Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Giving our money

This past Sunday, I talked about why giving my money matters to me. Here's a look back...

It’s part of our heritage. God’s people have always taken care of God’s business. In the OT, God required it. In the NT, Jesus modeled it. I am a direct descendant of a giving God. I am related to those who left all behind to follow. I pursue the path of those who lived lives of generosity.

It reaffirms that it’s all God’s anyway. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 1 Chronicles 29:11

It has always been a tangible way to teach our kids (and anyone else’s) where our priorities really are. It put our money where our mouth was. We showed them that our faith meant business. When we said that we would seek God’s Kingdom first, they knew what that meant, because they saw how we directed our money. Giving our money showed them one of the most important ways we shared in the responsibility of being part of the family!

It has trained us to live on less…and put us in a place to give more. Giving our money to God (through the ministry of our church family) has always been a planned decision. Often, we have had to go without things we wanted, because we made a commitment. But, because it was planned, we did it. And we've always been able to give beyond…and God has always taken care of us!

Giving our money puts us in a place where we have to trust God. We (all of us)are an educated, talented, privileged people. It is easy to trust our ingenuity, our hard work, our training, our instincts, our experience, our abilities. But we are to trust God. One of the most tangible and life-changing ways to do that is to give enough of our money that we really have to trust God for something!

The best of all…When we give, we are blessed. All of those things we talk about and preach about and dream about and wish were happening in our spiritual lives begin to happen. Giving our money is powerful.

Check back in the days ahead. I promise I'll give you more to think about...

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