along the subject of giving…
during my study i have realized
that the reason we do or do not give
comes down to our ex’s
ex #1 – excuses
excuses reveal what our priorities are not
my buddy Mac Richard
says it like this
“if it is a priority, you will make it happen”
so
if we don’t make it happen
even with the best of excuses
it is not a priority to us
that does not mean that there are not valid excuses
but the validity of your excuse proves that
the subject of the excuse itself was worth more to you
than the thing you are needing to feel excused from
did that confuse you?
it did me when i wrote it
you should have seen me looking at the sentence
with my head tilted like a puppy
read it this way
“i could not make it to the party because my child was sick”
it proves that your baby was more important than attending a party
valid excuse to anyone
the same logic works for
“i could not attend church on sunday because ___________”
whatever you place in the blank is more important to you than church attendance
“i could not [or] do not give because _________”
the blank outweighs the need
when it comes to giving
we have heard some good excuses
“i don’t because i do not have enough to give”
according to scripture you would have enough if you gave
[this does not just refer to money]
“my little bit would not make a difference”
tell that to the widow with one coin
or the boy with 2 fish
“i don’t give to the church because
i don’t trust that they will give it to those in need
so i just give it directly to the needy”
is the same accountability used for those in need
i hardly imagine that the needy are asked to convene a yearly business meeting
to show where the money went
or required to send out a monthly donation statement
accounting for each penny
do we really need to know exactly where the money is going in order to give
the blessing is not in the going
but in the giving
look
this whole giving thing is law
what you sow
you will reap
but even more than law
it is life
a way of living
our excuses do nothing but keep us from living abundantly
it is time to tell this ex goodbye for good
what excuses keep you from giving?
I keep trying to read this, but some homeless person keeps asking me for money…and that salvation army lady is ringing the bell too loudly so i can’t concentrate…and I don’t have any change to give them because I REALLY needed that coffee.
This is way too distracting…I think I will just wait and read it Sunday morning while you are preaching…
i literally laughed out loud!
Great word!! Great insight!! I loved the part about how the “blank outweighs the need.”