32 “Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights in giving you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to those in need. Make for yourselves wallets that don’t wear out—a treasure in heaven that never runs out. No thief comes near there, and no moth destroys. 34 Where your treasure is, there your heart will be too.
Reflection
Have you ever felt poorer because of a gift made to bless someone else? Me either. Maybe you’ve helped a family member with a bill, or made a donation to your alma mater, or participated in a capital campaign in the church. It’s a strange thing, but I’ve never missed the money I’ve given away to help someone else.
In the upside-down economy of Jesus, the only things we get to keep are those we give away.
We already know that forgiveness, grace, kindness, and love are only able to be experienced fully when we are willing to give them away. When God showers us with these spiritual blessings, we cannot help but share them with others. When we fail to do so, we’ve missed the point of the blessing. The blessing pays dividends only when we share it.
Why does it surprise us, then, to hear Jesus say the same thing about our financial blessings? The principle of generosity is just taking the spiritual principle of how we handle other dimensions of God’s love and applying it to our tangible assets. Why then does it seem so much harder?
I think in part it’s because we always conceive of our money as a zero-sum thing. If I give you $100, that’s $100 less I have for myself. But is that really accurate? Jesus says it’s not! He assures us that what we spend to bless others isn’t just something that’s tracked in the physical world (on our bank statements or tax forms), but in the spiritual world too. “Make for yourselves wallets that don’t wear out—a treasure in heaven that never runs out.”
Jesus’ way of doing math may seem unfamiliar to us, but it tracks with everything else we know about how God works. Blessings are never meant to be hoarded, but shared!
by Joe Monahan
For Pondering and Prayer
Is there an act of generosity that you’ve been putting off? Today, pray for God to open your heart that you might see your financial resources as just one more dimension of all God’s other blessings.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to remember today that our finances are not different from your other blessings. In all things, you bless us in order that we might bless others. Help us to be generous, that we might build our treasure in heaven. Amen.
