Hey Westside,
Three types of people will read this message. The first group will read with eyes and hearts wide open – wanting to grow in God and serve Him with all of their hearts. They take seriously the words Jesus spoke when He said: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”
The next group will read over it, agree in principal, but never make any adjustment in their attitude or actions. The third type of person will either say this doesn’t apply to them or completely disagree with it. Which type will you be? Here’s the message:
God takes our attitude and actions regarding
our money and possessions very seriously.
One day Jesus was with His disciples and He wanted to teach them a lesson. So He sat down right across from the collection box in the temple where people put their offerings. A widow put in two small coins. I’m sure she was embarrassed at the sound it made and that everyone would notice the small amount of her offering. Then came along others who where much more well off (and quite probably nice people) who put in much larger amounts . . . and the crowd noticed that too.
Jesus’ response was to commend the widow. Would that be our response? Or, would we tell her to save it for food? Jesus then went on to say that all the others simply gave out of their abundance, but she gave all she had.
“Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Now, the point here is not that we all go out and drain our bank accounts and put it in the offering. The main point here is that God watches what we do with our money. It says that Jesus “sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box.” I believe that what we do with our things and our finances is very important to God because it represents where our treasure is . . . it shows where our heart is.
Over the next few weeks we will be talking about being Good Stewards with our finances. This is where the “rubber meets the road” so to speak. Will we listen to what God is saying? Will we make the attitude adjustments necessary? Or, will we miss an opportunity to give glory to God in all that we say and do? Please pray for me as I preach on this subject. Pray that I will share the truth without compromise, and also share it with the absolute love of God as its’ centerpiece.
In Him,
Steve