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Acts 19:23-41
About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
The new pastor, anxious to make an impact in his new church, preached a fiery sermon on the evils and dangers of gossip. As people left, they reminded him that many of the members of the congregation were politicians. They should not be angered. The next week he preached on the dangers of smoking, only to be reminded that there were many tobacco farmers in the church. The third week, he preached against drinking, and was told that the president of the congregation was the foreman at the local whiskey distillery. The fourth week he preached on the evils of offshore oil drilling. No one objected. It was no matter that impacted their wallets.
Martin Luther is credited to having said that there are three conversions. He is quoted as saying, “People go through three conversions: The conversion of their head, their heart, and their pocketbook. Unfortunately, not all at the same time.” He says that we need to have our purses or pocketbooks baptized. This conversion had decidedly not been the case with Demetrius and the silversmiths of Ephesus. He is no-bones-about-it concerned that the message of Jesus would undercut his profits. It didn’t make any difference that these prophets fed on the false notions of idol worship. All that these artisans did was make money in exchange for overpriced pieces of silver.
An otherwise very friendly and gracious gentleman became quite offended that I would talk about money. He even advised me to quit speaking of it. Another member told me that his parents said, “He ain’t gettin’ my money.” As though any preaching about giving or our use of money was somehow lining my own pocket.
Very early in my ministry I had to go to the elders and ask for a raise. I showed them my budget and he was truly shocked. “We’ll do something about this,” he said. I was making less than a first year public school teacher at the time. When another member of that church heard of my concerns, he said, “Don’t they take a vow of poverty?” Well, I didn’t become a pastor in order to get rich, but I didn’t take a vow of poverty. And the degree of financial blessings we have received has allowed us to be generous over the years. We have learned the secret of the economy of God. “Seek first his kingdom,” Jesus says, “and all these things [the wherewithal to live and thrive] will be added to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
Several years ago I learned that the shock jock radio personality Howard Stern was thinking of running for president. He decided to give up that quest when he learned that he would have to provide a financial disclosure. The guy who revealed the most salacious and sensational things that a man can reveal considered revealing his financial doings to be too revealing! That was meddlin’.
A question a friend likes to ask, “How’s God been messing with you lately?” So, is he meddlin’? With you?
David Bahn - Reflections 
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