Give a Little More

“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything; you may have an abundance for every good deed;” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8. 

The church is sometimes seen as always asking for money.  After all, if the doors are open, odds are the offering plates will be passed around at least once or twice.  This scripture is often used as an indicator that we should give generously to the church.  While giving to the church is admirable, I think we need to remember that there are times we need to give more than money.  

We may give our time to make things better for someone outside of the church.  We may not think that painting our neighbor’s garage or offering an encouraging word to someone who is hurting is giving, but it is.  It speaks volumes of Jesus’ love.  The heart of the gospel is not contained in a checkbook, but in our willingness to invest our time in others.  That is what Jesus did.

Now, give a little more.

Degrees of Truth

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?  What will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of his Father with holy angels.”  Mark 8:36-38.

One of the trends in business is the tendency to cheapen the value of truth.  Ethics have been reduced to helping one decide when it is okay to tell a lie and when it is necessary to tell the truth.  Hype and spin are rationalized by assigning degrees of truth to lies. 

With Jesus there are no degrees of truth; there is truth.  Jesus calls us to confront those who engage in sinful practices and to publicly acknowledge that we stand on our Christian faith.

Be brave.  Ask, “What would Jesus do?”  Then do it. 

A Test is a Test

“Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. …So he brought the people down to the water.  And the Lord said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.”  Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth was 300 but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink the water.  The Lord said “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped….”  Judges 7:4-7.

When it comes to an army, we all tend to think that bigger is better.  God does not operate with the same logic as we do.  He cut Gideon’s army down from 10,000 recruits to 300, and pulled off a spectacular defeat of the enemy.  We need to have faith that God knows what He is doing when he chooses us for His army and that what we think we lack in skills He will make up.

Now, take courage as you go to battle.

Stealth Wisdom

“Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.”  Proverbs 17:28.

I had a job working in sales and one the best sales people told me that if I didn’t know the answer to a customer’s question to make something up.  I tried it and the customer caught me in my ignorance because it turned out that he knew more about the product than I did.  I looked stupid and felt stupid. 

I learned the bliss of ignorance is best not shared. 

Now, look wise.

Catch Some ZZZZs

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”  1 Corinthians 10:13.

Life is cluttered with temptations to sin.  It may be friends who challenge us to drink too much or try drugs.  It might be the temptation that comes with handling large amounts of cash and knowing a little of it probably will not be missed.  It might be an opportunity to fudge the numbers on our time sheet.  Almost always something inside of us justifies doing wrong by chanting, “Everybody does it.” 

As easy as we can say “yes,” we can say “no” because Christ in us strengthens us against temptations.  Our escape from sin is an escape from a life of regrets to a life of peace and a good night’s sleep. 

Now, toughen up and sleep soundly.

Count to Ten

“… But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”  James 1:19-20.

The biggest problem I have when I am angry is that I don’t get anything done.  I waste all my energy fuming about whatever or whoever it is that I am ticked off at.  Then there is that problem of running my mouth excessively when I am mad.  Not to mention that both of these cause me to become deaf to any and all possible explanations regarding whatever it is that I am mad about. 

James three good points: listen, evaluate, speak and count to ten before getting mad. 

Now, take ten and be righteous.