“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.” – 2 Corinthians 9:8
I’ve always loved this verse because it ties up so beautifully with “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33). It shows us a Father in heaven that wants to bless His children, so that they too may become a channel of His blessings.
As we tackled the topic of money in our homeschool math, the Lord impressed upon me to use this time to teach my child about how God wants us to use money. We’ve learned all about identifying USD pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and dollars, as well as PHP centavos and pesos; we’ve added and subtracted them and played “grocery” with real coins. But we know that simply teaching the “value” of money (what it can actually buy in terms of it’s actual worth) is not the same as teaching them the “real value” of money (how money is a blessing from God and that how we manage it now determines it’s kingdom’s worth).
I remembered that just a couple of days ago, a sister-in-Christ had a conversation with the kids wherein the kids asked her if she could get all the minions from McDonald’s. She replied that she would not be able to do so because she only had a “little money.” My little girl remarked, “Then just go to the bank and get more!”
A child’s innocent answer does seem amusing and how fun it would indeed be if all we had to do every time we ran out of cash was go to the ATM and it would spit out money without fail.
But alas, it isn’t so.
And so, yesterday, I explain to her in the simplest way I can the concepts about businesses and workers and salaries and that kind of stuff. And how daddy’s salary is given monthly and how we should be wise in spending it so that we will have enough until the next salary comes in.
Then we talked about how we as a family seek to obey God’s will to help others through giving. We memorized 2 Corinthians 9:8 since it is a promise that we hold on as a family.
Indeed, we try to live this verse out when God’s Spirit prompts us to do so. And I’m sharing it now here not so that we could boast, but to encourage others to also involve their children in ministry work. For truly we have nothing to boast about, because in all honesty we are able to give out of our abundance while others give out of their lack.
But as we grow in the grace of God, we are made to understand that “giving” does not always mean that it would have to really hurt before it becomes real (as in selling all your possessions and giving it to the poor as mentioned in Matthew 19:21), nor does does the poor need to wait until they have an excess before they can give (just look at the poor widow from Mark 12:41-43 who gave 2 small copper coins even though that was all that she had). Instead, we are to learn how to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings, whether it be to commit a monthly support for a ministry, a one-time love offering to a minister of God, providing for a loved one’s need, or a time to give to those who are victims of calamities or other similar situations.
Cheerful giving is a response to God’s call, and the only requirement is for it to be motivated by none other than God’s love. We have different levels of the ability to give, and God will not measure us by comparing the amount we offer to that of our fellow believers, but God looks at how each one uses what He has given us.
The parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 makes it plain that God does not take from the rich to give to the poor — it is the world who thinks that way. Instead, we are shown that to those who prove themselves as good stewards of what God gave them, more is given as a reward. While for those who do not make good use of what they have been given, even the little they have will be taken away from them and again be entrusted to those who have shown themselves to be responsible.
“For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” – Matthew 25:29
PRAYER:
Lord, we thank You that You have blessed us abundantly and provided for all our needs. Truly You are our Jehovah Jireh, Our Provider, and Your grace is sufficient for all of us. Forgive us if we have not made good use of the blessings You have so generously given us. We know Lord, that it is Your good will that Your children be a channel of Your blessings. And so God, please touch our hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in how to be good stewards of the blessings your graciously entrust us with. For we know that the reason You supply us all our needs according to Your riches in glory is so that we may also abound in every good work, and that as we give, we may lead others to recognize Your goodness and praise Your holy name. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.