Giving Til it Hurts.

Jesus said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! Luke 18:24

Jesus said this after a rich young man turned away when Jesus asked him to sell all he had and come be one of his disciples.

All his disciples had left their jobs to follow Jesus. They all depended on the offerings and gifts of those who believed in Jesus' work. It was risky. Jesus had nothing with which to pay them wages. Peter was married and presumably had children. James and John had worked with their father in the fishing trade. Their father must have had to hire other workers. Matthew was a tax collector and wealthy; Jesus had probably asked him to sell everything too.

Jesus once sent his disciples out to preach and heal the sick. After they returned from their trip he asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered. God will supply our needs when we work for him.

There is a story of another rich man, Zacchaeus. He was also a tax collector. In those days that occupation was looked on with disgust. Most tax collectors lied to the people and charged them more than the Romans had asked for. Also, people hated paying taxes to the Romans.

But Zacchaeus had heard of Jesus' teaching and had repented. He heard Jesus was going through town and wanted to see him. He was surprised when Jesus told him he would come to his house.

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham."

It certainly isn't a sin to be rich; but it is important what we do with our money. All of us, rich and poor. All through the Bible God tells us to help the poor. I like what C.S. Lewis said about giving, "Giving to the poor is an essential part of Christian morality. I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I’m afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, and amusement, is up to the standard common of those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little."

What Do You Treasure?

"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart."  Luke6:45

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Luke 12:34

Jesus said that whatever we treasure fills our minds and hearts. If we want to make a lot of money then money is on our thoughts a good deal of the time and we will talk about that. I have met people like that. They talk about money and what they would do with it every time you visit them.

If we worry about our children, then we talk about them all the time. We worry and fret and try to fix their problems. If we we care about our career too much then our thoughts are always at work and we can't relax. Take any subject on earth, sex, drugs, or video games, it can become our treasure.


What's the answer?  "And He (Jesus) was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides." Mark 4:25

Being careful of what you listen to is the first step. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing the word of God. (Romans 10:17)  

"For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God." Proverbs 2:3-5

God promises us that if we seek for knowledge of Him we will find it. He says to search for him as for hidden treasures. If you knew the general area of a place that had a hidden treasure of gold pieces, wouldn't you spend lots of time trying to find it? 

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."  Matthew 13:44

God says it is worth all we have to find Him. He is the treasure above all other treasures. He is worth more than gold, silver or lands and houses. 

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  Matthew 19:21

For the man Jesus was talking with, his treasure was his wealth. Jesus asked him to be one of his disciples. He could join the 12 in following Jesus day by day and learning of salvation. But his heart was in his riches and he turned away from Jesus.

"Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life."  1 Timothy 6:18,19

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  Matthew 16:26

Sharing.

Acts 4:32-35

"And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostle's feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need."

I wish our churches were like this. I know churches do a lot of good, but think of the good each member could do if he sold the extra things he had and gave to the poor. I know of a person in the news who owns 7 houses. What if he sold 6 and gave to the poor? He would still have one house, which is all he needs.

I have read that Bill Gates has challenged all the billionaires of America to give half what they have to the poor. I was thrilled to hear him say this, and excited to see that a lot of rich people have agreed with him. This is a wonderful thing and I hope they especially help the people who are out of work right now and people who are losing their homes. May God bless them for what they are doing.