It’s not about the money

In Nehemiah 3:1, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests “sanctified” the work they were doing. That’s in the King James version — but what does “sanctified” really mean? Looking at the same verse in the Easy-to-Read Version (one I often use in Belize with our young people there), it says: “They prayed to make the gate holy to God,” and “They prayed to make all this work holy to God.”

Do you ever imagine that your work is holy and set apart for God? Do you pray that way? How would that affect your attitude toward the people around you and the goals you’re attempting to accomplish together?

When God made the world, he said, “It is good,” and this includes the work we are each assigned to do — and the people we’re working beside. I’m a missionary doing leadership development in Belize. I think my work is sanctified — holy to God. Your work is something very different, but you should also see your work as holy and set apart for God.

You may be familiar with the Parable of the Laborers, in which the landowner goes back repeatedly throughout the day, inviting workers. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard…” (Matthew 20:1, NIV)

Inevitably, especially for those of us working in ministry, we imagine ourselves as some of those who started the work early in the day. The day ends, and the pay is distributed, a good amount of pay for a good day’s work. The laborers hired first only really complain when they’re not given extra, but the owner will have none of that: “… Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you….”

And this is the God we serve — one who wants to bring everyone into his vineyard to partner with him in the good, sanctified work he has for us to do together. Instead of imagining ourselves as having “worked all day in the scorching heat,” let’s find ways to remember that we’re working in our God’s vineyard — partnering with one another to accomplish the good work he’s set before us! And remember: it’s not about the money!

Julie and I have been serving in leadership development among the Garifuna people of Southern Belize for the past 10 years with EMM. We’ve been working in close discipleship with Terry and Kendra Nunez, a Garifuna couple from Hopkins.

“Mr. Tim,” Kendra said a few months ago. “My sister and I would like to provide the noon meal for pastor Felix and his family on Sundays.

Pastor Felix and his family have been traveling about one hour in one direction to visit Georgetown weekly, and recently started a Sunday morning service under a shed roof there.

Kendra and Terry are excited; they have a passion to move from Hopkins to the village of Georgetown, where Kendra grew up. There has never been a stable evangelical church presence there, and they want to partner with Pastor Felix in Kendra’s home village.

“Wow, that’s a great idea”, I said. “Could you sponsor us?” she asked. “It would cost about $60 a week.”

That translates to $30 U.S. dollars a week for pastor Felix’s family’s Sunday lunch. (The Belize dollar is pegged at 2-to-1 against the U.S. dollar.) Felix would generally bring 5–7 people with him, a plate of food would cost about $5 each, and that cost seemed very reasonable to me. Let’s do the math: $30/week x 4 = about $120 a month.

“Yes!” I exuberantly agreed. “Let me check with my wife and Pastor Felix,” I prudently amended.

Julie agreed with me about the plan, so I called Pastor Felix. Pastor Felix Mejilla and I go way back to the beginning of my time here. He pastors a Garifuna-language church not far from my house. In those early years in Belize, I taught his two sons to play guitar, and they taught me my first Garifuna language song.

Almost two years ago, Felix stopped at my gate in his taxi and honked the horn. I came out and sat with him as he described his church’s first outreach to Georgetown, and he wept, telling me about the spiritual hunger he sees among his people there. For a full year, Julie and I drove our vehicle with Felix and his family to Georgetown on Sunday afternoons to begin a weekly service there. Since that time, the people of Georgetown have requested that their service be held in the morning. Julie and I cannot travel there regularly anymore since our Dangriga church meets during that same time frame and requires our van. Pastor Felix prioritized the Georgetown service and shifted his Dangriga church service to the evening. The burden of the cost of transportation has fallen on him and his family since that time. They eat breakfast early on Sunday before traveling the one-hour distance south. When I called him about the Sunday meal plan, he came in his taxi and sat with me in my yard to discuss the particulars.

“Mr. Tim,” he said, “I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, I really do. But I wonder if you would give me the money for fuel instead. We can go hungry, but we can’t go without fuel.”

His words impacted me because I know the burden of the cost of fuel in Belize. While U.S. consumers enjoy a glut of supply, Belize has a small population and economy and imports all refined fuel, naturally making the costs much higher. Gas is never less than $5 a gallon and usually closer to $7.50 a gallon in U.S. dollars.

I agreed without hesitation. Pastor Felix’s phrase: “We can go hungry, but we can’t go without fuel,” perfectly emphasizes the point of my message. It’s not about the money.

We’re so honored to be partnering in Belize with co-workers in God’s vineyard who know it’s not about the money — it’s about the joy of doing what God has placed before us to do. And while it’s not about the money, money is required.

We are thankful to EMM and our Mission Support Team for helping provide the support and structures necessary to continue our work: To identify, disciple, and release the next generation of leaders among the Garifuna in this beautiful place. Thank you!