It All Belongs To God
“When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 drachmas of gold, 5,000 minas of silver and 100 priestly garments.” Ezra 2:68-69
There is this insightful story John Maxwell told that we can learn from, he said, “My friend James Crocker is a successful entrepreneur, he and a few of his friends went out on a boat trip to fish for lobsters and had succeeded in gathering a massive catch of 125 lobsters.
When he got home, he had a freezer full of lobsters, more than enough to last him an entire year.
The day after James got home, his friend Jeff dropped by the house, and James offered him a lobster. Jeff was delighted. This interaction prompted James to ask himself, ‘Who else do I know who might like to have a lobster?’ James got so excited by the idea of giving friends lobsters that by the end of the week, he had given away 122 lobsters, leaving only three for himself.
He had such a great time giving, that he didn’t even mind that his supply had dwindled from enough for a year to enough for a meal.
A few days later, James went into his garage and was assaulted by a terrible stench. He followed his nose to the freezer and opened it to find that the electricity had gone out, and his remaining three lobsters had spoiled. As he cleaned up the mess, he felt sorry for himself. But then he remembered all the lobsters he had given away, and it gave him great joy.
If he hadn’t shared his bounty with others, all of it would have been wasted.”
All that we own belongs to God; we are His stewards.
Praise the Lord that He has given you charge of some of His wealth and learn to give to others as He would give.
The saying is true, ‘You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.’
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38