Today’s sermon is kind of a "segue sermon," that is to say transitioning from one topic to another. We are concluding our series on comparing—and contrasting—the church to a football team. Today, a look at the General Manager. At the same time, we are moving into our season of stewardship and that is also the topic before us. For the General Manager, in many ways, is the "steward" of the team’s resources, the one who negotiates contracts in light of the team’s budget. Our Scripture passage for this transition is Matthew, chapter six, verses one through four. (Read Matthew 6:1-4)

Speaking of transitions, there was a "transition" that occurred in professional sports around the late 60’s. Actually, there were two transitions. The first transition was that salaries grew tremendously. Thanks, in part, to increased revenues from television and thanks even more to the advent of free agency—a player’s ability to negotiate his services with any team—athletes’ salaries jumped dramatically. A related transition was that salaries became public knowledge. Up to that time, with a few rare exceptions, the salaries of professional athletes were not made public. Only dramatic notations were made—Babe Ruth, for example, who, when it was pointed out he had made more money the past year than President Herbert Hoover, responded, "Well, I had a better year than he did." Dramatic increases and public knowledge of salaries made the job of the General Manager immeasurably more difficult. Not only did the GM have to watch the bottom line between expenses and income, but the GM had to watch the salaries of comparable players on other teams because he knew that’s what his players were doing! No longer was it enough to make a very good living playing a game. The sense of motivation, satisfaction and reward was changed forever. As fans, or even as casual observers, we rightly question a player’s declaration that he’d play for nothing, out of pure joy for the game when, in reality, he has moved from team to team, or held out for more money so that he can make $8 million a year instead of $6 million. General Managers have had to deal with the new phenomenon of athletes questioning whether they can give their best effort when salary demands aren’t met, when their expectation of reward is high because of comparison with what someone else is making.

The challenges for General Managers in the church are somewhat the same, yet also very different. That’s because the General Managers in churches are not the Business Administrators, not the pastors, not the church treasurers. The General Managers in the church are the members. Each member is called to be a good steward of his or her resources and the church’s resources. The session, ultimately, has to make the "bottom line" decisions of programs and resources in the church’s ministry. Of course, the session is made up of members of the church. But, more than that, each member is called to good stewardship, good management of his or her resources and the church’s resources. At the same time, each member is a player in the game. That is very different from professional sports and general managers and players. There have been some examples of the dual role of player-coach combinations in sports. But, there are no examples of player-general manager combinations. The church role of player-general manager is unique.

Jesus addresses that unique role as he speaks to his disciples about their sense of motivation, satisfaction and reward in carrying out their "acts of righteousness." Coming in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, in essence, that our actions as both general manager and player must be carried out in the context of a relationship with God. Now, our acts of righteousness may very well find their expression in relationships with others—that is particularly true for our topic today of giving to the needy. However, to reach their highest level, the sense of motivation, satisfaction and reward for those actions must be based in a relationship with God.

"Be careful," Jesus says to people of faith, "be careful that your motivation for your acts of righteousness," in this case, the act of giving, "isn’t based in worldly rewards." If it is based in worldly rewards, Jesus says, then that will be the extent of your reward. "You’ll have no reward from your Father in heaven." Note, Jesus doesn’t say there is no reward. He understands our need for affirmation. He also understands the truth of our motivation. Giving in a "show-off" fashion reveals a motivation to win public acclaim. That’s what you’ll get, says Jesus, but it is a much lesser reward than that which comes from God. If we claim to be people of faith, yet our motivation for our acts is based in the world and its reaction to our acts—and not based in the God of our faith—Jesus says we are just actors of faith, hypocrites. The word for hypocrites is the word used to describe actors playing a role. Our giving, if motivated by worldly rewards of prestige and praise from others, is just an act—much like the athlete who says he plays for the pure joy of it then holds out for a higher salary. The motivation for persons of faith is to be pleasing to God, to receive the deeper satisfaction and reward of knowing that they have the approval of the God they profess to serve.

That’s the "bottom line" in our role as General Manager over the church—to give and manage our resources, not for the praise of those from our earthly relationships, but for the praise and the glory of God the Father. The bottom line is measured not by the world’s standards, but by God’s.

It’s something like the story I read of a man named Pota-lamo who sold strings of onions at a market in Mexico City. On this particular day, he had twenty strings of onions hanging for sale. An American tourist asked him, "How much for a string of onions?" "Twenty pesos," Pota-lamo replied. "And how much for two strings?" "Forty pesos." Then the tourist asked, "How much for all twenty?" Pota-lamo replied, "I would not sell you my twenty strings." "Why not," asked the tourist. "Aren’t you here to sell your onions?" "No," replied the old merchant. "I am here to live my life. I love this marketplace. I love the crowds and the red serapes. I love the sunlight and the wavering palmettos. I love to have friends come by and say "Buenos dias" and talk about their babies and crops. That is my life. For that I sit here all day and sell my twenty strings of onions. But if I sell all my onions to one customer, then my day is ended. I have lost the life I love and that I will not do."

For followers of Jesus Christ, life is not about grabbing for and getting as much earthly reward as they can. Life is not all about earthly rewards. If the goal is earthly rewards, there are lots of places they can spend their time and energy, lots of places for them to put their resources in a manner and fashion that not only will earn them a good return on their investment, but also earn them the praise of others. If, however, the goal is to be more than a mere actor of faith, to be a sincere doer of faith and thereby please their heavenly Father, the follower of Christ will give of their time, energy and resources in a quiet, humble way that is rooted in a relationship with Christ. Not out of a sense of duty or obligation, but out of a sense of love for life with Jesus. Therein lies the greatest reward for acts of righteousness—life with Christ.

So, there are the comparisons…and contrasts between the church and a football team. There are good owners out there, but we have the most benevolent owner of all—Almighty God. The excitement of bands and cheerleaders is replaced by the worship and praise we offer. God has given to us both the roles of General Manager and players—participating as players in building a good defense by growing in our faith and running a good offense by actively sharing our faith with others, and participating as general managers by exercising good stewardship of the resources God gives us.

In this season of stewardship, we will be asking the question, "What does God want me to give?" Not "What does the church need," nor "How can we meet the church budget," but "What does God want me to give?" It is a question rooted in a relationship with the heavenly Father. It is a question to be asked and answered in the prayerful privacy of that relationship, seeking the praise and reward of our heavenly Father and not the world. A heavenly Father who is seeking doers and not just actors, doers whose motivation for their giving, their acts of righteousness is to further the work of the Kingdom of God…and they take satisfaction and find their reward in that.