Jesus talked a lot about giving. In fact, Jesus talked more about money than he talked about love, heaven or hell. He talked about money more than any other topic except the Kingdom of God.
Why? Because people desperately need wisdom when it comes to their finances. Many of us are living paycheck to paycheck and drowning under debt. Money is the one thing people argue about most in their marriages. No matter who you are, saving, giving, and managing money is probably a challenge.
So let’s start with this statement. You are rich….
According to statistics, if you make over $40,000 a year you are in the top 4% in the world, and if you make over $48,000 a year, you are in the top 1% of earners in the world. We enjoy a quality of life that very few in the history of the world have every experienced. Our biggest concern is not starvation, but obesity!
However, the more people make, the less they give away….
Our priorities have gotten out of whack. When we care more about the stuff we’ve accumulated than helping out those in need, when we care more about the money we’re making than spending time with our family, and when we look to the money in our back accounts instead of looking to God for our security, we need to totally change our relationship to money.
In the fourth full week of the Red Letter Challenge, we will see that Jesus challenges his followers to be generous. The more I read the words of Jesus, the more I’m convinced it’s impossible to be a stingy Christian. We cannot follow Jesus well and at the same time ignore his teaching on money. If you are truly following Jesus, you are generous.
(Source: Zach Zehnder, Red Letter Challenge, pp. 30-32.)
#redletterchallenge #day4 #giving
Farewell to Shadowlands 