“A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.” Luke 15:11-12  |
| A great financial truth about charity and money is hidden in this passage. Although we know this story is part of a larger teaching on the Prodigal son, explaining God’s great mercy and grace towards us, there is something else to be seen here. In modern and ancient Jewish circles, there was and is still, a practice of handing an estate, or an inheritance, to the children when they become of age. Notice that the father does not say, “You’ll get my estate when I am gone.” Rather, the sons had the right to ask for their portion of the family inheritance while they were still young, and full of the zest of life! Think of it. Who has the most novel ideas in any generation? There are exceptions, but mostly it is the young adults that have energy, desire, vision, and stamina. If you could go back in time to your earlier days, and be given the option to invest in an idea , or to build with, how different would your current financial state be? Charity is an old-fashioned word with forgotten and old-fashioned shades of meaning. The King James Bible uses the word charity, in the Love Chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. The Greek word there is “agape” meaning love, or having a heart of love as the center of your being. In this chapter, the word is used as a noun. Jesus said in Matthew 22:39, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” In this verse, the word is a verb, describing love in action. If you have love in your heart (noun), then it is easy to show love (verb) in your outward and public actions. God wanted the Jews to love each other in the brotherhood. There was a moral command to show love in many ways, including the use of wealth and money. For example, in Deuteronomy 15:7-10 it reads, “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. “Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the Lord against you, and it will be a sin in you. You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.” Note: There are six things here that I want to point out to you. First, there are always poor people, and this one is referred to as a brother. Second, you are to give to him generously, even to the point of dipping into your treasured supply of wealth. Third, you are not allowed to be grieved because you gave your hard earned money away. Fourth, you are not to be hostile and expect the money back, or grieve the man with harsh words as you give. Fifth, if you withhold, or simply give a token gift that does nothing to help him, then Yahweh God will hold it as a sin against you! Wow! Finally, because you did it right, Yahweh God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. That, my friends, is an honest-to-goodness heavenly blessing over your house, including your descendants, and all that you possess! That is the kind of God love that we are expected to operate in. Love originated first with God. In 1 John 4:19 it says, “We love, because He first loved us.” God is the first cause of everything good. Not just love, but charity also originated with God. We are charitable because He was first charitable with us. Look at the following scripture as evidence that we should love. “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” 1 John 3:14-17 Now, hear my thinking about helping others financially. When I was in my twenties, if I got behind on a bill, it sometimes would spread to two bills, then four, until I was literally one year from ever catching up. Oh, the misery and the pain I was in. Bill collectors, lack, not having enough for my wife and family to eat, personal esteem stolen, and the trap that I could not seem to break from. Then I heard that poverty, like sickness, could be caused by a spirit, a spirit of poverty. All around you are people that are hurting, including family members, and they many times do not have the courage to ask for help. Charity brings a financial blessing upon your finances and your household; all your household! God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. That means your children’s children will be blessed, because of your love in action with your money. In fact, they will even become like you in this regard! “I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread. All day long he is gracious and lends, and his descendants are a blessing.” Psalm 37:25-26 You should develop a new concept of the meaning of an inheritance. Most of the time, charitable donations are given after the passing of someone, to a foundation, or to a favorite charity, or as an inheritance to children. What if you could speed up the timing of your giving? If you could speed up the money someone might receive at your passing, how would that affect you? If they got some of your wealth now, would God be interested in that, and would He want to bless you back, while you are still living? God will in-fact want to break the power of the spirit of debt, the spirit of lack, and the spirit of sickness and disease, from off of you. These things keep people down, hurting, and humiliated. But God has a better way. I have some suggestions of how you can receive this blessing of protection over your life. First, begin to change how you look at your money after you pass on. Rather, think of ways that your children, or your church, or society, might benefit from that now, while you are still living. Do you have grown children looking for a house? Offer to give them the down payment to help them move in right away. Is one of your children motivated to invest in a startup? Offer to fund it by giving them the startup costs. Do you want your church to get renovated? Why wait? Have it done while you are still breathing God’s good air. Giving and being charitable should be your lifestyle, not just a one-time event. “The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.” Proverbs 11:25. Generosity and charity results in having Heaven respond back, by watering the needs that you have in your life. Everyone can start right where they are at, no matter how impoverished you might be at the moment. I tried it, and it works. “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” Luke 6:38 I am praying for you daily! Shalom, Pastor David Gonzalez |
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