Poor God!
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV, Cycle A
Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." (v. 21b)
One Sunday morning at St. Matthew United Methodist Church in Midwest City, Oklahoma, a young woman invited the children forward for their "moments with children." After the children sat down, she welcomed them and thanked them for coming. She then pulled out two boxes and a large sack containing various items. One box was marked "God's" and the other was marked "Mine."
As she was teaching them about tithing, she put one t--shirt in God's box and nine in her box. She gave God one CD, and herself nine. God received one box of cereal, and she received nine. And she continued through the rest of the items - giving God one of ten Granola bars, one of ten dimes, one of ten Beanie Babies, and one of ten green apples.
At this point seven--year--old Justin measured up the contents of the two boxes. He commented in a sincerely sympathetic seven--year--old voice, "Poor God!"
It's hard to cover up the Truth when it is that apparent. After the chuckles died down a bit, the young lady challenged each of the children to give God one dime for every dollar he or she received as an allowance.
Without much of a problem, we pay our taxes. Money is withheld and sent in to the IRS. At the end of the year, we file our 1040 and pray for a refund. However, so often, we don't withhold God's ten percent to give to God. We give "to the emperor" because we fear the repercussions. However, we fail to give "to God the things that are God's" even though God has loved us so immensely. Poor God!
One Sunday morning at St. Matthew United Methodist Church in Midwest City, Oklahoma, a young woman invited the children forward for their "moments with children." After the children sat down, she welcomed them and thanked them for coming. She then pulled out two boxes and a large sack containing various items. One box was marked "God's" and the other was marked "Mine."
As she was teaching them about tithing, she put one t--shirt in God's box and nine in her box. She gave God one CD, and herself nine. God received one box of cereal, and she received nine. And she continued through the rest of the items - giving God one of ten Granola bars, one of ten dimes, one of ten Beanie Babies, and one of ten green apples.
At this point seven--year--old Justin measured up the contents of the two boxes. He commented in a sincerely sympathetic seven--year--old voice, "Poor God!"
It's hard to cover up the Truth when it is that apparent. After the chuckles died down a bit, the young lady challenged each of the children to give God one dime for every dollar he or she received as an allowance.
Without much of a problem, we pay our taxes. Money is withheld and sent in to the IRS. At the end of the year, we file our 1040 and pray for a refund. However, so often, we don't withhold God's ten percent to give to God. We give "to the emperor" because we fear the repercussions. However, we fail to give "to God the things that are God's" even though God has loved us so immensely. Poor God!
