We live in a consumer-driven society. The market-place has so many options and such competition, that we consumers often don’t know which way to turn. Perfectionists like me have a terrible time shopping because we never have enough information to know we’re getting the best deal. And the accumulation of “stuff” becomes a life goal, as if it will somehow save us.

There’s an old illustration about a technique Africans use to capture monkeys. They put a banana in a small-mouthed jar chained to a tree. The monkey will reach in to get the banana, and get his hand stuck in the jar. Because he refuses to let go of the banana, he is captured. He could have easily set himself free if he had just been willing to let go of his prized possession.

When people release their grip on the things of this world, they are so liberated.

Tags: freedom, money, stewardship

Missionaries to China in the last part of the 1900’s began to push into the unexplored interior of that great land. They found a community where the main crop was potatoes. They had a good climate and good soil, but their harvest was always little tiny potatoes, about the size of marbles. The natives said that big potatoes just did not grow there.

The newcomers said that surely some big potatoes grew there. “Oh, yes, we do get a few now and then,” they admitted. “What do you do with them?” “Well,” the local farmers answered, “We eat them, of course. The big ones are the best.” They were planting the runts. They were planting the potatoes that had the genes that produced ever smaller crops.

They were systematically reducing their crop as they took the biggest and best for themselves. The missionaries showed them that only when you plant the big ones – the best you have – will you get bigger ones in return.

How do you think that lesson applies to us and our giving to God?

Tags: giving, money, stewardship

A mortician at Forest Lawn Cemetery in California told author Gilbert Beers about a man who many years ago spent $200,000 on his own funeral. Estrangled from his wife and children, that bitter man squandered all his money on his own burial and left them nothing.

Because the best casket and other expenses added up to only $100,000, he ordered that the remaining $100,000 be spent on orchids! Can you imagine $100,000 worth of orchids!? Only three people attended that memorial service. What a warped sense of values.

What a waste of money that might have been used to help the needy or to support a worthy cause! And what a lesson we can learn from such egocentric folly!

Have you seen bitterness in someone’s life go to such extremes? Tell us about it.

Tags: bitterness, funeral, squander, stewardship, waste

David declared in 2 Samuel 24:24 that he would not offer a sacrifice that cost him nothing. An acceptable  sacrifice will cost you something.

Two boys were playing Noah and the flood after some recent rains. They had made an Ark out of scrap wood and gathered all their toy animals into it. One of the boys got the bright idea, “We should offer a sacrifice.” “Great idea,” responded the other. The first one collected sticks for an altar and the other ran into the house for some matches. Everything was ready, but as the boy looked at all the shiny new animals, he just couldn’t bring himself to burn up one of them.

So the boy ran into the house and down into the basement where his mother had been saving things for a future garage sale. After a few minutes of intense searching, he triumphantly pulled out a little toy – a horse with a missing leg.

The boy and his pal solemnly placed the broken toy on the altar. The fire was kindled, and soon the flames consumed the useless toy horse. They had made a ‘sacrifice’ that had cost them nothing.

What will your sacrifice to God cost you?

Tags: Noah, offering, sacrifice, stewardship

In John 6 we read a story of Jesus being far from any town teaching about 5,000 people. It was long after mealtime and Jesus asked Philip where they could purchase food for the crowd. He replied that they didn’t have nearly enough money to buy food for all these. Then Andrew spoke up (verse 9) and said, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

This is one of my favorite stories because it shows us what can happen when we give Jesus something to work with, resulting in a miracle. Its an obvious spiritual principle. Jesus needs us to give Him something to work with.

One of the exciting things about Christianity is watching people take their little bit and give it God, and then watch God do a miracle and multiply it. It’s the most convincing argument that seed-faith giving works. As a matter of fact, this principle doesn’t work if you give a lot, but when you give a little bit, and watch what God will do. Then graduate to something bigger.

Oral Roberts used to say, “Receiving follows giving…the harvest follows seed sown.”

Tags: giving, seed, small, stewardship

I heard about a farmer who called the office of a large church asking to see “the Head Hog at the trough”. The receptionist said, “Sir, if you’re talking about our beloved minister, you may call him Reverend or Pastor, but I don’t think it would be proper to refer to him as ‘Head Hog at the trough’.”

“Well, all right,” the farmer said, “I just sold a few sows and was going to donate ten thousand dollars to the building fund, so I was hoping to catch him.”

“Oh, just a minute, Sir,” the receptionist said. “I think the Big Pig just walked in!”

Since many ministers, especially televangelists, are perceived to be always focusing on money, many preachers go to the opposite extreme of not wanting to talk about money at all. I believe this is a mistake. The Bible talks more about money and giving and stewardship than it does about baptism and the resurrection combined. God’s people can’t grow spiritually unless we get understanding of the stewardship principle.

Tags: money, stewardship