II Corinthians 9: 6-7 | What Mark Zuckerberg can teach us about stewardship

WHAT MARK ZUCKERBERG CAN TEACH US ABOUT STEWARDSHIP

II CORINTHIANS 9:6-7

JANUARY 17, 2016

AROUND THE FIRST PART OF DECEMBER ONE OF OUR ELDERS, ROBERT CINTRON, A MEMBER OF OUR STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE WAS WORKING ON A DRAFT FOR THE WORDING OF OUR ANNUAL STEWARDSHIP LETTER.

THAT SAME WEEK ANOTHER LETTER APPEARED, PENNED BY MARK AND CHAN ZUCKERBERG, THE FOUNDER OF FACEBOOK.

THEIR LETTER WAS ADDRESSED TO THEIR NEWBORN DAUGHTER MAX TELLING HER OF THE VISION HER PARENTS HAD FOR THE WORLD IN WHICH SHE WOULD BE GROWING UP;

AND COMMITTING 99% OF THEIR SHARES OF STOCK IN FACEBOOK (VALUED AT 45 BILLION DOLLARS – YES, THAT’S BILLION WITH A “B”) TO A FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED IN THEIR NAME TO HELP BUILD THE SORT OF WORLD IN WHICH THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEIR DAUGHTER GROW UP.

I GOT AN EMAIL FROM ROBERT WONDERING HOW WE MIGHT INCORPORATE WHAT THE ZUCKERBERG’S HAD JUST DONE IN OUR STEWARDSHIP LETTER;

AND I RESPONDED BY SAYING, “WELL FIRST, I’D LIKE TO GET THEM TO JOIN OUR CHURCH; OR AT LEAST GET ON THE LIST OF CHARITIES TO WHICH THEY WILL BE GIVING!”

ROBERT WOUND UP REVISING HIS STEWARDSHIP LETTER, THE LETTER YOU RECEIVED THIS PAST WEEK, AN EXCELLENT LETTER, BY THE WAY, IN WHICH HE NOT ONLY DESCRIBES THE WONDERFUL MINISTRIES OF OUR CHURCH;

BUT ALSO SPEAKS TO THE REALITIES OF BEING A SMALLER CONGREGATION IN A COMMUNITY WHERE THE COST OF LIVING IS BURDENSOME FOR MANY OF US.

HE ALSO PROMISED TO INVOLVE ALL OF US IN LOOKING AT OUR CHURCH’S STEWARDSHIP BY INVITING US TO BE PART OF A SURVEY THAT WE WILL BE RECEIVING SOON.

WHAT OUR STEWARDSHIP LETTER AND THE ZUCKERBERG’S LETTER HAVE IN COMMON IS THAT THEY BOTH SPEAK TO THE REALITY OF THE WORLD AS IT IS, AND THE HOPE FOR WHAT THE WORLD MIGHT BE.

THEY BOTH, ALSO, SPEAK TO THE WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN HELP SUCH THINGS HAPPEN; YES, THROUGH OUR GIVING, BUT MORE, THROUGH INVESTING OURSELVES IN HELPING TO MAKE THE SORTS OF CHANGES WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE BECOME A REALITY.

“BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD.”

YOU CAN FIND THE ZUCKERBERG LETTER ONLINE AND I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO YOU;

I WOULD HAVE INCLUDED IT AS AN INSERT IN OUR BULLETIN FOR THIS MORNING, BUT IT’S A COUPLE OF THOUSAND WORDS LONG, SO…

AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT, IT SPEAKS OF SUCH THINGS AS:

• CURING DISEASE (THE WORLD SPENDS 50 TIMES AS MUCH ON TREATMENT AS IT DOES ON PREVENTION);
• POVERTY;
• TECHNOLOGY;
• MAKING LONG TERM INVESTMENTS OVER 25, 50, EVEN 100 YEARS;
• ENGAGING DIRECTLY WITH THE PEOPLE WE SERVE;
• PARTICIPATING IN POLICY AND ADVOCACY TO SHAPE CONVERSATIONS;
• BACKING STRONG AND INDEPENDENT LEADERS;
• TAKING RISKS;
• INVESTING IN EDUCATION, COMMUNITY, AND ADVANCING HUMAN POTENTIAL.

JUST THE SORTS OF THINGS YOU WOULD EXPECT A CUTTING EDGE, FORWARD THINKING, VENTURE ENTREPRENEUR, AND A FUTURISTIC VISIONARY, LIKE MARK ZUCKERBERG TO PROPOSE.

BUT HERE’S THE KICKER, AT LEAST ACCORDING TO RABBI EVAN MOFFIC;

MARK ZUCKERBERG’S TREMENDOUS GIFT TO HIS DAUGHTER, AND TO THE WORLD, IN WHICH SHE WILL GROW UP, IS ACTUALLY AN ACT OF JEWISH PIETY.

IT IS BASED UPON A 4000 YEAR OLD JEWISH TRADITION.

TZEDAKAH – IS A HEBREW WORD MEANING BOTH “CHARITY” AND “JUSTICE” – A JEWISH CORE VALUE, AS IMPORTANT AS PRAYER AND STUDY.

IT IS THE IDEA THAT WE GIVE NOT JUST TO HELP OTHERS, NOT JUST A HAND OUT, BUT WE GIVE ALSO TO CHANGE THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH LED TO THEIR NEED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS MARK ZUCKERBERG CAN TEACH US ABOUT STEWARDSHIP. WE GIVE TO HELP THOSE IN NEED, YES;

BUT WE GIVE ALSO TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE;

AND TO ALLEVIATE, AS BEST WE CAN, THE CONDITIONS AND CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH CAUSE SUCH NEEDS.

A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS WE MIGHT REMEMBER, AS CHRISTIANS, IS THAT THE IDEA OF THE TITHE (GIVING TEN PERCENT) AS WELL AS THE IDEA OF VOLUNTARY GIVING, BOTH COME TO US OUT OF THE HEBREW BIBLE, OUR OLD TESTAMENT, AS WE CALL IT.

BUT WHAT’S MORE, WHAT’S OF GREATER IMPORTANCE THAN THIS, EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOW MUCH WE GIVE, IS WHAT MAKES THIS SORT OF GIVING, OUR SORT OF GIVING, SACRED.

WHAT MAKES OUR GIVING MORE THAN JUST A NICE THING TO DO?

FIRST, THIS SORT OF GIVING REMINDS US THAT WHAT WE HAVE IN LIFE DOES NOT ULTIMATELY BELONG TO US.

“THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S AND THE FULLNESS THEREOF…” IT ALL BELONGS TO GOD, AND WE ARE STEWARDS OF IT, FOR ALL OF GOD’S CREATION.

THIS RUNS COUNTER TO NEARLY EVERY IDEA IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY. WE THINK IF WE’VE GOT IT, WE EARNED IT, AND IT’S OURS TO DO WITH IT AS WE PLEASE.

THIS VIEW MIGHT BE RIGHT IN LEGAL TERMS, BUT IT IS NOT IN BIBLICAL, MORAL TERMS. SHARING WHAT WE HAVE IS MANDATORY.

SECONDLY, GIVING ADDS MEANING AND HAPPINESS TO OUR LIVES.

“EVERYONE LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER,” PEOPLE LIKE TO SAY; INCLUDING GOD, ACCORDING TO OUR PASSAGE FOR THIS MORNING:

“EACH OF YOU MUST GIVE AS YOU HAVE MADE UP YOUR MINDS, NOT RELUCTANTLY OR UNDER COMPULSION, FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.”

BUT DO YOU KNOW WHO REALLY LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER?

THE CHEERFUL GIVER; THERE’S HARDLY A BETTER FEELING IN THE WHOLE WORLD THAN TO BE ABLE TO GIVE SOMETHING TO SOMEONE ELSE.

YOU SEE, GIVERS ARE REALLY TAKERS TOO, BECAUSE WHEN WE GIVE WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BEST OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE TO FIND HAPPINESS.

IN OTHER WORDS, OUR GIVING IS AS MUCH FOR OURSELVES AS IT IS FOR THOSE TO WHOM WE GIVE; WE GET AS MUCH BENEFIT FROM IT AS THE RECIPIENTS DO;

GIVING IS A GIFT TO THE GIVER, AND THE RECEIVER.

I HAVE NOTICED EVER SINCE AROUND THANKSGIVING, WHEN I BELIEVE THE MOTE MARINE LAB UP IN SUMMERLAND KEY KICKED OFF A CAPITAL FUNDS CAMPAIGN FOR A NEW BUILDING, ON THEIR SIGN OUT FRONT IT READS:

THANKS-4-GIVING – THANKS-FOR-GIVING; GIVING IS A GIFT TO THE GIVER AND THE RECEIVER.

THIRDLY, GIVING LIFTS UP OTHERS. (BACK TO OUR RABBI FOR A MOMENT)

RABBI MOFFIC POINTS OUT ANOTHER HEBREW WORD WITH TWO COMBINED MEANINGS, TERUMAH, WHICH MEANS GIFT, BUT IT ALSO MEANS “TO LIFT UP.”

A GIFT LIFTS UP BOTH THE GIVER AND THE RECEIVER.

THE LIFT IS NOT SIMPLY IN TERMS OF SOCIAL STATUS OR NET WORTH; INSTEAD, IT ALSO LIFTS US UP IN HOLINESS, REMINDING US OF THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF LIFE.

WE ALL DEPEND UPON EACH OTHER, AND WE ALL DEPEND UPON GOD.

YEARS AGO IN THE COMMUNITY IN WHICH KAREN AND I LIVED THERE WAS AN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO HELPING THOSE IN THEIR IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORHOOD.

IT WAS CALLED THE NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE, AND WAS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO HELP THOSE OF ITS SURROUNDING NEIGHBORS;

WITH EVERYTHING FROM CLOTHES TO FOOD TO HOUSEHOLD FURNISHINGS, FINDING JOBS FOR PEOPLE TO INCOME TAX HELP, FROM QUILTING CIRCLES TO SOCIAL GATHERINGS, TO MANEUVERING ONE’S WAY THROUGH THE DISABILITY AND SOCIAL SECURITY MAZE OF BUREAUCRACY.

ITS SLOGAN WAS SIMPLE: “A HAND UP, NOT A HAND OUT.”

OH THEY GAVE PLENTY OF STUFF AWAY TO PEOPLE, (MOST OF IT DONATED BY OTHERS OF US), BUT THEIR REAL PURPOSE WAS TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE BY GIVING PEOPLE A HAND UP.

AN ANONYMOUS POET ONCE WROTE:

NOT WHAT I GET, BUT WHAT I GIVE,

THIS BE THE GAUGE BY WHICH I LIVE,

NOT MERELY JOYS THAT COME MY WAY,

BUT THE HELP I GIVE TO THOSE ASTRAY.

NOT THE REWARDS OF MONEY AND FAME,

BUT THE LOADS I LIFT IN MANKIND’S NAME.

THIS BE THE PAY AT THE END OF THE DAY,

NOT WHAT I KEEP, BUT WHAT I GIVE AWAY.

ACCORDING TO OUR PASSAGE THIS MORNING – IT IS SIMPLE MATH – “THE ONE WHO SOWS SPARINGLY WILL REAP SPARINGLY, AND THE ONE WHO SOWS BOUNTIFULLY WILL REAP BOUNTIFULLY.”

THAT IS TRUE WHETHER WE ARE PLANTING SEEDS, STICKING TO OUR EXERCISE REGIMEN, STUDYING FOR A TEST, PRACTICING THE PIANO, PREPPING FOR A GAME, GOING TO WORK, SAVING FOR RETIREMENT, INVESTING OURSELVES IN A RELATIONSHIP, OR HELPING OUT OUR NEIGHBORS.

MORE IN MEANS MORE OUT. THE MORE WE GIVE, THE MORE WE RECEIVE.

THE VERY FIRST PERSON TO REACH THE STATUS OF BILLIONAIRE WAS A MAN WHO KNEW HOW TO SET GOALS AND FOLLOW THROUGH.

AT THE AGE OF 23, HE HAD BECOME A MILLIONAIRE, BY THE AGE OF 50 HE WAS A BILLIONAIRE.

EVERY DECISION, ATTITUDE, AND RELATIONSHIP WAS TAILORED TO CREATE HIS PERSONAL POWER AND WEALTH.

BUT THREE YEARS LATER AT THE AGE OF 53 HE BECAME ILL.  HIS ENTIRE BODY BECAME RACKED WITH PAIN AND HE LOST ALL THE HAIR ON HIS HEAD.

IN COMPLETE AGONY, THE WORLD’S ONLY BILLIONAIRE COULD BUY ANYTHING HE WANTED, BUT HE COULD ONLY DIGEST MILK AND CRACKERS.

AN ASSOCIATE WROTE, “HE COULD NOT SLEEP, WOULD NOT SMILE AND NOTHING IN LIFE MEANT ANYTHING TO HIM.”

HIS PERSONAL, HIGHLY SKILLED PHYSICIANS PREDICTED HE WOULD DIE WITHIN A YEAR.  THAT YEAR PASSED AGONIZINGLY SLOW.

AS HE APPROACHED DEATH HE AWOKE ONE MORNING WITH THE VAGUE REMEMBRANCES OF A DREAM.  HE COULD BARELY RECALL THE DREAM BUT KNEW IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH NOT BEING ABLE TO TAKE ANY OF HIS SUCCESSES WITH HIM INTO THE NEXT WORLD.

THE MAN WHO COULD CONTROL THE BUSINESS WORLD SUDDENLY REALIZED HE WAS NOT IN CONTROL OF HIS OWN LIFE. HE WAS LEFT WITH A CHOICE.

HE CALLED HIS ATTORNEYS, ACCOUNTANTS, AND MANAGERS AND ANNOUNCED THAT HE WANTED TO CHANNEL HIS ASSETS TO HOSPITALS, RESEARCH, AND MISSION WORK.

ON THAT DAY JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER ESTABLISHED HIS FOUNDATION.

THIS NEW DIRECTION EVENTUALLY LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF PENICILLIN, CURES FOR CURRENT STRAINS OF MALARIA, TUBERCULOSIS AND DIPHTHERIA.

THE LIST OF DISCOVERIES RESULTING FROM HIS CHOICE IS ENORMOUS.

BUT PERHAPS THE MOST AMAZING PART OF ROCKEFELLER’S STORY IS THAT THE MOMENT HE BEGAN TO GIVE BACK A PORTION OF ALL THAT HE HAD EARNED, HIS BODY’S CHEMISTRY WAS ALTERED SO SIGNIFICANTLY THAT HE GOT BETTER.

IT LOOKED AS IF HE WOULD DIE AT 53 BUT HE LIVED TO BE 98.

ROCKEFELLER LEARNED GRATITUDE AND GAVE BACK FROM HIS WEALTH.

DOING SO MADE HIM WHOLE.

IT IS ONE THING TO BE HEALED IT IS ANOTHER TO BE MADE WHOLE.

AS FAR AS I KNOW, THERE ARE NO ZUCKERBERG’S HERE THIS MORNING; NO ROCKEFELLER’S; THERE’S JUST US REGULAR JOE’S AND JANE’S; BUT THE PRINCIPLES ARE STILL THE SAME.

GIVING REMINDS US THAT WHAT WE HAVE BELONGS, ULTIMATELY, TO GOD.

GIVING ADDS MEANING AND HAPPINESS TO OUR LIVES.

GIVING LIFTS US UP AS WELL AS OTHERS.

AS CHAN AND MARK ZUCKERBERG CLOSED OUT THEIR LETTER TO THEIR DAUGHTER MAX, THEY WROTE THESE WORDS:

“MAX, WE LOVE YOU AND FEEL A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY TO LEAVE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE FOR YOU AND ALL CHILDREN. WE WISH YOU A LIFE FILLED WITH THE SAME LOVE, HOPE AND JOY YOU GIVE US. WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU BRING TO THIS WORLD.”

LOVE, MOM AND DAD

WHO OF US DOES NOT WISH AND WANT THE SAME FOR OUR OWN CHILDREN, AND THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD?

AN OLD GREEK PROVERB SAYS:

A SOCIETY GROWS GREAT WHEN OLD MEN

PLANT TREES WHOSE SHADE THEY KNOW THEY

SHALL NEVER SIT IN.