“You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those people you can't forget. Those are your 'friends.'” “Keep us, Lord, so awake in the duties of our callings that we may sleep in Thy peace and wake in Thy glory” John Donne
A Principle instruction, to all believers.
All believers are exhorted, advised and even straightforward: instructed, to get involved, in giving.
Giving of our time, our experience, our expertise, our love, our resources and our money.
Let us take a look at a previously quoted passage of Scripture:
Luk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given to you, good measure pressed down and shaken together and running over, they shall give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you measure, it shall be measured to you again. (MKJV )
“Give” according to the Strongs : Greek : didōmi, did'-o-mee
“A prolonged form of a primary verb (which is used as an alternate in most of the tenses); to give (used in a very wide application, properly or by implication, literally or figuratively; greatly modified by the connection): - adventure, bestow, bring forth, commit, deliver (up), give, grant, hinder, make, minister, number, offer, have power, put, receive, set, shew, smite (+ with the hand), strike (+ with the palm of the hand), suffer, take, utter, yield.”
By implication of the Scripture, we first have to give, before any receiving will take place. Yet we go about back to front. “Lord, if you bless me and give me, I will give back.”
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The Kingdom of God is a “Kingdom”, it is not a loan institution or a bank, where we make withdrawals and arrange some sort of a payback arrangement.
Jesus says in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Whatever it is that we most value will be what we set our heart upon. It will also be what we think most upon.
In the “western” culture in particular, but throughout the world as well, people seek after riches.
Yet Jesus says in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Jesus knows that it is a common problem among men to live under the slavery of the next dollar, yen, ruble, or what have you. Money rules, money has power, and money enslaves. This is the way it is on the earth.
Yet Christ is telling us to stop running the treadmill of storing up treasure on earth and chasing the lure of the almighty coin. We can’t serve Him properly if we are preoccupied with money.
Wealth is a gift from God who allows some to be rich and some to be poor.
The issue is not how wealthy a person is but how they handle their wealth. We must understand that wealth is not ours but God’s, Who is our Master.
If we think that the money is ours, then it has mastered us. We are but caretakers and stewards of our Master’s belongings. God owns all things, and we own nothing, spiritually speaking.
So how does a person get enslaved by money?
They worry about it, think about it, get preoccupied with it, get stingy with it, pat themselves on the back for giving a fraction of a percent, and enslave themselves to plotting how they can get more of it. They essentially worship money, as it becomes the desire of their heart and the centerpiece of their lives. If only they can have the next whatever, then they will be happy. As the saying goes, “How much more money do you need? Just one dollar more.” If this is our attitude, we have become enslaved. We must be all right with what we have been given.
How does one know if they are enslaved?
Ask God how He wants you to use your money. Let Him have control over the checkbook. If He says to give more than the ten percent, which is standard, see how your heart handles it. If you get bitter, struggle, or fight with God about it, then likely you are enslaved. Does your heart moan and groan when you have to write a check to give to God or to His work? Do you find yourself thinking about money and getting rich? If you think about money and material things more often than God, there is likely a battle of allegiances.
The overarching Biblical theme is that God owns all, and we are to view what He allows us to have, receive, earn, and give as that over which He is totally sovereign. If we do not, we are controlled by money, regardless of whether we feel like it or not. In admitting that God is in control, it means that what we spend our money on and what we give to is ruled by the leading of God.
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