All the church wants is my money

Bill D. Hallsted

Mark shrugged a little defensively. "You won't, either. I got fed up. All the church wants is my money."

Mick let this pass without comment until they were sitting over a malt in the food court.

"Mark, didn't your wife have surgery last year?"

"Yeah. She's fine now. Boy, it was a scary time, though. We really didn't know if she was going to make it."

"Did the pastor come to the hospital?"

"Oh, yeah. He stayed there a long time while it was nip and tuck, and came back I don't know how many times. Why?"

"Just thinking. Did he send you a bill?"

"A bill? Of course not!"

"Did the elders from the church call on you or your wife?"

"Yeah. Especially John. He was there a lot. Why?"

Mick ignored the question. "Did the elders send you a bill?"

"A bill? For what?"

"For calling on you and your family."

"Of course not. I'd have hit the roof if they did!"

"Did the doctor come to see Jane?"

"Sure. Every day."

"Did he send you a bill?"

"Sure. What are you getting at?"

"Do you mean the doctor kept track and added to his bill every time he stopped to see your wife?"

"Sure. All doctors do. What's strange about that?"

"Is he still your doctor?"

"Of course. He did a great job."

"I'm confused, Mark. You don't want to go to church because they only want money. Yet the church never expected to be paid for anything they did. The doctor wanted to be paid for every single thing he did, but you don't think he just wants your money".

"That's different."

"Let me pursue this a little? When you and Jane were having problems, didn't you go to the pastor for counselling?"

"Yeah."

"Were you expected to pay for it? Counsellors get at least $100 an hour, you know."

"Of course not. He's the pastor. That's part of what the church does."

"How about when your whole family came to that concert by "The Four Sons" at the church? How much a ticket did you pay to hear them?"

"I didn't pay anything. I put a ten in the offering, though."

"A ten? Five of you went to a concert by professional musicians, and you gave a ten? That's $2 a head! Even a third-rate concert at the civic centre costs $30 a head!"

"It was at the church!"

Mick stood abruptly. "Let's leave here without paying," he said.

Mark's mouth dropped open. "Are vou kidding? They'd have us arrested!"

"Of course," Mick agreed, "because all they care about is our money. Does this store care whether you're going to heaven? Do they care whether you pray or read your Bible? Do they care whether you are happy? Do they care whether you're living the way God wants you to? Do they care whether you and your wife have a good relationship? Do they care how your kids are doing in school? Do they worry about whether your kids are equipped to deal with the pressures to get involved with drugs, sex and alcohol? Do they care about anything, except your money?"

"No," Mark admitted.

"Who does care about something besides your money, Mark?" "The church, I suppose".

Mick marched ahead. "Think about it, Mark. W~hat does the church do with the money it gets? It gives it away to start churches, to support missions, to help schools and colleges, to provide food and clothing to the needy. They pay their expenses for the programs and facilities that help you and your family, but they never keep any money. They use it for others like you, or they give it away."

Mark seemed at a loss for words, so Mick continued. "The church is the only organization in the world that lets you decide--between you and God--what to give. Church leaders teach pretty clearly what God says about giving, but they make no effort to enforce it. How can you accuse the church of only being interested in your money? They are exactly the ones about whom that is untrue."

"All the church wants is my money" is one of the most inane and ridiculous lies Satan ever spawned.