I heard an interesting story on the radio today. A little girl started a cupcake stand to raise money for her families vacation. While they were in Boise Idaho, the family saw a bunch of homeless people. The family went to McDonalds and bought a bunch of cheeseburgers to help the homeless. The little girl who had raise over $700 decided to spend it all on the homeless versus the family vacation. Every time she raises money, she gives it to the homeless.
I am sure I do not recall the story 100%, but it has to be close. All I can say is wow! Here is a girl who decided that it was more important to help those in need versus spending the money on herself and the family.
Just think what the world would be like if we all had just a little of this girls attitude. How much do you give? Do you give out of obedience or out of love? What do you give time, money, and/or talents? So many of us give out of our abundance, but very little of us give out of our lack. Money for a lot of us is easy, but we are selfish with it and only give what we really think we afford to give because of our lifestyles. Very few of us give our time which to me is worth far more than money because it is inconvenient.
I am no different than most I give out of my abundance. We tithe at least 10%, but often it is 11 to 15%. We give to Goodwill, but only so much to make it easier tax wise. We give money to the local pantry to help those that cannot afford food or they struggling to feed their families. I also give some of my time to the church to help with the grounds. This is not to toot my own horn, but really to point out that I do not contribute out of what I am lacking.
I often wonder what we would do if we had very little money coming in. Would we still give at least 10% or would we become selfish and say we cannot afford to give. Would we contribute out time to those that are in need? Would we contribute our talents to aide those that need help?
I just pray that no matter what happens I will trust the Lord to provide. This does not mean He will make us rich, but that He will provide what we need to survive. I also pray that the Lord will instill on my heart more generosity.