Pooling Resources
Theme of the Week: The Gift of Generosity
Ben Patterson
Friday, December 12, 2003
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Key Bible Verse: "He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern" (Matthew 6:33). Bonus Reading:Psalm 37:21-24
Fired two months before we were married, the only work I could find was selling swimming pools. In six months, I sold exactly two. Lauretta and I didn't have enough money to both pay the rent and buy the food, much less keep up the insurance on the car.
Now here we were, sitting in the kitchen of the man who bought the second pool, waiting for him to write a check, and listening to him deliver a discourse on tithing. He said it was a practical way of living out [today's Key Bible Verse]. It was crazy, but I was overwhelmed by what he said.
On the way out to the car this man, who knew nothing of our financial straits, said "I hope you don't think I'm nuts, but as I was praying this morning I felt God wanted me to talk to you about tithing." Mumbling something noncommittal, I drove away.
I asked Lauretta what she thought of what he'd said and discovered that she'd had the same experience I had. Right then we decided to tithe. It was wonderful! No sense of "ought," just the exhilaration of embarking on a great adventure. We were failing miserably at taking care of ourselves. Why not see if God could do better.
—Ben Patterson in Waiting
My Response: Does my budget make room for adventure?
Thought to Apply: Generosity is an act of faith that says, "There is always more where that came from."
Adapted from Waiting (InterVarsity, 1989) by permission.
Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.
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