12/29/2022
Are we stingy with what God has given us? Do we hold back gifts from those in need, and forget that all we possess is from God? We are to be good stewards of what we have been given, but that doesn’t mean that we are to selfishly horde it, or bury it in the ground as in the parable of the talents. We are to glorify God by giving thanks to Him for His provision, but we should be multiplying our thanks by giving as He directs us, to others so that they too will glorify Him by their thanks.
“You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”
2 Corinthians 9:11, 15 ESV
It is good that we thank God for what He has given us; food to eat, drink to quench our thirst, a home to protect us from the elements, a family to raise and love, friends to share ourselves with, enemies to show His mercy to by our love, but just as we give God thanks for these things, we are to share them and the love we have been given in them so that each recipient will thank our Father for these blessings as well. We are not meant to simply keep them safe, but to invest them in others so that they can receive their blessings and offer God their own thanks for what He has given them through us.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!”
1 Chronicles 16:8-10 ESV
How do we give to others, and share our gifts? Do we do so in a way that a good manager would, by neither hoarding nor frivolously wasting what He has provided us? No, we are to increase what has been given to us so that these proceeds can be used as a help to those in need, and so that by sharing in them they too will give God the thanks, and thus glorify Him further. In this way we see the increase of our master’s talents, and glory.
“To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.”
Matthew 25:15, 18 ESV
We are meant to glorify God by our thanksgiving, and to allow others to do the same by sharing the bounty He has given us with them, but for this to be done our giving must not be in our own name, but in the name of Jesus Christ, and God the Father. The gifts we are given are not meant to bring us glory, but to glorify our Lord God, and the regifting of what we have received is the same… the gift of food we give the hungry should clearly be attributed to God lest we usurp His glory in some way. Similarly, to heal someone and not give God His due means nothing in heaven, and saves no lost soul here on earth, but it does show that we sadly consider ourselves to be the god of our own life… that we worship ourselves above God.
I was driving down a stretch of highway in West Tennessee and saw a large sign that said “This Highway was built by Governor [so and so].” In truth that highway was built by the taxpayers using taxpayer funds. The governor was seeking the thanks, and to claim the glory, for something that belonged to the people of Tennessee. When we give what God has provided us and allow ourselves to receive the glory for it, then we are like that governor who takes the taxpayer’s money and claims that he has given them the road. So… what does the sign say that we erect when we give to others? Whose name is on it? Is it ours, or our Father’s? Do we seek to claim God’s glory?
Or, are we selfish and give others nothing? Do we hide God’s talents? In this case no road is built, no good is done, and God receives no increase in His Kingdom, nor glory for Himself in our thanks.
“He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
Matthew 25:24-29 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your many blessings, and for the increase that comes from our good management of all you have given us. Thank you for allowing us to give to those in need, and to join with them in thanking you for their provision. Help us to be good stewards of all you give us, and to be faithful to you in giving, as you lead our hearts to do so, to those in need. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who provides for us, and teaches us to ease the burdens of others in your name. Praised be your name for showing us that burying your blessings is of no use to you, to us, or to those who your gifts would have called to glorify you. Merciful are you who gives to us and allows us the joy of giving to others. Your grace covers us, and the blood of Jesus washes away our transgressions… even our selfishness, and self-worship. Transform us Father into the image of Jesus, and when we stand before you in Judgement see not our selfishness, but His loving sacrifice, and philanthropic nature. Seat us at your table Lord where we can pass your bounty to those who have recently arrived, and still hunger for your blessings.
“And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,”
Deuteronomy 28:11-13 ESV
Rich Forbes