Faithfully living below our means

I was thinking a bit more about the finances issue and knew there was one more thing on my heart to share. It burns in my heart to call us as believers in Jesus to live below our means. I won't pretend to lay out some formula that we all need to abide by, but I really hope anyone who is reading this is prayerfully considering how they can better allocate their money resources for the Kingdom. This likely means buying and consuming less, borrowing from and lending to others more (sounds like Acts 2 to me), and denying our "wants." Beyond that, I'll let the Holy Spirit guide you -- please simply consider this!

Do you remember when Jesus and His disciples were in the temple and they were watching people come in and give their money? Many people gave large (likely impressive) sums of money and yet the highlight for Christ was the widow who gave her two mites. Don't overlook why! "They gave out of their surplus, but she gave all she had to live on. She gave out of her poverty."

This has been challenging to me because when I stopped receiving a paycheck, I wanted to stop giving. My natural inclination was to hunker down and try to conserve and save. Yet, here is my chance (more than any other time in my life perhaps) to give like that widow gave. I can cheerfully continue giving because although it will cause my money to "run out," I am convinced that if I get to the point where I have no more then I am that much more dependent on God.

He has never failed me so far, and to the contrary, has been amazingly generous in meeting not only my needs, but many of my wants. Is God calling you to give more? Giving away our money is perhaps the biggest way for Americans to demonstrate a true faith in God because money is often the object of our faith. And without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that He is and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Oh, that we will be people of faith in God's power, goodness and sufficiency.