Ownership Blues

ALL – Psalm 51:1-19
ALL – Proverbs 22:24-25
OT – Song of Solomon 5:1-8:14
NT – 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Interesting passage for the day: Yes, God will give you much so that you can give away much, and when we take your gifts to those who need them they will break out into thanksgiving and praise to God for your help. – 2 Corinthians 9:11, The Living Bible

Thought: I really struggle with ownership. I’m not saying that I have a hard time owning. I own much more than I need to own. But I struggle with that reality. On the one hand, I’m called to give thanks for God’s wonderful provision. On the other hand, I’m called to be generous. And I live with a sense of guilt that says I fall short in both areas. I’m neither as thankful nor as generous as I ought to be. And then when I start to think about how I ought to be managing our family finances and belongings in such a way that they grow to the point where I can still care for my wife when I get to old or weak to work, my sense of tension goes through the roof! How can I be thankful and content, yet seek more? How can I both build personal wealth and be generous to the extent that I believe God wants?

I can’t. I just can’t. I’m not perfect. And I don’t see perfection coming my way too quickly, either. In fact, I’ve come to the point that I believe this is a tension I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life. And Jesus will grow me in all three areas as the years go by. Sometimes I’ll take a leap forward in gratitude. Other times I’ll learn more about planning for the future and providing for my family. And other times I’ll soar into higher levels of generosity. But I doubt they’ll all be at once, at least not usually.

Which will require faith. That’s what I hear Paul encouraging the Corinthians to display: faith. Faith that God is the ultimate provider. Faith that, because He is, they can be generous and provide for others. Faith that expresses thanks to God for all He does and will do. Faith that rests in God to such an extent that others in turn have the chance to thank God, too. Faith that at the end of the day, our ownership isn’t about ownership at all, but about God’s wonderful love toward us, providing enough for us all and giving us gifts that transform us into thankful recipients rather than prideful owners and managers. We may not get it all down to a T, but we can walk by faith that allows us to grow, because we can rest in God’s perfection rather than ours.

Lord, grant me the faith to provide, to give, and to be thankful through it all. And by the way…thank You. Keep taking care of us all.

Question: What have you learned about being an owner? How have you learned not to let your possessions own you? Or are you still learning? What’s the journey of faith looking like for you?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Planned Generosity

ALL – Psalm 40:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 22:1
OT – Job 16:1-19:29
NT – 1 Corinthians 16:1-24

Interesting passage for the day: On every Lord’s Day each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week, and use it for this offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord has helped you earn. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. – 1 Corinthians 16:2, The Living Bible

Thought: Have you ever noticed that the New Testament seems to be much more interested in the heart of a giver than in the act of giving?

Don’t get me wrong. Jesus and the apostles definitely talk about giving. But they want us to give because we are givers. They want our actions to flow from our nature.

With that said, someone whose nature is generous will want to give, and someone who wants to give will want to consider making plans to give. The Corinthians had said that they would collect money to give to Christians in Jerusalem. So Paul talked with them about their plans. If they wanted to give substantially and helpfully, they would have to make plans and follow them. Paul urged them not to plan on a last-minute scramble to give. Instead, he encouraged them to give what they could each and every week until the gift was ready to be sent.

Too many of us are not generous. We want to hold on to as much of our money as possible. So we find other ways to justify ourselves as givers (when we can never justify ourselves—only Christ makes it so that we can get out of God’s courtroom safely). We spend our money quickly, so that “we just don’t have anything left to give this week.” Or we give a couple bucks each week or month, not giving generously because “the church doesn’t need my money.” Some of us claim, “I’m tithing my time instead”—which is ironic. Assuming that we’re awake 112 hours a week, you would expect to see us giving at least 11 hours each week to specifically kingdom-building activities, which rarely happens. It’s also ironic because none of the time we’re tithing ever seems to be money-earning time; that’s our time, not God’s.

Lord, may we recognize all that You’ve given us, repent of our selfishness, give ourselves entirely to You, and be transformed into generous people who scheme up ways to give even more.

Question: I’m convinced that I need to grow in generosity. Do you? What are some creative ways that we could extend our generosity?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Gimme!

ALL – Psalm 78:32-55
ALL – Proverbs 12:21-23
OT – Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27
NT – Luke 12:8-34

If we’re honest when it comes to getting new tools, new clothes, new movies, new music, new gadgets, etc., most of us sound like Ariel from the Little Mermaid: “Looking around here you think, “Sure, she’s got everything.”… But who cares? No big deal. I want more.”

Craving. Wanting. Coveting. Greed. It’s an epidemic that hits pretty much every home, and usually every member of every home. We’re sick people – sick with greed, sick with envy, sick with desire. And we think that the medicine for our condition is more stuff. “I don’t need much! Just this one thing, and I’ll be happy…”

If we’re honest, we’ll admit that our continuous acquisitions have not cured us. What we thought was medicine is actually poison; rather than curing us, each new gadget and each new toy we buy feeds our disease. And it’s killing us. We’re so sick for new clothes, new cars, new posters and new experiences that we gladly spend all our money on them, even when we end up running out of money for our heat, our water, or our food. And even those of us who are wealthy enough to spend as we desire without running out of money for our necessities are deadly sick; we would rather spend ridiculous sums on ourselves than on our needy neighbors or on the kingdom of God! What’s wrong with us?

That’s why Jesus said:

Beware! Don’t always be wishing for what you don’t have. For real life and real living are not related to how rich we are. – Luke 12:15, The Living Bible

He had a remedy for this sickness, too:

Sell what you have and give to those in need. – Luke 12:33, The Living Bible

The remedy for greed is generosity, not “buying just one more thing.” The remedy for sending life down the drain is giving life to those who are barely scraping by. The remedy for our selfishness is love—a love that gives.

Can you and I relax our grasping hands and give? What’s the struggle?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.