“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:21 (NIV)
I grew up with a scarcity mindset–there’s not enough to go around so you’ve got to get what you can and hold tight. Then I married Alta Lynn. She is a very generous person
who gives things away right and left. Then I had several friends who were the same way–who modeled generosity. God tapped me on the shoulder and encouraged me to
grow in generosity.
In Matthew 6:21, Jesus tells us that our treasure leads our heart. Whatever I choose to treasure will reveal the truest things about me. Along the journey to generosity, I
had to face two myths that kept generosity from flowing from my life.
MYTH #1: IT’S MINE.
Have you ever thought this one? When it comes to our resources, possessions, and money we say, “ I made it. I earned it. I own it. It’s mine”. This myth leads you and me to
believe all that we have is for our own consumption. What does the Bible say?
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” Psalm 24:1 (NLT). The Bible says: God owns it, I just manage it for a while. My family
loves board games. There are some we avoid, like Monopoly. One time, we played with the kids. The four of us set it up and played. We all got competitive- it wasn’t pretty.
I love my family more than anything else in the world, and I’d give up anything for them, but that night I drove each and every one of them ruthlessly and relentlessly off
the board. I said things like: “Oops, looks like you landed on one of my hotels on Boardwalk. That’ll be 3 billion dollars please”. One by one, I wiped them out. Finally, it
was just me. I had all the cash, the houses, the properties, the hotels - I just leaned back and looked at all my treasure and thought: This is great! Then, I think Alta Lynn
said something like: “Way to go, honey. You get to put it all back in the box.”
All my stuff belongs to my Heavenly Father. I may possess some things for a while, and manage some things, but I don’t own anything. Eventually, it’s all going back to Him.
He holds the title to it. I don’t own any of that stuff, I’m just responsible for it. I’m just managing it. God owns it. It’s all God’s.
MYTH #2: WHEN I HAVE MORE, THEN I WILL BE GENEROUS
This is another popular myth. It goes like this: When I get that job, when I get the promotion, when I get the raise, when the kids get older, when I get the student loans
paid off, when the kids get out of school, when we are financially independent—then we’ll be generous. Basically, the idea is: I can’t afford to be generous now.
This implies: “Of course, at heart--I’m a generous person. I would give more if I could afford to give more.” It sounds good, but stats don’t back that up. Actually, people in
our country who make more—give less. The people who make less give more on a percentage basis. Generosity will never happen if you use the leftover approach to your
money. Back to the point as far as God is concerned: He is all about your character development. If you believe this myth--you’re missing out on how God wants to develop
your character through your generosity.
THE BOTTOM LINE
God wants us to lead with generosity that simply makes sense in light of all God has given us. Generosity is for God’s glory and our good.
