The biggest sports news the first of November didn’t get much press. An NBA player signed a contract for less money than he could have gotten! Granted he won’t be starving, because the contract was for $13 million a year. But he went against his agent’s advice and took a lower amount of money.

Al Jefferson signed a contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves for about $2 million per year less than he could have negotiated for. "I didn't even think I was worth max (money) this year anyway," Jefferson said at a press conference on Thursday (11/107). "I would've been a fool to go up there and ask for max, having not really proved myself for that. So the number I got was the number that was my goal from Day 1. And I think it was a win, win situation."

You just don’t hear about this kind of thing very often in our cash crazy country. I was discussing this with a friend and he said, “Yeah, but come on, he’s got $13 million a year, how much more does he need?”

Fair question – for Jefferson and for you and me.

How much is enough money for us to live? And how much of our money should we use to sustain our lifestyle and how much should we give away?

Fair question, but hard question. And a timely question.

This weekend Willow Meadows Baptist Church begins our annual offering for world missions. We’ll be raising money for missionaries, theological education, orphans in Moldova, churches in Mexico, and food for the poor in Southwest Houston. There are even more good causes that I don’t have room to list.

We make these contributions over and above our regular giving to our church and other charities, and I challenge you to ask and answer the question my friend raised about an NBA player: How much is enough?

I challenge each of my readers to consider this as the end of the year spending spree called Christmas approaches. I challenge you to spend less on yourselves and your family and to put your money where your faith is - support your favorite churches and charities generously.

This Sunday I’ll be preaching a sermon called Change Your World – Splot by Splot. My November sermons will focus on how to “Change Your World – For Good” by not only giving money, but by adopting a missional lifestyle. That’s a lifestyle were our faith is wholistic, incarnational, and apostolic. Find out what those words all mean by reading 2 Timothy 1. 3-14 and joining us for worship if you’re in Houston this weekend. We gather at 9:00 a.m. and 11:10 a.m.

Show me the money,
Pastor Gary