July 13, 2022
Wednesday
Generosity
Philippians 4:10-19
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:”
For many years, analyses have shown that middle- and low-income people tend to give a greater percentage of their income to charity than high-income people do. The difference isn’t huge—three-plus percent to charity for middle-/low-income families, one-plus percent for high earners. It seems the more we have, the less we are willing to part with it.
Jesus made a point of praising people who give sacrificially instead of giving out of their abundance (Mark 12:41-44). And Paul praised the Macedonian churches who gave out of their poverty to help the church in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:1-4). Behind every instance of sacrificial giving is the promise that God’s grace will provide “sufficiency in all things.” Because giving is God-like, God’s abundance undergirds it.
Giving sacrificially and generously is a way to grow faith. God can’t fill a hand that has a tight grasp on money. God moves money into and out of our open hands.
A point to ponder…
The church treasurer counts what we give; God counts what we keep.
John Blanchard
Read the Bible through in a year
I love you!!!
© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich