage in less than a decade.

You decided five years ago, that you wanted a full-time minister. That was another big dream for a small congregation. You made that decision and you made a promise about what you would contribute to make the decision to finance that dream come true.

When it was clear, that your income from pledges and from other gifts, wouldn’t fully support the first couple of years of searching for and securing a full time minister, you decided to use some of your reserves (your savings) to help make your dream come true. For two years you used your savings to help finance that big decision.

Since that time, your savings have only used to pay for those things that protect your investment in this building, which you now own outright. If and when this building is sold, all the investment that has been made should come back to you in full. You’ve invested wisely and you have protected that investment.

For the past two years, you’ve passed and you have funded balanced budgets, figuring out just what could be paid out according to what was promised to come in and what was expected to come in over and above the “promises”. All regular, expected yearly expenses are and have been paid with regular, expected income for the past two years. Just like you’ve always done, you don’t spend what you don’t have.

About 80% of your yearly income comes from promises (from pledged contributions). You promise to fulfill your pledges and you have. You have promised to raise other monies from fundraisers and rentals and you have. You have guessed what amount might be put in the collection basket and you have guessed accurately.

The kind of partner that’s willing to do what it takes to get what they want, and then continues to make it happen with planning and caring and careful stewardship is the kind of partner I want to be with!

There is not much money left in that saving account. You chose to turn to that reserve to pay for those things that you decided had to be done to maintain the value of this shelter, to protect the investment you have made in this building. In the past two years, a new air conditioning unit was needed, wood rot and failing windows meant the exterior western wall had to be repaired and new windows installed. The accessibility improvements out front were paid for from monies in the savings account.

Based on what I can see of your financial history, I trust that you will do what you need to do to build up the funds in that reserve account again for future needs. The same as when you as an individual or a family have to take funds from your 401k or your life insurance, or your savings or a credit account, to pay for something that had to be paid for that was too much at one time for your annual salary to support, you know you need to pay that back over time, so that there will be something there for the roof, for the parking lot re-surfacing, for the other air conditioning unit!

Except for the mortgage, you have wisely avoided paying interest. You pay cash. If there is no cash in reserve or no promise of cash contributions, there’s no promise to pay. That’s the kind of partner I want to be with!

You balance your dreams with reality. When your dream is big, you find a way to make the reality match the dream.

And, sometimes when it works the other way around, when reality tells you, you have to pull back, you do. When it was clear that the economy was going to affect you, you agreed to a budget for this year that was less than last year. You agreed to spend less. Because you wisely anticipated that the economy was going to impact everyone’s ability to contribute, you agreed to a budget for this year (meaning July 2009 – June 2010) that was less than the 2008/9 year and that included more fundraising efforts.

I agreed to less in compensation. You found other ways to also spend less, less on the phone bill, less on paper, less on insurance. Because of the new air conditioner and new windows, and setting the thermostat so you are not heating or cooling an empty building utilities costs have been less. You agreed to and you have raised more income from fundraising and from rentals.

Even in difficult times, you found a way to make what you say you want happen. You have been paying a full time minister fairly for three years. You are paying a Director of Youth Education. You are paying a Choir Director. You are paying for a safe, comfortable, insured building. You are paying your fair share to continue to be in association with other UU congregations.

What you have clearly and consistently said for the last four years is that you want a professional minister, excellent worship services, youth and adult religious education programs, a clean, safe, insured, accessible, decent building, caring and spiritual growth, to be a part of the wider body of Unitarian Universalists, to be communicated with, to be a place that potential UU’s can find and will hear about, to be a force for good in this community.

What you have clearly and consistently said is that you want this to be a congregation where anyone who wants to can belong.

The reality is, and always has been, that every single member or family cannot make a financial contribution. Yet, you find a way to make the dream of fairness and equitability real. The reality is that there is a wide variance in what each of you actually contributes or can contribute in terms of dollars.

To say what is fair, to help each other understand what equitability means, you suggest that a pledge be about 3% of adjusted, gross income... You say that’s what “fair” is!

I haven’t seen your credit report! I have only the vaguest idea what your individual or family adjusted gross income is. Yet, I know that many of you give a fair share amount, and some of you give more than a fair amount year after year. Thank you!

I also know that that some of you have very little or no “adjusted” income, that the income you do have is more than used up paying for food, clothing, shelter and the debt that comes from not having enough income to cover your expenses year after year.

3% of nothing is nothing.

There are about 15% of you who cannot, or it would be irresponsible for you to make a pledge to contribute money. Some of you give what you can week to week in the collection basket. Thank you!

I know that sometimes the best any one of us can do in lean times is look in our pockets and figure what we can give that day, that week and making a promise to contribute more than that would be irresponsible.

Did you know that there are almost as many who folks as there are members who do not make a financial pledge, who are not “members” of this congregation, yet who pledge their money? These non-members make and fulfill a financial contribution. You call these non-members who pledge “friends”. For many different reasons they have chosen not to join, yet they make a financial pledge and they faithfully fulfill those pledges. Thank you!

For whatever reason, they haven’t signed the membership book. They may not be members, yet again and again their opinions are heard and valued and are considered every time there is a major congregation decision. This reality is another example of how you respect the diversity of this community.

In the next month or so, if you are a member or a friend, you will be receiving a pledge form, a way for you to say to each other what you will contribute during the July 2010 –June 2011 year. Many of you will take out your calculators, look at your income tax form, find the adjusted gross income line and multiply by 3%, then divide that amount by twelve, figuring out what amount goes from your monthly budget to support the budget of this congregation to which you belong. Many of you will look at what you promised for this year and adjust the amount for next year up or down depending on what your financial reality is or what you expect it to be July - June.

Some of you will get a pledge form and giggle, roll your eyes, feel an urge to run away.

I hope that this “report” that I have shared with you about your money makes it easier for you to communicate, to talk about your money.

There is no reason here for you to feel anxious or to run away...If your personal financial situation is unstable, unpredictable, or difficult ....it would be irresponsible for you to promise money. You can make ....make a pledge to regularly perform a service that is the same, is equal to money! Time spent in service doing things that will offset what might ordinarily be an expense, or time spent doing what will bring in more income from other sources can be your pledge.

A fair “service” pledge would be 3% of 40 hours a week x 50 weeks a year, which is about 4 hours a month....

You can make a pledge to clean the floors, clean the bathrooms, supply the bathrooms with paper goods, clean the windows, do plumbing or electrical work or painting, or mowing, or childcare...any of the tasks that if you promised to contribute other folk’s financial contributions would not have to go to pay for someone to do these services.

The reality is you don’t yet have the financial means for a janitor, or a sexton, or a pest control service, or a lawn maintenance service, a plumber, painter, electrician, a paid administrator, or a paid pianist... you do these tasks now...

You could think of your in service as making this building more attractive for rentals, thus your time is in effect contributing income.

Time spent in performing services that would ordinarily have to be paid for, or that brings in more income is money.

I see you, all of you, consistently and over time, making what you say you want happen. You say you want to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be liberal and generous, to lay up for yourselves a good foundation for the future, so that you make take hold of the life which is life indeed.

There are three steps simple steps in the money of love relationship that you have with each other.

1) You say what you want. 2) You say what you will give. 3) Together you decide what can happen.

These three simple steps have made your dreams come true, over and over again.

You have faithfully taken hold of the life which is life indeed, again and again.

Do you REALLY love each other? YES, YES, YES you do!