What You've Got

If you had eight million dollars, how much of it would you give to God?

Ten percent? Twenty-five percent? As much as fifty percent?

Good for you.

Do you have eight million dollars?

I didn't think so.

But... how much are you giving of whatever you do have? That same fifty percent?

Well, how about twenty-five percent? 

Are you at least giving the traditional ten percent?

If you are, you may be shocked at what the average American is giving to good causes of any sort: barely more than two percent of his income. And as usual, the average American Christian tends to be hard to distinguish from his secular counterpart here.  

We can rationalize to the end of the world that ten percent of our income is hardly anything anyway, that we can barely make ends meet as it is, that if God wants more from us He should give us more.

But remember that in the parable of the talents, the servant who failed to invest his money got no leniency on the grounds that he had started with less than the others.

And remember Paul's words from 2 Corinthians 8:1-5: "And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will."

Those Macedonian Christians, who had every human justification for pleading they "couldn't afford" to give, were not only willing to do so; they considered it a privilege not to be missed. The key to that attitude is near the end of the passage: "They gave themselves first to the Lord." Yes, they started by willingly offering the one thing everyone has and no one can fully lose without his consent: their very selves. Once that was done, the willingness to give up lesser things came easily.

How much of yourself are you giving to God? Two percent? Ten percent?

Even ninety-nine percent isn't enough. He can't do everything He wants to do in your life until He has the full one hundred percent.

It's not what you could give in service,
If you had a million or two,
So much as the things you're now doing
With all that's been given to you.

It's not what you could say for Jesus,
If you had the platform of fame,
So much as the things you're now saying
And doing each day in His name.

When called to account for your lifetime,
Will you answer, full of excuse,
"Well, I had the greatest intentions,
But God gave me little to use"?

He's given you all that is needed,
Right now this immediate day,
For whatever work He's assigned you--
Are you walking now in His way?

For if you neglect what He's given,
What sense lies in wishing for more?
The Lord is a generous Giver,
Who holds endless riches in store,

But keeps them reserved for the wisest,
Who realize that small things will grow,
When used in His ways and His service,
To things far more grand than you know!

My Life Is the Lord's

For many, "giving to the Lord" stops with what goes into the Sunday offering plate. But if we want to become the best Christians we can be, our giving must go much further. We remain only shallow believers until we honestly say to God, "Everything in my possession--my money, my time, even my life--is Yours to use, take away, or destroy as You please."

Actually, our lives should be first on the list. Paul reported that the Macedonian Christians of his day were particularly generous with their resources because "they gave themselves first to the Lord" (2 Cor. 8:5, NIV). If we start by offering the whole package, the small details will follow naturally.

Which would you rather be: a worldly Christian keeping all you can for yourself and accomplishing only worldly goals; or a totally committed Christian who, rich or poor, is helping to advance God's Kingdom?

My work is the Lord's; every task I do,
May it be for Him and His purpose true:
He does His own work with my good in mind,
And calls me to work of the purest kind.

My mind is the Lord's, every thought a prayer;
May no bitter longing be rooted there:
He set His own mind to His people's best,
And, Christ's mind within, I can stand each test.

My heart is the Lord's; by His power above,
May my every act be performed in love:
He set His own heart on this soul of sin--
Now I can love too, by His strength within.

My life is the Lord's; every hour He'll give,
Let my one desire be for Him to live:
He gave His own life to reclaim my soul,
And only in Him can my life be whole.

My all is the Lord's: all my mind and heart;
Each thing that I do, to the smallest part;
Each minute and hour--He gives all to me,
And I, as His slave, become truly free.

Every Moment Is God's Moment

In the mid-twentieth century, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Psalm of Life was the most popular poem in the United States. The following borrows from Longfellow's rhyme and meter and, to some extent, his subject matter. We all need a rousing call, from time to time, to stir us from the idleness that dreams constantly of the past or the future, but lets the present pass by unheeded.

However, the busy life is no great improvement on the lazy one if busy toward the wrong goals and projects. The world is full of people who spend their lives chasing "success" and die wishing they'd taken more time to just be--or who literally kill themselves with activity before they realize what's happened.

Most tragic is the Christian who is too busy to hear God telling him that there's something else he should be doing. The weekly day of rest was probably included in the Ten Commandments not only to keep us from wearing ourselves out physically, but to get our minds away from the world's input for a while, so we could listen undistracted for our Creator's voice.

Which is not to say we should ignore Him the rest of the time. He gave us our hours and our lives; but they still belong to Him by right. He may tell us, at any time, to drop what we planned and take on work He has planned for us. Every moment is His moment.

Every moment is God's moment;
Every hour is His alone.
We, redeemed by Christ's atonement,
Dare not count our time our own.

Serving God is not a question
How much of our time we give:
His commandment--not suggestion--
Is for Him alone we live.

Do not say you'll do it later;
No tomorrow can be sure.
Give today to your Creator:
Only His work will endure.

Do not mourn the past times squandered;
Do not say your chance is lost.
Every soul that ever wandered
Finds fresh chances in the Cross.

To our God all time is current;
Past and future, in His eyes,
All are one, and no occurrence
Ever caught Him by surprise.

All your talents, all your earnings,
Are yours by God's grace alone:
Take your cravings, take your yearnings;
Sacrifice them at His throne.

Stewardship is not a question
Of how much of ours we give:
God's commandment--not suggestion--
Is for Him alone we live.

Put no trust in earthly treasures,
All of which are quickly lost.
Put no stock in fleshly pleasures;
Flesh belongs upon the Cross.

Give yourself--your skills and talents,
Every penny of your wealth--
To the Lord, Who holds in balance
All of life and strength and health.

Give your earthly days to labor,
Ever seeking for God's will:
When we meet our Heavenly Neighbor,
There'll be joy in service still.