The coin in the mouth of the fish

CEBU, Philippines - He opened his preaching with thunder – a strong one-liner: “Disobedience begets curse.” It was not an easy thing to swallow on a  Sunday  morning service. The crowd was held in silence. Finance analyst Ronnie Cadorna came by storm as he preached on the spiritual issues of financial transformation.

In his May 26 message at the Bible Baptist Church Katipunan morning service, Cardona testified that one critical component for financial success is to let the Lord Our God take complete control of financial resources. He called upon the faithful to commit tithes and offerings consistently and challenged further the giving of 90 percent of one’s income to the missions and evangelization programs of the church. Based on Scripture, a tithe is 10 percent of monthly income to be given to the church. Cadorna attributes his success as a New York financial analyst and operating a chain of gasoline stations to stewardship of resources and committing 90 percent of his income to ministry initiatives and activities.

Tithes and offerings have always been a thorny issue for Bible Baptist churches especially in an environment where poverty and hunger rates have pathetically worsened through the years.In a 2013 survey, the Social Weather Station found that 52 percent or an estimated 10.6 million Filipino families considered themselves as  poor. The self-rated poverty threshold survey was based on what household heads perceived or considered as the amount needed to live a sustainable life. The Social Weather Station said that poor families have been lowering their living standards through the years because many Filipinos consider themselves as food-poor.

In Metro Manila, the median poverty threshold or what is often considered as the poverty line is P15,000 per month. In the Visayas, like in Cebu City, the poverty line is P10,000 per month. This simply means that any Cebuano who earns less than P10,000 per month is considered poor.   Almost half of Filipinos give up on certain meals to have something to eat the following day.

Telling a  Sunday  morning crowd, of whom more than half may have been poor, to commit 90 percent of income to the Lord in finance management is much like the prophet Elijah telling the widow woman in Zarepath to cook the cakes for him first with the last handful of flour that was left. Scripture points out that it was obedience that made the Zarepath woman live after she cooked the last handful of flour for the prophet. Can the same obedience for 21st century environments be done in poverty stricken economies? Is there really a literal compliance of 90 percent tithe giving or else disobedience begets curse?

Cadorna gives an optimistic yes. Christians must do business with things that are pleasing to the Lord – these are businesses that by its very nature help in the social transformation of humanity and not in the propagation of vices. Cadorna said businessmen or those who want to do business should engage in enterprises that help people live a humane life as people and are nurtured in spiritual life. In business practices, Christian businessmen should not “cheat” on customers, nor should they compromise in the red tape of government in securing permits or renewing licenses. Christian businessmen and managers should nurture a walking-in-the-Spirit culture in the workplace.

Dilemma in being equally yoked.

While Cadorna said that Christians should not be equally yoked with unbelievers, it is inevitable that Christians, owing to poverty, do get employed with employers who are not necessarily Christians. Yet this employment empowers them to give tithes and offerings. Here the dilemma is, if not giving tithes and offerings is a form of disobedience and therefore begets curse, has the Christian compromised in having been yoked with unbelieving employers so he can give his tithes and offering? Resolving the core of the dilemma, Cardona said that it is inevitable that Christians do get employed with non-Christian employers.He said that being employed with non-Christian employers and operating in non-Christian work environments is a reality that spirituality in financial transformation must deal with circumspect and discernment.

Cadorna said that when Christians get employed under non-Christian employers, God’s purpose is to use these Christians to be channels of blessing in that particular workplace. Actually, when the Lord Jesus Christ rendered his ministry on Earth, he spoke with publicans, had moments of chat with adulteresses and even challenged a maniac to a draw. In other words, spirituality in Christian life finds spirituality in financial transformation by how Christians handle and steward the resources they earn from their employment.

The thing is, when a rich young man asked the Lord Jesus Christ what was lacking in him, the Lord told the rich young man to give up his possession and give this to the poor. Cadorna said that while money is a concern for survival, it is not the end-all concern. People must know how to steward and spend the money they earn. This means prudent spending.

Giving 90 percent of income in tithes and offerings is more than just giving of cash in offering bags. It could mean denying the self with lavish spending and possession. It could mean giving more time and talent for things that magnify the Lord’s work. It could mean ministering to the poor and lowly in Spirit so they can see God in their lives. It could mean giving up the impulsive passion for gadgets, clothes, shoes, eating in fancy restaurants, giving up outings, giving up cable TV subscriptions, turning off the television to value-compromising shows and all other things that divert spending to the world instead of for the Lord.

Sometimes we have to look for the coin in the mouth of the fish. Doing business and getting employed in a world beleaguered with poverty finds spirituality in financial transformation in knowing full well who created the fish and put the coin there in the first place. It is still God’s business and God’s employment agency. Obey God.