God blesses us with our needs and more, allowing us to share and give Him more.
Remember the good old days when we grew up with fewer things, toys, clothes, and money? We had church clothes, school clothes, and everyday clothes, but only a few in each designation. They didn’t fill a chest or closet.
We had several dresses, slacks, and tops to wear, wash, and iron. We had a few pairs of socks and shoes to keep up with.
During my childhood, a few pennies would buy gum, candy, and a few cookies at the neighborhood store. A candy cigarette was two cents or less, and Bazooka Bubble Gum was a penny. This sounds cheap, but spare change: nickels, dimes, and quarters were hard to come by.
Eating out or going to Cracker Barrel or some other restaurant was a no-go. Going to concerts, Broadway plays, or even Six Flags was not happening.
Nonetheless, in all that we didn’t have or do, Mom always told us there was someone poorer, and we believed her.
So, believe it or not, we were richer than we knew!
God blessed us with our needs, and Dad and Mom found ways to somehow share that with friends and neighbors who had less.
Why do I call those days good? God blessed us, which allowed us to bless others.
Again, the truth is: we were richer than we knew.
Today, many of us have dramatically more things to manage, bigger houses, two or more cars, savings and checking accounts—you name it. Our walk-in closets are bursting with more than we can wear in two or more months. Many items may still have sales tickets attached to them.
And let’s not forget the purses and the rainbow of shoes to be paired with coordinating outfits.
Due to God’s favor, we can give our children much more than we had, thanks to better opportunities, jobs, and wages.
Are we not more blessed than we were in the good old days?
God is a keeper of his promises to those who love him, as stated in 2 Corinthians 9:11.
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
Christ’s love works within the believer to love God and his brethren with generosity and deeds that reap more abundance of blessings. The verse affirms that such a believer will have more than enough, not sometimes, but on every occasion, to give and help others. And those whom the believer blesses will thank God.
Remember the song, “You Can’t Beat God’s Giving.” The song states, ‘The more you give, the more He gives to you.”
Unfortunately, we can be selfish with our excess.
We can use our excess frivolously on ourselves, save it, or become selfish and not share it with various efforts to help others and build God’s kingdom.
To be good stewards of God’s blessings, we realize that a part of what God gives us is not ours to keep.
Remember the parable about the rich man whose land brought forth an abundance of fruit. He demolished his old barns and built larger ones to store his abundance. He told his soul to rest, eat, drink, and enjoy his stored blessings.
He was totally selfish and didn’t realize God gave him an abundance to help and benefit others.
Praising God for being rich toward us so we can be rich toward others is being rich toward God.
Like the rich man, he that stores up treasure for himself isn’t rich toward God. (Luke 12:21}
From God’s love comes abundance. Our love for God inspires generosity and love for others.
Our excess can help others.
I hope you are happy and well.