12 October, 2017

Magic Pennies

The gifts of God are greatest when they are shared.  


That's what I was taught as a teen.  I'm a logical person, so the idea of sharing something in order to increase it is nonsensical.  And yet, experience has taught me that logic is not applicable to the working of God.  

Early in our marriage, Dan and I were were confident that we could not afford to give anything but our time and talent to the church or to any other charity.  So we volunteered often and wrote checks to pay off our education debts and quarterly taxes. It seemed we always teetered on the edge of bouncing checks. We ate a lot of 10 cent ramen noodles from Aldi's.  And we were dependent upon food stamps and WIC supplements while our children were young.  

I'm not sure what it was that led us to budget differently.  Once we did, we did not look back.  We made two decisions that changed how we dealt with money. First, we changed the order of priorities in finances: rather than starting by paying the bills, we paid ourselves first by putting a set percentage of each paycheck into an "emergency fund";  and we made our offering to the church the second priority as a tithe that increased over time.  Once these were out of the bank, we paid bills and lived on whatever was left over.  Second, we learned to be choosy in what we purchased; we asked if we really needed something -- and if we would still need it in 2 months -- and then waited the 60 days before we purchased it -- and always paid for it with cash.

The habits we formed made a world of difference for how we live, for our health, and for our marriage.  Money (or rather the lack of money) stopped controlling us.  We learned to appreciate and prefer the things that don't require a purchase.  And, we became addicted to generosity.  There is no logic to this, but the more we give away, the richer our lives have become.  When we practice generosity, we depend more upon God and less upon ourselves; generosity builds and strengthens our faith.

Just as prayer, worship, daily devotional practices, and studying the Bible can enhance our spiritual lives, giving is one of the most significant spiritual exercises Jesus taught.  Well over half of the parables of Jesus deal with possessions and money.  Over 10% of the verses in the gospels are related to money and possissions.  In the New Testament, there are 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 on faith, but over 2000 verses on money an dpossessions.  In other words, Jesus taught that our relationship to money and material wealth determined whether we were at a roadblock or on the path toward faith.  

Jesus teaches that giving is first and foremost a spiritual act and only secondarily a financial act.  In the spiritual practice of giving, our faith informs our giving.  Giving is something we do because of God's goodness to us.  The more we know and trust God, the more freely and graciously we give in every area of our lives.  
The topics of money and giving are often shunned in churches.  I believe, however, that if we are following the lead of Jesus, giving is our most important spiritual exercise.  What we give, why we give, and to whom we give speak volumes about our relationship with God.  

In this stewardship season, I encourage you to look at what your budget says about your relationship with God.  Then make a decision about what you want your relationship with God to look like in your budget.  

May God's peace and joy fill your heart.  

Carly


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