Stewardship 101

Scripture

If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lordand He {the LORD} will repay you!

~Proverbs 19:17, NLT

Quote

Nothing you have not given away will ever be really yours.

~C.S. Lewis

I have never been rich; therefore I can only imagine what it would be like to be rich. Although I do not spend a lot of time worrying about money or the lack thereof, money is a constraint. I can’t do anything I want. I can have a 401-K to supplement my retirement income or I can have a house but I can’t have both. I’ve spent a great deal of my life making payments on cars, trucks, tractors, houses, land, etc. I have lived on credit. I am not recommending credit as a way of life, there is a better way but most of us started with nothing and we didn’t have the money to pay cash. So I know what it is like to have financial concerns. I had four small children, June was not yet in the work force and I lived in someone else house and my job was not secure. Those where the good old days that were not so good, and I have no desire to relive them.  So those of us who have been poor understand what it is like to be poor but we have no idea what it is like to be rich. Now, turn the analogy around: those who were born rich have no idea what it’s like to be poor. They don’t stand in lines; they don’t worrying about house payments or any payments because they don’t have any. They get what they want and they go where they please. If Jason was rich; Mandy would do a cruise every month. If I were rich, I would have a yard filled with John Deere Tractors. I would also have a combine just for the heck of it.

But there is a downside to being rich. Most rich people are selfish and anxious about losing their status and their money. They also tend to be greedy and they despise or look down on the poor.  I noticed something about Proverbs 19:17 that I had never noticed before. When we help a person in legitimate need, we are lending to the LORD Himself and He is obligated to pay us back. Wow! This doesn’t give us the freedom to give an addict 20 dollars and then expect the LORD to pay us back with interest. But when we do an act of kindness in another’s behalf perhaps by giving them something–the LORD will reward us, but not necessarily in currency. At least three things happen when you give with the right motive.

[1] It is an act of love and a fulfillment of the second great commandment to love your neighbor as you love yourself. [2] It is a deterrent to greed. The one thing that can keep you from becoming greedy is to give. Have you ever noticed: greedy people either don’t give or give begrudgingly. They get no joy out of giving. [3] Christian giving makes us a beneficiary. You give toward the need of others and God gives to you as a reward for your giving to others. Don’t be overly concerned about how much you make; concentrate on how much you give. Are you growing in your giving. When we got our contribution statements last January, I was not pleased with our giving and I vowed to give more. I even asks God to show me a way I could give more. By the way, He answered that prayer almost immediately. I dare you to ask God to show you how you can give more. Remember the world’s teaching on stewardship is wrong. The world says the more you keep for yourself, the more you have but that is a lie out of hell. the Bible teaches that we get by giving. The more you give, the more you will have to give. God gave you two hands and both are to remain open–one hand is to receive and the other is to give. When we close our fist, we cease to be a channel or blessing. It is a sin against God’s economy.

EXTRA

More rain and I love rain but we are about to float away and we live on a hill top. I could raise rice or cranberry in my garden. I’ve never seen a year like it. Jason Simpson said two weeks ago, “Look for a dry October.” Well Jason, you were wrong. Joe Fitz got it right, he said, “I am going by the pattern and so far it has rained every month and I bet it doesn’t stop this month.” Got to visit with Joyce Chaney yesterday {Moulton Nursing Home} and she is some better. Remember to pray for Terry and Becky Cowart.

 

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