As a progressive Christian, I believe there are many names for God and many ways to a loving God; this article reflects one of those ways. Take from here what works for you. Celebrate life with joy and peace!
Refreshing a healthy habit of giving starts with the understanding that everything we have comes from God.
We are only stewards of what God has already given us. The earth is God’s and all that is in it, as we read from Psalm 24:1. We don’t own our lives and even the things we have don’t belong to us. When we understand that we are just stewards of things, it’s easier to release them and give them back to God – the giver and source of all our blessings. Everything we have comes from God.
Jesus said, “We can’t serve two masters.” We will love God or love something else. Jesus is referring to money, or wealth, in his statement and the same is true today. If we love God above all things, then we are encouraged to be willing to relinquish our tight-fisted grasp on our wealth and material possessions.
In early 2001, several news stories came out about some towns in India being stricken by a plague of monkeys. The monkeys were so numerous that they would invade homes, bite people, and make off with food supplies. It was agreed the monkeys would have to be caught and then relocated in another jungle.
They tried many different ways, but none really worked. So, the people in these towns went back to a traditional method for catching them, using milk bottles instead of wooden barrels.
They gathered their old milk bottles, tied them to the ground, and then placed something sweet, such as a lollypop, inside the bottle. Then, when a monkey comes along and sees the sweet, he places his hand inside the bottle, but with the sweet enclosed in his palm, his fist is too big to get back out of the bottle. The monkey will pull and push and twist and turn in an effort to get that sweet out, but one thing he won’t do is he will not let it go, not even as his captors approach. And so the monkey is caught, literally with his hand in the cookie jar!
Although we know Jesus’ warning that materialism is destructive to our souls, we find it very difficult to let go of possessions and the need to consume and possess them.
The same applies to bitterness and forgiveness. Unless we let go of our hurts and bitterness, we will become trapped by the past, wanting to move forward, yet unable to – and it will continue to be difficult as long as we hold on to our pain and bitterness. Let it go, and be free.
Let us trust God to provide for our every need, not our every greed, trusting God to give us all that our lives require. Remember what Jesus said, after we seek God first, “and all of these other things we worry about will be given to us as well.”
Set a goal amount to give away. Giving is a law of the universe. It works. And back to a closed fist, we have to open our hands to receive.
My dad would often use this illustration of comparing the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea in the Holy Land. The Sea of Galilee is beautiful and vibrant and alive and healthy – and the Dead Sea is just the opposite. It’s dead. It’s stagnant. Why?
The Dead Sea has no outlet. It only receives. It only takes. It never gives. And then it keeps it all bottled up and the result is a lack of life and health and vibrancy and freshness.
And the Sea of Galilee has water coming in and also let’s water out. It receives and gives. This gives life. It’s “in the giving, you receive.”
He also said this, “You can’t pour happiness on someone else without spilling a few drops on yourself.” Thanks dad for sharing your wisdom.
Live within your means. Here’s some more practical spirituality! Live within your means. Being a good steward means living within our means; respecting our income levels, building up savings, and not overspending.
One of the best ways to know where your money goes is to develop a budget. Track your income and your expenses and only use the excess income you have to make special purchases. Develop a plan to get out of debt (there are so many available resources).
Also, thank God for the blessings you do have. Develop a positive attitude around your relationship with money. When a bill comes in for your utility bill, for example, instead of getting upset and thinking again – all they want from me is my money – try approaching it with, “Thank you, God, for the electricity and gas I had this past month to have hot water, and lights, and watch TV, and cook – and thank you that SDG&E trusted me enough to give me this even before I paid for it. I’m so blessed!” Try it for a month.
And lastly, trust God to take care of you. God loves you and every aspect of your life. Jesus instructs us to seek first the realm of God and everything else will be added to our lives. Jesus shares this with us because we are in the hands of God.
Jesus said that God cares for the sparrows, and even sees when a sparrow falls to the ground. And God knows and sees your needs too. When we give to God, God honors our gifts and promises to take care of us.
Let’s count our blessings; yes, name them one by one. For God’s faithfulness and God’s blessings, let’s give thanks and praise!
