I'll tell you right away that at the end I'll be asking for money. Some of you might not continue reading because if you're like me, its always awkward when people straight out ask you for money. Fair enough.
But What If I told you that this post is not going to be about me, its going to be about something bigger than myself. Its about a Vision that God gave me that doesn't involve my own selfish needs or desires. It simply just involves a God who asked his daughter to GO, so she decided to walk in obedience even though she had no idea where the money and support was going to come from.
What if I told you that we can have all the dreams and visions until the day is long, but eventually vision becomes about money. You have to have the resources to do it. This vision to send me to Spain created by God, needs resources to make it fruitful. Seeing it come to fruition is when I graduate from this program, and I will then have the knowledge and the tools to continue making disciples all around the world.
Here is where this becomes a vision bigger than myself……. Generosity makes you feel rich. Generosity is the overflow of gratitude.
Don't feel rich? ha, either do I! But guess what? If you make $35K or more each year, you are in the top 3% of the world….. ever. Can't wrap your brain around that? Me either.
Here is what Relevant Magazine says, "Tithers (those who give 10% of their income to the church) make up only 10-25 percent of a normal congregation. Only 5% of the U.S. tithes, with 80% of Americans only giving 2% of their income. Now get this…….. Christians are only giving at 2.5% per capita, which during the Great Depression they gave at a 3.3% rate." Let that sink it for a second……….
So why don't we give? The real problem when it comes to our giving and generosity, is not about the money, or lack of. Here is what the bible says,
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be fully of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:21-23)
So the truth is: Giving is a heart issue, not a money issue. Another truth? I'm guilty.
I'll say it again. Think about it. Generosity makes us feel rich. Generosity is the overflow of gratitude. What would happen if the people of God took seriously the power of generosity? Statistics like this can cause a lot of guilt, which isn't the point here. The larger point is what would happen if believers were to increase their giving to a minimum of 10%. There would be an additional $165 billion for churches to use and distribute. The global impact would be incredible.
This is what would happen:
$25 billion could relieve global hunger, starvation and deaths from preventable diseases in five years.
$12 billion could eliminate illiteracy in five years.
$15 billion could solve the world’s water and sanitation issues, specifically at places in the world where 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day.
$1 billion could fully fund all overseas mission work.
$100 – $110 billion would still be left over for additional ministry expansion.
These numbers physically make me ill. Maybe because there could be an end to the kind of poverty that exists in this world. Maybe because we have the opportunity at our finger tips to baptize more brothers and sisters into the Kingdom of God, or maybe because I psychically just lived on these streets for 11 months, and saw the reality of what these numbers could do.
Friends, send me to the nations. I'm ready.
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9)
