How to...Get Mo out of your MONEY!
So how do you like the hat? Picture was taken at Disney Springs in Florida. We were on a family vacation. This fine Irish pub/cafe was one of our stops it also had a little shop full of Scottish/Irish treasures and the hat was the one I selected it reminds me of my people. lol
We had a great time most of our immediate family was able to go. Allison (my granddaughter) especially enjoyed the Irish dancers and singers in fact she decided to dance along with them. Great fish and chips at this place I might add.
I admit to struggling with the title on this post. I know creative titles can draw you into the article, so that's what I attempted to do here. This "How to" series of posts is intended to give you practical tools, ideas, understandings about the subject matter so you can put it to work in your life. If this is the first one you have read let me encourage you to go back and read at least a few of the other six "How to" posts.
In Christian circles we talk a great deal about what we "Ought to do" but it seems we fall short on showing "How". So that's what these posts are intended to do for you. Help you know "How" to get started. Another great resource for this post, you can find at: www.gp.church/sermons a few weeks back a talk I gave titled "Extraordinary Generosity" may also be helpful.
MONEY...
Our view of money clouds our decision making about it. To succeed in getting more out of our Money we need a clear view of money. We see our money as:
-Security, Power,Self worth, Prestige, Freedom, Enjoyment, Pleasure, Happiness, even Necessary
If I were to ask a person in a third world country that makes 50 dollars a week if they felt rich they would probably say No. If I asked them how much money they needed weekly to make them feel rich they may say 100 dollars a week. You and I would not consider that to be rich. But in a country where the monthly rent on your 1 bedroom apartment is 50.00, utilities are 17-20 dollars, that would leave you a nice bit of cash to finish out the month.
“As long as we view money as a measure of our worth we will always believe we need more or we can’t do more. ”
The point is this: No one really believes they are rich. It is always the other guy who is rich. As long as we view money as a measure of our worth we will always believe we need more or we can't do more. An incredible thing about learning to put God first in your Money is...You learn you can do more with less. You learn you can do more and more and more and God see's to it that you are replenished.
“How you grapple with the resupply issue from God will have everything to do with how generous you are in the future”
The "How to" for this issue will require you take some "trust" steps. There is just no way to change your view on money without real action. You can be inspired by stories I share of people who changed their minds and life view about what money is, but in the end nothing will change for you until you act. It is in our action that our view changes.
When it comes to money there is just some firm math we come to grips with. If I have 100 dollars and I give you 100 dollars to help you out, the math says I have 0 dollars left. But the math is not allowing for the work of the resupplier. That's why you can't see it until you do it.
Matthew 14:13 begins the story of the miracle where Jesus feeds 5000 people with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish. Now we know from the story that everyone ate until they were full.
"20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers."
This is just one of hundreds of scriptural examples we have of the work of the resupplier. The hard math did not work: 5 loaves of bread + 2 small fish does not = FEEDING 5000 HUNGRY PEOPLE.
Likewise we look at our monthly budgets and recognize we need 100% of our income to make it work. To subtract 10% and give that to our local church for the work of ministry just does not add up. Who will make up the 10% difference. It is too risky to act and trust. Our view of money says we need to see and then we can trust. How about an advance 10% and then I will give.
We all believe we would do more if we had more but statistics reveal that the more a person makes in annual income the less they give. In fact the largest segment of givers per capita to charity and non-profits are people who make 50,000 or less. Why is that? Because of the way we learn to view money we don't view equal sacrifice as a high value. A person who earns 50,000 a year may give 5,000 of that away each year. A person who earns 500,000 a year may give 25,000 away each year. One looks much bigger but one is a much greater sacrifice.
When Michele and I got married way back in 1983 we had to make a decision about giving. We both practiced generous giving as single adults but now that we were married our expenses were increasing. Could we trust God to resupply us? We made a decision to trust God and we have never looked back. NO REGRETS. God has supplied for every need and the picture above is a nice reminder to me of how God takes such good care of us. He has always been so faithful.
How can you start? The operative word is "Start". I would encourage you to make a step of trust. God has asked us to take care of "His" church and promised He will take care of us. Make the kind of step that requires Trust in God. It may be a tiny step at first but make it anyway. Your view of money will change. You will see God as your source and not your bank account, employer, mattress money.
Additionally you will get engaged in helping change "lives" for eternity. Recently I have been saying to our church "Attending the Grace Place weekly is good for your soul". Jesus brings the kind of life change needed to heal broken marriages and relationships. Jesus heals broken people, sick people, hurting people.
If you want to learn more about the Grace Place contact us at info@gp.church you can also follow our weekly messages at www.gp.church/sermons