July 7th

Freakonomics

2 Corinthians 8: 7-15


How many people here today remember taking Economics in either high school or college? Now I was a business major; but to be perfectly blunt with you, all I remember about Economics is that it bored me to tears and confused me to no end.

Give me accounting any day of the week! You have debits in one column, and you have credits in another column. You add up the columns. If they don’t balance, you find out why, make any legal—repeat legal--adjustments that are necessary, and begin making other business decisions from that point.

But if you have watched the financial news very much, you know that economics is a world all unto itself. There are unemployment rates for various labor sectors to consider, foreign trade deficits and surpluses, that drama we call “world politics”, which apparently affects stock markets all over the world, which somehow ties into interest rates and inflation. Then there is the second full moon in the third quarter in the house of Aquarius to consider. You get my point, right? All I know is this: oil companies are making record profits, and gas still went up 20 cents a gallon overnight this past week! What is up with that?

Well, economist Steven Levitt and partner Stephen Dubner might have something to say about this phenomenon. The premise of their recent book is “if morality represents how we’d like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually works.” So, while we’d like to think that record setting profits would result in a price break at the gas pump, the reality of the situation is gas went up 20 cents a gallon overnight this past week.

Levitt further proposes that “economics is, at root, the study of incentives: how people get what they want or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing…an incentive is an often tiny object with astonishing power to change a situation.” If the incentive is great enough, folks will do some pretty freaky stuff for good or evil purposes. So, if economics is based on incentives, “Freakonomics is the hidden side of these incentives really work. Here’s an example from Levitt’s book:

In 1987, 7 million children in the United States disappeared on April 15th! Was it the rapture, and we were all left behind? Nope! Before 1987, people were only required to put the names of their dependents on their tax forms. Beginning in 1987, however, both names and social security numbers were required for each dependent listed. Overnight, 7 million children who never existed in the first place, disappeared. The risk of getting caught outweighed the incentive of the tax break.

So, what I would like to propose this morning is that, while there are usually many factors that influence all our decisions, basic, core incentives are the main factors that cause us to make the decisions we make. Not only that, those core incentives can determine whether or not our decisions will stand up to the test of time.

I think the church at Corinth is an excellent case in point here. The issue at the heart of today’s passage in 2 Corinthians appears to be a faltering fund raising campaign meant to alleviate the suffering of Christians in Jerusalem. This campaign apparently started out with a bang a year earlier. But now it appears to have all but stopped. What happened?

Well, scripture doesn’t tell us exactly what happened. So, let’s dig a little deeper. The city of Corinth was a thriving cosmopolitan culture where economy, status and religion were all based on competition between individuals and groups. So, we can safely assume there was a lot of “one upmanship” going on in such a city. And since the church at Corinth was made up of people from the surrounding culture, it is reasonable to expect that some of that same behavior found its way into the church. In fact, both 1 and 2 Corinthians address some of the “less than Christian” behavior going on in the church at Corinth.

I can almost hear some of those discussions now.

“We have this request from Paul to take up a collection to help the church in Jerusalem. What do we do?”

“Well, is anyone else taking up a collection?”

“I heard he’s asking those little Macedonian churches to do what they can. But you know they’re not nearly as wealthy as we are; not to mention our superior spiritual gifts.”

“I think it’s important that we lead the way. After all, we are “First Church Corinth. Who knows? Maybe a little money will keep Paul quiet about some of the stuff that goes on around here. Hey! If the collection is big enough, maybe Paul will ask us to host the next General Conference, and we’ll be honored for all our contributions to the Movement!”

Now it’s a year later, and what started out as a great idea is deader than the Dead Sea itself. Not only that, but those “poor little Macedonian churches” have given sacrificially and enthusiastically while facing their own economic challenges. And on top of that, it seems they are actually begging for the privilege to do more! What is up with that?

Could it be that while “First Church Corinth” was practicing “freakonomics,” that the Macedonian churches were practicing what has been called “graceonomics?” In other words, could it be that the Corinthians were giving based on what they thought might be in it for them, while the Macedonians were giving based on what had already been done for them through Jesus Christ? Could it be that they realized it wasn’t important how much money they had, or how much property they owned, but rather the important thing was how much they could serve others? See, the Macedonian churches may have been economically poor, but they realized how rich they really were because of God’s grace toward them.

What about us? Why do we give? Why do we give ourselves to another person in a relationship? Is it because that person has a good job and can provide us with financial security? Is it because that person is really hot, and therefore makes us look good? Is it simply because we are lonely, and a warm body is better than no body at all? If those are the core incentives for a relationship, folks, that relationship will not last—at least not as a healthy, loving, growing, relationship. Healthy, loving relationships require both giving and taking—not just taking.

Here’s a touchy question: “Why do we give our time, talent, and financial resources to any community of faith?” You see, some folks participate and give for what they can get out of it. If it is “behind the scenes” service, these folks want no part of it because it is “not their gift.” In other words, it is a power trip they are seeking. Others practice what I call “Carrot on a stick Christianity.” That is, they are working for that extra star in their crowns—or maybe in the case of MCC, we are working for that extra rhinestone in our tiaras’. That is spiritual “freakonomics,” folks—and it won’t stand the test of time.

Now I am not saying that it is wrong for us to feel good about ourselves for giving—that is a perfectly logical and normal feeling. Giving of our time, talent, and financial resources in God’s service can result personal growth and a freedom from dependence on material things for happiness. If we call ourselves “Christians,” however, we give because God has already given us so much. We may not have a penny to our name; but we are already rich because of God’s gift of grace through Jesus Christ. We give because we have received. We love because God Almighty loves us.

The same “graceonomics” applies to us as a community of faith, too. We are not here to make a name for ourselves in Corpus Christi, or even in our denomination. We are not here to amass wealth for our own benefit, either. We are here to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ to a broken world. We are here to worship God, build community, and offer hope! We are here to serve—nothing more and nothing less, and nothing else will do! Amen?

We give all that we have and all that we are because God has already given us so much. We do our best to love all people because God loves us unconditionally. That, my sisters and brothers, is “graceonomics,” and that is what will enable us to stand the trials and tribulations that come our way—both as individuals and as a community of faith.

When I pray over meals, I often use the following words. They seem to be especially appropriate today. “Let us share of our abundance with others so that they may be blessed and that God may be glorified in all that we say and do.”

Amen?

God bless you and amen.