Skip to main content

Giving or Keeping?

            A week ago, a friend of mine who lives and works in North Central Regina came to our church to talk about the needs that he sees every day.  It was interesting and sparked a lot of discussion about poverty and what we could do to help change things.
            Two days later, my mailbox was flooded with “Black Friday” ads and sales on hundreds of things that I don’t really need.  As I write this it is “Cyber Monday” (the online equivalent of “Black Friday”) and there are even more deals to be found.
            So what do you do?  I mean, on one hand there are people all over the place who are barely scraping by and on the other hand I am looking at a new welder and thinking “I really need that!”   How much should I give away and how much should I keep?  Where does my responsibility to look after myself cross the line and become “greed”?   Questions like that keep coming and there are no easy answers (at least none that are helpful).
            In 1 Timothy chapter 6:3-19, we find some guidelines about how to handle money.   In summary form, here is what Timothy is told to teach:  (1) Do not obsess over money or pay too much attention to it.  Remember, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (verse 10).  (2)  If you have lots, do not be arrogant and think that you are better than others.  Money is not God’s scorecard.  (3) Do not let money make you feel secure.  It is totally unstable.  Your only security is in God.  (4) Do good deeds and be “rich in good works”.  (5) Be generous and ready to share.  (6) Be responsible here, but think more about eternity. Live in such a way as to store up “treasures in heaven”.
            What does all that mean for you?  I don’t know!  Obviously, though, the goal is to find a middle ground between being completely irresponsible and completely greedy. However, since I think our default is to look after ourselves first, let me end with a story. 
            A friend of mine gave a large sum of money to a lady who needed it.  He had bills to pay, but she needed it more.  That was 25 years ago.  He told me the other day, “I have never once regretted giving her that money!”  Generosity never goes unrewarded.  “Your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6).
            I don’t have any easy answers, but I think the discussion is worth having anyway, because, in the end, we will not be asked, “What did you have?”  Instead we will be asked, “What did you do with it?”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

   When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for.  Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task.  In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut.  It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why.  Ben became stuck on the glacier.  He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below.   That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice.  He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety.  Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Press The Button!

  Consider This:  Press the Button! My favourite TV game show is Jeopardy.  I used to like it even more when my kids were younger, because I could easily beat them and look smart.  These days, after they have grown up and gone to university, it is much more difficult.  However, Jeopardy is still the only game show I will watch. In a book I read, a contestant who did very well on the show shared the secret to his success.  He said (and I am paraphrasing here), “You must press the button before you know the answer.  Everyone on Jeopardy is smart. Everyone knows the answer. The key to winning is to act.  You must jump in and press the button, assuming that your brain will catch up and supply the answer.  If you wait until you are sure, you will be too late!” Press the button! Too often, we hesitate, not because we do not know what to do, but because we do not want to do it.  Sometimes, we fail to act because we are not sure how the situatio...
Post a Comment
Read more