Luke 6:38
• The context of this verse has to do with giving God’s love and forgiveness but certainly the principle also applies to giving of our time, energy, resources, and finances to God and to others for the cause of God’s Kingdom
• The more we give, the more we will receive in spiritual blessing from God because giving is a sign of our obedience and our openness to see the need to receive from God
“Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as possible, lest it should find its way into my heart” - John Wesley
• Wesley’s goal was to give so generously that he left virtually nothing behind despite the fact that he made much money during his life from book royalties
• When Christ returns what will happen with all of the money sitting in bank accounts and retirement programs? What will happen with all of the possessions that we have?
• All of those things that people spent so much time and energy in obtaining and maintaining will be of no value
• In that sense, life is like a game of Uno. The one with the most cards in his hand at the end of the game is actually the loser not a winner
Proverbs 22:6
“The almighty dollar left to a child is an almighty curse. No man has the right to handicap his son with such a burden as great wealth” - Andrew Carnegie
• But what about our children some might ask? Shouldn’t we leave them all of our money?
• The simple answer is “no”
• We should leave them enough to be of modest assistance (and to help them through school, etc.) but not enough to change their lifestyle or undercut their need to work hard, plan, and trust God
• Leaving a large inheritance to children is not only missed opportunities to invest in God’s Kingdom . . . .
• It is also not in the child’s best interests
• Investing in God’s Kingdom more and leaving less to our children is not just an act of love toward God but is an act of love towards their best interests so that they can learn to trust and sacrifice just as we had to learn
• Let God decide how to provide for our children
• After all, your money doesn’t belong to your children but to God
• Do you spend more time preparing a financial heritage or a spiritual heritage for your children?
• Do you actively allow your children to experience things like sacrifice and trust that are so vital in the Kingdom of God?
Galatians 6:9
• The context of this passage includes giving gnerously
Convictions
• How do you strive to not become weary in doing good in all areas of your life?
This scripture convicts my heart. I am faithful, prayful, and hopeful in most areas of my life. However, I have an intense struggle in a particular area of my life...that I feel extremely weary about. In a lot of ways it has nothing to do with me however it affects me greatly. I take things personally and allow myself to be easily angered. I go out of my way to be encouraging, thoughtful, loving and serving; I often pray about my heart and this struggle but still feel weary and angry. Yesterday I was thinking/praying about Phil. 4:6, in that I need to do more petitioning; and believe I am missing the "with thanksgiving" part. More-besides, after reading this post, I will work on developing "a training in righteousness" plan as to not grow weary in doing good. Thanks for today's post!
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