You may or may not have seen it but “the Disney movie Encanto took the world by storm with its visually stunning animations and emotional music. The visual aspects of the movie propped up a powerful story of generational trauma… the movie features songs written by Hamilton genius, Lin-Manuel Miranda. One of those songs, ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno,’ quickly became a fan favorite. The song even topped the Billboard Hot 100 on February 5, 2022,” staying there for over a month. The song “discusses the misconceptions surrounding the perceived black sheep of the family…” and “reveals that the reason why the family doesn’t talk about Bruno is because of the bad luck associated with his visions. Each family member has an individual story that surrounds a bad experience from Bruno’s visions.[1]
In a similar way, some of the reasons we don’t talk about money—especially in the church—are related to individual stories and bad experiences we’ve heard about, personally observed or experienced. I get it. For these same reasons (or for fear of being perceived a certain way), as a young pastor I almost never talked about money. As a more seasoned pastor, church planter, and someone who wants to love better, however, I’ve had to get more skilled and comfortable with the topic. Let me explain.
Over the years, I’ve struggled with many sins; materialism, however, has rarely been in the mix. Indeed, for most of my life, I’ve resonated strongly with these two passages—the latter was part of my “life passage” (1 Timothy 6:6-12) until I was 30):
- “Give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you
and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.” (Prov. 30:8b-9, ESV) - “But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” (1 Tim. 6:9-10, NLT)
Now I knew from the passage above that money itself wasn’t evil; it was the love of money that was the problem. What’s more, this same passage in 1 Tim. 6 goes on to say that some people are rich and there’s nothing wrong with that per se. Here’s what Paul told Timothy to teach wealthy saints:
“Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.”
1 Tim. 6:17-19, NLT
Again, I’ve been clear on these things for years. Here are three things, however, I’ve been learning more recently– lessons that I hope are valuable for you too:
- Money has power to bring strength, blessing, and good outcomes. Ecclesiastes is one of the wisdom books and here is an interesting favorable comment about feasting, wine, and money: “A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything” (Eccl. 10:19, NIV). What in the world might the preacher’s comment about money mean? Here the preacher is actually pointing out something we know well: money is freely exchangeable and often has the power to influence or produce results. A biblical perspective on money doesn’t deny this; rather, it candidly acknowledges the power of money to produce results while remaining clear that money can never satisfy (Eccl. 5:10).
- Debt can seriously hinder our ability to love. “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law” (Rom. 13:8, NLT). Here we see the clear connection between financial debt and love. Or to say it differently, the clear tension between the debt we’re carrying and our ability to live out the second greatest commandment. Although I think the NIV does a better job at getting across the concept of the first part of this verse (“Let no debt remain outstanding…”), I’m with Dave Ramsey in his counsel to rigorously avoid or eliminate all debt. It’s not that I think borrowing is a sin, it’s just that debt in our day is epidemic. But in saying all this, I think that Paul is getting at something far higher and greater than financial wisdom. What Paul is saying is this: When all of our time is consumed with carrying or paying off debt, there is no space left for hospitality, or getting to love and know our neighbors. If we want more margin to love, we’ll need to decrease or eliminate debt.
- Financial generosity is good for our hearts. “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matt. 6:21, NLT) As a pastor, I’ve learned a lot from Jamie Smith about the importance of targeting transformational change at the level of desire, not just knowledge or worldview (Rom. 12:2). The latter is important, just not adequate by itself to bring about transformational change. For example, someone could know that porn is wrong and harmful, but keep watching it because it’s what they crave and desire. Now to be honest, pursuing change at that level of desire is difficult but here’s one cool thing about generosity and giving: These disciplines that have the power to shape our desires. Why? Because these habits are directly connected to our longings and priorities—that is, the “treasures” of our hearts. When we give to the poor and/or invest in kingdom needs or causes, our hearts follow and end up mirroring more of the King’s desires (Prov. 19:17; Matt. 6:33).
[1] https://americansongwriter.com/meaning-we-dont-talk-about-bruno-disney-song-lyrics/