This Week's Topic: Finding Financial Peace

Premise

The only way to financial peace is straight through a giving and generous heart.

Desire + Willingness + Finishing + According to Means > Acceptable Gift

"here is my advice . . ..  Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.  Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have”  2 Corinthians 8:10-12          


Reflect

Guilt is a terrible motivator for anything, especially giving. God does not seek your money, He seeks you and out of that relationship, He desires trust, and out of trust, He desires a willingness to align your life with Him.

There are two things here: willingness and then acting on that willingness. It is in the act of actually giving, actually writing the check that requires a true stretch, where faith has meaning. Paul says “match your willingness with completion”.

A tithe (10% of ones income) is a good biblical benchmark, but there are those who give more than that and for them it’s hardly a sacrifice. Alternatively there are those who give a smaller percentage and for them their giving is a real stretch. Thus “according to what you have”.

A baseball analogy just occurred to me. There are men on base waiting for God’s people to get them home to where their needs can be met. When men are on base the pitcher goes into the stretch so that the hitter can . . . . . oops that analogy sure doesn’t work!!! Go into the stretch anyway.

Prayer

“Lord, show me the path to willingness. Show me the path to financial peace through a generosity that's free from the debilitating and imposter of motivation which is guilt. Amen"