<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (Matthew 6:26)<\/p>\n Of all the times I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve asked God to help me or to provide something for me, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember ever asking Him for someone I can help or provide for. To the best of my knowledge, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always asked to get. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never asked to give.<\/p>\n I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve given and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve helped plenty of times (whatever \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcplenty\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> means). I just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that in the million times I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve asked God for<\/em> something, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever asked Him for the opportunity to give something to someone else. Maybe I have \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember.<\/p>\n I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m probably not alone in this. I used to think my situation was unique, but the more I talk to folks the more I discover that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m about as unique as a BB in a ball bearing factory. If I suffer from a form of evil selfishness, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably a very common strain.<\/p>\n But the term \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcselfish\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really cover this; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s deeper. Maybe \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbackwards\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> fits.<\/p>\n Think about our most popular giving<\/em> verses. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (Luke 6:38) Is it just me or is the emphasis always put on what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get in return, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 pressed down, shaken together and running over \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>?<\/p>\n Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a TV favorite, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (2 Corinthians 9:6) TV guy translation: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcSow your seed today (i.e. send me a check) so that you may reap the Lord\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bounty.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> Emphasis on the reaping<\/em>.<\/p>\n Sorry, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m picking on the TV guys again. That game can be played just as easily in person, by mail, on the radio or on the internet. TV just works better.<\/p>\n Still, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hear the other<\/em> seed verse much on TV; \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (John 12:24)<\/p>\n And for heaven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sake, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mention, Matthew 19:21 during share-a-thon<\/em> week! \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jesus answered, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcIf you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> First of all, the remit to<\/em> address is wrong; secondly, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no customer back-end: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you will have treasure in heaven.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> Where\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the payoff in that?<\/p>\n That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s enough sarcasm for one week.<\/p>\n The point I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m making is we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got giving backwards. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all about giving when it means we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing the receiving, and we can be talked into a little giving ourselves when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got iron-clad guarantees that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get a big return on our investment; but we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t focus much on giving just because that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what Jesus did and told us to do.<\/p>\n We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re to give to others because He gave to us \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 end of story. What we get, if anything, as a result of our giving is completely irrelevant to our reason for giving. And in God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s economy giving is way bigger than getting. Getting is a by-product of giving like lint is a by product of putting towels in the dryer. It comes with the process but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly not the reason to dry towels.<\/p>\n It would be extremely cool to balance out my God give me this, prayers<\/em> with God who can I give to<\/em> prayers. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to start doing that. If you want to do the same, go ahead.<\/p>\n And if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re stumped on who<\/em> to give to, here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a hint: open your Bible and read who Jesus gave to and who he told others to give to, and then read about who the apostles had the early churches taking up collections for. Chances are we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a lot of the same kinds of folks around today. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re as good a place to start as any.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n On a completely different note that has absolutely nothing to do with the subject above. I was pondering about something a few nights ago. Here it is:<\/p>\n What would it be like if we only kept enough of our resources to survive for one year? Everything else we gave away. Where would we be after the year was through?<\/p>\n What if we reserved enough for just six months \u00e2\u20ac\u201c giving everything else away? What if just enough for one month? What if we kept just enough for a day? What would our lives be like if we lived only in the moment; keeping what we needed at the moment and giving everything else away? What if we even gave away what we needed? Would we survive then?<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcEnough\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> is an illusion. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never had enough material wealth to feel secure in what I had. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always managed to eat and always had somewhere to sleep. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve worried about not surviving many, many, many times in my life; but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always survived. And starvation has never really been a serious personal threat.<\/p>\n Security in anything but God is an illusion. Outside of Him, security does not exist. The sudden disappearance of our investment accounts and retirement savings in the last two years has proven that. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWell, at least we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got food on the table and a roof over our heads.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 unless you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re one of the millions who have lost your job due to the economic meltdown and your home in the mortgage crisis. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWell, at least we have our health.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em> True dat \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 unless the swine flu, salmonella, HIV, or a city bus gets you first. There really isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a fool proof source of security in this world \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 just ask Michael Jackson.<\/p>\n Security can only be found in a personal God, Whose loving care surrounds you and engulfs you. His security is everywhere; proving itself every day, moment by moment. And yet we cling to an illusion and worry.<\/p>\n How hard would it be to simply let go of all the things that promise security but can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t provide it, and cling to the One thing that proves over and over to be the only real source of security?<\/p>\n What would our lives be like if we tested that security daily by giving everything else away and resting only in God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s promise to provide?<\/p>\n Pretty seditious questions, I know. Not very practical really. How would we pay the electric bill and where would the money for next week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s groceries come from?<\/p>\n Oh well \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 just a thought.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> (Matthew 6:33-34)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Matthew 6:26) Of all the times I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve asked God to help me or to provide something for me, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember ever asking Him for someone I can help or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[756,758,512,757,755,337,391],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-site-news","tag-2-corinthians-9","tag-give","tag-giving","tag-john-12","tag-luke-6","tag-matthew-19","tag-matthew-6"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}