Let’s be honest! Money is powerful. It is insidious: it grabs our attention, it seduces us, it claims our love and allegiance, and it can easily become a ruthless, evil master: Mammon.

We like to think money is neutral, a means to serve, and so it should be, but love of money has a guaranteed poisonous effect: it corrupts our hearts. Money needs to be tamed: we need to learn to master it, otherwise it becomes a powerful idol. Scripture says that ‘the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil’, so it’s never too early to be cautious: we may fall in love with money long before having ‘too much’ of it. If you think you can’t give because you have little, think again. If you’re reading this, you are in a position to bless someone else, even financially. Regardless of the amount, as long as your act of generosity overflows from a grateful heart, it honours God and makes an impact.

Don’t wait until you presumably 'have enough’. No matter how much or little you have, be careful to give away enough of it, so your possessions never possess you and your lack of possessions never obsess you. Things are pretty simple: if you can’t give a little you won’t be able to give a lot. Scripture is clear: ‘Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."’ (Hebrews 13:5).

Only our genuine trust in God who is faithful in keeping his promises makes us safe from the love of money. Nothing else. Gratitude is foreign to us if we don’t acknowledge that it is God who provides for us. Gratitude is not a function of how much we have, but how much we trust. How can we say whether we trust, if we never allow ourselves to be dependent? Trust doesn’t grow in comfortable places. Our trust in God grows when we exert it in meaningful ways.

In practicing generosity we reaffirm and reinforce our devotion to Christ. Every day, keep yourself focused on these two values:

Grace: Treat everything you have as a gift, not as a personal achievement. Life is gift, not gain!

Love: Love God and love your neighbour as yourself.

Do it in very practical ways: be mindful and disciplined about spending money to meet other people’s needs and advance other people’s interests. In serving others, you are doing God’s will and advancing his kingdom.

• Inject generosity into your lifestyle by cultivating a mindset focused on grace and love.
• Exercise your faith in God by cultivating a rhythm of generous giving.
• Do it with joy, out of love.
• Trust God for the impact.
  

Photo by Nina Strehl on Unsplash