All they want is my money!!
Funny way to start out a Christmas greeting but bear with me and it will make sense in a minute.
I had a conversation that started out with “All they want is my money”. It was obvious that Ken struggled with church and Christians in particular. It was one of the times that God gave me words to say and I said them.
I asked Ken if he had a dime. He dug in his pocket and came out with a dime and I asked if he would trade me that dime for the dollar I had in my hand. He said he would and we swapped while the puzzlement on his face grew. “Is that a good deal?” I asked. Of course he said. It was a good deal. “That is all God asks of us”.
You see, I believe that everything I have or have ever gotten comes from God and all he asks in return is that I am willing to give BACK 10%. Ken had never thought of it that way before. Most folks don’t because Christians are not all that consistent about giving back. If we were, the church would never have to ask for money because God’s plan would be working but we don’t do our part. If we did there would be more stories like what I am about to tell you.
I am a part of a church called 12Stone. We are in two campuses. One in Lawrenceville, GA and another in Hamilton Mill, GA and we just did something amazing. We gave $750,000 back to the community. Now I don’t mean that the church as a whole but rather individuals in the church gave back that much to folks that needed it. Our church announced that they would be giving $100 minimum to every family in the church that asked with the specific intent that we would at least match that (or more if we could) and we would as a group look for opportunity to bless someone in the community. It is called “Intentional Acts of Christmas”. Over 2600 families agreed to participate and with the extra that was given to youth groups in the church we as a church contributed $300,000 that was handed out to heads of households one Sunday morning in $100 bills. There are great stories about buying groceries, paying utility bills, buying gifts for children, cars for single moms and lots more but the point is that all of this was done out of one church and I can tell you that even we don’t give back our 10% as a body of believers. Imagine what we could do if we did!!
God does not need our money. If he did he could just take it. We need to give it back for our own good. God knows that and is doing all he can to show us how it benefits us, our church and society in general. Americans are the most generous of people. We help people regardless of their religion, color or other beliefs. If we gave like God asked us to then we would not have the hunger problems we struggle with. Poverty would be a much smaller problem than it is and it would not require taxes to work all this out.
This Christmas please enjoy the gifts and time together with friends and family. Give to someone that has less than you. God gave us the greatest of gifts in Jesus Christ who came and took our place so that we might have life. That is called GRACE. Look for ways to spend your money with compassion and I promise you will get more than you give.
Thanks for listening and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Jerry W. Robertson