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Luke 7:36-50 – A Difficult Question
He smiled as he asked his question thinking I was trapped. “If I had a million dollars that I got illegally but couldn’t return it because I didn’t steal money but provided a service, would you recommend the church keeping the money if I gave it?” Actually that wasn’t his question but I knew his backstory. Here is his real question – “If I won a million dollars in the lottery and wanted to come back to the Lord, would you say the church could keep the money if I gave it?” His goal was to show churches are money-grubbing hypocrites.
I told him he could anonymously donate it to the cable company that he stole the money from by illegally hooking up customers. I told him he could donate it to a charity. I told him I was more concerned with his soul than his money.
But, could the church keep the money if donated? I know various ones will answer differently than me, but let me suggest a possible answer. In Luke 7:36-50, “one of those” women anointed Jesus feet with perfume. Where would this type of woman get the money for perfume? Tradition says her being called a “sinner” is a euphemism for prostitute. Jesus accepted her gift.
The money was not evil in her case or his. If it was tainted by the source, it became sanctified by it’s new purpose. The same can be said of us and our lives. Now that’s worth smiling over!
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