4Feb2009 Luke 3:14

¹⁴ Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

This is the third group to ask for John the Baptist for specific requirements that would demonstrate repentance. John had preached a short but very direct sermon on sin and its consequences. Then these three groups want to know what the “fruit of repentance” looks like. The crowd asks and John answers that they should share their wealth with those who are less fortunate. The tax collectors then ask for themselves and they get a similar money related answer. They are to not cheat people out of their money and keep the extra for themselves. The third group is a group of soldiers. They want to know how this applies to them. They get a two-pronged answer. The first prong deals with their use of power and position. Notice that money is also a part of that content. The second prong deals with being content with their wages. Most of us from time to time complain about how much we are getting paid, don’t we? We all wish we made a little bit more, don’t we? Wow, three very distinct groups of people all responding to a very hard message. All three answers contain money and wealth as large parts of the working out of repentance. Curious! I wonder how much money gets in the way of our repentance? Luke brings into focus the outworking of the Good News of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection in many ways. One of those ways talked about repeatedly in the books of Luke and Acts is our relationship to money and the poor. I think that if we could ask this question to John the Baptist today he would give us very similar answers. I can bet they would be connected to money and our use of it. So I ask you, are you using your money in a way that honors the Lord and His people, or would you be embarrassed by the extravagancies? I have to admit in this public forum that I am not doing all I can to meet the needs of the poor. I am not yet using all the wealth I have at my disposal in a way that serves the needs of others. But I also know that I am not as selfish as I used to be. I have made shifts in the right direction, but I am not where I want to be. I am moving, but not as far or as fast as I want. How about you? Has the Lord spoken to you about your money? How have you responded?