"A generous man will prosper, he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Proverbs 11:25
"Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."
Luke 12:33
"Give and it will be given unto you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
There is a verse in the Bible that tells us to cast our bread upon the waters and it will return to you. In other words, if you want something, let it go first. Show that you are willing to do without it, then you will have it. If you want to receive, give.
Look around at your possessions. Has the Lord blessed you with bounty? Do you really need all that you have? My niece read a book about paring down your stuff; the author says you can live with 100 items. Most everyone I talk to laments about their mountains of belongings that are weighing them down. Maybe you could have a garage sale and give the proceeds to your favorite charity?
I read about a Christian speaker at a conference who was trying to drive home the message about serving two masters, God and Money. How attached are we to our money or our belongings? He told the crowd to take our their wallets. "Caress it if you want, then hand it to the person on your right," he instructed. This brought apprhensive murmurings, but when he said, "Now we are going to pass the offering plate and I want everyone to be generous", there was quite an outcry!
A funny test, isn't it? But, I think we can all do with some housecleaning, physically and spiritually. Let go of it! Liberate yourself! Be generous with a great big measuring cup and you will be rewarded with more than you ever asked for.
It really is more blessed to give than to receive. Try it.
No comments:
Post a Comment