As we conclude our examination of balance or the lack of it, let’s return to where we started. A wise man of Israel reflected on his wealth and its effect on his relationship with God. He then formulated this prayer asking the Lord to help him maintain a wise balance: Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Read MoreCategory Archives: Stewardship
The Choice Is Yours
Let’s conclude our consideration of contentment with advice from an older pastor to his younger apprentice. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, warning about the dangers of discontentment. The younger pastor served in Ephesus, an ancient city whose economy thrived on the practice of magic and divination, and whose commerce depended upon the influx of pilgrim money to the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven ancient wonders.
Read MoreFor Willingness to Express Generosity
Many will seek the favor of a generous man, And every man is a friend to him who gives gifts. (Proverbs 19:6) We stand before You, our Father, as an act of allegiance and submission. And we bow before You in humility and trust. We desire to follow You. Every day, it’s an uphill climb. It is often an internal battle to stand firm in what we believe and to model what You have asked of Your people in a world that is self-serving.
Read MoreContentment
Let’s take a brief look at greed. Practically speaking, greed is an inordinate desire for more, an excessive, unsatisfied hunger to possess. Like an untamed beast, greed grasps, claws, reaches, clutches, and clings—stubbornly refusing to surrender. The word enough is not in this beast’s vocabulary. Akin to envy and jealousy, greed is nevertheless distinct.
Read MoreSlowing Down before the Holidays
APPOINTMENTS, ACTIVITIES, ASSIGNMENTS . . . demands, decisions, deadlines . . . schedules, services, seminars . . . plans, people, programs . . . STOP! Sit down and think. Think about your pace. How in the world did you get trapped in the busyness cycle? What is it down inside your boiler room that keeps pouring the coal to your fire? Consider the past three or four months. Has anything significant been accomplished? Probably not, if you’re honest.
Read MoreProsperity
MOST OF US rise to meet adversity with our best character. However, our true character comes out when things go really well. It’s easy to become arrogant, self-sustaining, conceited, greedy, and condescending at such times.
Read MoreFound Faithful
If you return to Job 1:3, you can read what Job originally owned. He had 7,000 sheep, and he winds up with 14,000. So his flocks grow as he feeds them and breeds them. Their numbers increase to twice the original flock.
Read MoreGod Owns It All
Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and author of yesteryear, wrote in The Picture of Dorian Gray, “Young people, nowadays, imagine that money is everything . . . and when they grow older they know it!”1Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003), 35. Another statement on money I especially like […]
Read MoreGiving Is Godlike
Shortly after World War II, the saddest sight for American soldiers who were picking up the pieces in ravaged Europe, was that of little orphaned children starving in the streets of those war-torn cities.
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