…when the time for the
offering came around during the Sunday morning service, my mind wandered and I
began to think about hands… our hands… my hands… How many things come and go
through our hands…?
Most specifically, I
began to think about how money comes and goes through our hands. What
is the purpose of money? Money
isn’t meant to be worshipped, hoarded, or coveted… Money is only a means by which we can get some physical
needs met… I’ve lived a lot of my life thinking that money is the answer to
almost every need… If I had more money, I could be self-sufficient… It provides
a sense of security, no matter how false it may be… The Bible has much to say
about money…
“Do not wear yourself out to
get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a
glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly
off to the sky like an eagle.” – Proverbs
23:4-5
“Wealth is worthless in the
day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” – Proverbs 11:4
“…give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too
much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.” – Proverbs
30:8-9
Even Jesus reminds us how
to have a right view of riches when teaching the parable about the rich man…
The rich man worked hard all his life and stored up all the riches that he had.
He even built storage units in which to store all the wealth he had gained. And
so, he said to himself, “You have plenty
of good things laid up for many years. Take
life easy, eat, drink and be merry.” Jesus tells us what God’s response
was, “But God said to him, ‘You fool!
This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you
have prepared for yourself?’”
And so, Jesus concluded, “This is how it
will be with anyone who stores up
things for himself but is not rich
toward God.” (passage found in Luke 12:13-21) Wow. What sobering words!
Our hands are meant to
remain open or loosely clasped, so that we can receive and so we can give. Even
Job reminds us that, “Naked we came from
our mother’s womb and naked we will return.” (Job 1:21) When we leave this
planet, we will not take anything physical with us…
There is a strange
dichotomy in the order God has set in the world…
“One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds
unduly, but comes to poverty.” –
Proverbs 11:24
“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” – Proverbs 11:25
And, so I’m reminded to keep my
hands open, so that I can give AND
receive. When we are holding things in
our hands, they are not open to receive OR able to give. There are so many
things that I have kept in my life and, to be honest, I continue to keep. Yet,
I believe God is calling me to give more…
In Chronicles, I’m
reminded that all we have comes from
God… “Everything comes from You [God], and we have given You only what comes
from Your Hand.” (1 Chronicles 29:14). And so, nothing that I have is
truly my own. So I need to carefully consider what I use it for, knowing that I
will be held accountable to it and knowing that it’s not truly my own… Wow.
This is tough, but I believe what God I’m called to…
And so, I seek to live
with open hands, giving all I have back to the LORD, using it for His purposes, not on my own pleasures,
lest I miss the blessing of being a blessing…
